Our team rode the stage to perfection. Alexander Cepeda and Simon Carr were among the select group as the race hit the base of the 8 kilometer Genting Highlands climb. Alexander attacked with 6 kilometers to go just as the climb began reaching its steepest ramps. When there was no response from the other riders in the group, Simon rode away and joined his teammate up the road. The pair worked together until Alexander had nothing left to give. Simon pulled away and claimed the win by 39 seconds.

At the finish, Simon immediately praised his teammates who set up today’s win.

“It was an amazing job by the whole team, taking it on. I’m just really, really happy to finish it off,” Simon said. “It was already pretty hard. We set a hard pace from the start of the climb. With Tom already chasing the break and Michael and Odd and then Jardi, our stagiere, they did a really good job. When Alexander went it was really the right time. I could immediately tell no one else had anything left so I came across [to Alexander] but I think we played it really, really well.”

Earlier this season, Simon won stages at the Tour of the Alps and the Route d’Occitanie but today’s win carries a deeper significance to him.

“For me it means a lot, not just because of this race but also because I was really, really motivated to win today. My grandfather passed away just last Monday and he was a big fan so I really wanted to win this for him,” Simon said.

Simon now leads the general classification by 49 seconds with teammate Alexander Cepeda sitting in second place overall. Three stages remain at the Tour de Langkawi and the team has no intentions to cede the race leader’s green jersey.