A superb Luca Chirico confirmed the expectations of the previous days conquering a strong 4th place in the queen stage of Tour de Langkawi which had a sthe summit finish at Fraser’s Hill after 180.8km. The Bardiani rider followed the strongest and then had the power to finish 4th, narrowly missing the podium due to some sharp turns in the last meters.

As expected, the stage was decided on the final climb of Fraser’s Hill with a length of 28km but with the last 8km much steeper. From the bottom several riders were dropped but not Chirico was in the leading positions, supported really well by his teammates Simone Sterbini and Alessandro Tonelli.

The slope was not really tough and a select group of 10 riders led by Team Sky emerged. The sprint was launched with a long rush from Youcef Reguigui (MTN) and he found the right moment to start. Thanks some sharp turns in the last meters he wasn’t passed. Behind him Henao (SKY), Agnoli (Astana) and a strong Luca Chirico followed.

Chirico is now 6th in GC, 16 seconds behind new leader Reguigui (MTN).

”It’s a good result but today I felt I had the legs to be on the podium," he said. "The final corners prevented me from coming back and pass at least Agnoli. I was surprised and there wasn’t space to pass and go in the top 3. My teammates were really strong today. They helped me a lot, especially in the first part. Then I was behind Sky’s train, following Henao. But inside the last 500 meters Reguigui launched his sprint from behind, using his skills of sprinter in a smart way. I was close to Henao and Agnoli but the last sharp turn didn’t give me the opportunity to go on. Regarding the GC, I’m in 6th place but with a podium today I could have been even better positioned. Anyway it’s a good result that we must confirm tomorrow in the final stage”.

”Luca did a really good race, I’m proud of him," sports director Mirko Rossato said. "He’s unhappy not be on the podium, but today the last 100 meters were really tricky with two sharp turns. If he had launched the sprint ealier, like Reguigui, we could have had a different kind of result. Anyway he’s a young guy with a big margin to improve: strong on the climbs but with a good sprint. The other guys were also strong today, leading Chirico and supporting his climbing."