After yesterday's surprise win in the opening stage, Duber Quintero (Colombia) enjoyed his first day as leader in a major bike race in today's second stage of the Tour de Langkawi. The Colombian was happy to get safely through the crash-marred finale and hopes to keep his jersey at least until Sunday's finish on the Genting Highlands climb.

Duber Quintero and Team Colombia keep on leading the Tour de Langkawi general classification after the second stage of the race – 132 km between Sungai Petani and Taiping – characterized by a hectic finale due to many crashes in the final 1,5 km. Dutchman Theo Bos (Belkin) topped his teammate Graeme Brown and Austrian Marco Haller (Katusha) in a reduced sprint due to the several accidents that held back the majority of the pack, luckily without involving any of Sport Director Valerio Tebaldi’s riders.

Duber Quintero keeps leading the overall with 22 seconds over Jonathan Clarke (UnitedHealthcare) and 26 over Matt Brammeier (Synergy Baku).

The Colombian athletes were well-positioned to set-up Leonardo Duque’s sprint, but where eventually obstacled by the crash of about 20 riders that happened with 1.200 km to go, in a treacherous passage through a city park.

“The final kilometres were really dangerous," Sports Director Tebaldi stated afterwards. You could see many leaves on the road, and in such frantic moments of the race even the tiniest detail can end up creating a big mess.”

On another sweltering hot day (over 40°C), the early breakaway by Ibrahim, Isgandarov, Asadov, Ho, Khalili and Jiang was controlled by Colombia, who were later replaced at the front by the sprinters’ teams, eager to seize the opportunity after wasting one on Thursday.

The finale offered some drama, with several athletes transported to the hospital for checks after the finish, but Team Colombia could breathe a sigh of relief and celebrate another day in yellow for Duber Quintero.

“The day after my first professional win was pretty special – it was such a great satisfaction for me, for the team, for everyone who loves me,” yellow jersey Duber Quintero said. "The first person I called was my mom in Colombia, and she already knew what happened because she always follows the updates on the internet, but it was still a very emotional call.

“About today, we were happy with the race unfolding: the breakaway formed as planned, and the sprinters’ teams took control in the finale, allowing us to save some energy on such a hot day.

"It was a quiet day for me today. There was a breakaway that went with some good riders, so we kept the gap at 4 to 5 minutes and then nearer the finish the teams with sprinters took over. I just had to stay safe and avoid the crashes that happened near the finish, so it was a very quiet day for me.

"I wish to thank all the guys for another day with this jersey, hopefully we can hold it for some more days. I know Sunday has a tough  route in store for us, but we are determined to keep on fighting!”

Tomorrow, the third stage will take the riders from Kampar to Kuala Lumpur (166 km). It will be another sprinter-friendly stage, but the Escarabajos will need to stay alert in order to preserve Quintero’s leadership.