South Africa’s Burry Stander (Specialized Factory Racing) claimed the opening stage of the 2011 Langkawi International MTB Challenge ahead of the Team Bulls pair of Karl Platt and Thomas Dietsch.
Stander prevailed in a sprint to the line with Platt, with the two closing out the stage in 2:24:20. French champion Dietsch finshed two minutes in arrears to claim third spot.
Wolciech Halejak (Mroz-Activejet) and Johnny Cattaneo (Full-Dynamix) closed out the top five.
The day’s final standings also established the opening overall classification, with Stander to wear the race’s first leader’s jersey on stage two.
Karl Platt and Thomas Dietsch happy at the conclusion of stage one. Photo: Team Bulls
Competitors line-up on the start line ahead of the first stage Photo: Team Bulls