Milo colours for sprinters
NST, 3/2/2008

THE colours of Milo will be featured on the sprinters' jersey for the first time in Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) on Feb 9-17, and the battle of the fast men will be a heated one.

Critics have it that the stage is set for bunch sprints and points classification battles for the Milo green jersey between the biggest sprinters Danilo Hondo and Alberto Loddo.

Serramenti Diquigiovanni rider Hondo is returning from a two-year suspension but is said to be in top form, while Tinkoff Credit Systems' Loddo has shown with a stage win in the Tour of Qatar last week that he is up for it as well.

Loddo will be all out to defend the green jersey he won, thanks to five explosive stage wins in last year's Tour.

Added to the battle are prospects of Bouygues Telecom lining up Swiss sprinter Aurelien Clerc, while record LTdL stage winning team CSF-Navigare will return with Argentine sprinter Ruben Bongiorno.

Local hopes are also running high in expectation of Le Tua's Anuar Manan, the Jelajah Malaysia points classification winner, to show that the locals are able to match the top sprinters this time around.

And all of that for a new-look green jersey which was unveiled and presented by Milo in Petaling Jaya yesterday.

Milo sports marketing and sponsorship manager Ng Ping Loong said the company would also be making its presence felt in this year's Tour more than before with a variety of offerings for fans.

"We'll be prominent in the cavalcade, as well as at every start and finish venue this time around. This is an important event for the country and we're happy to be associated with the sprints competition," said Ping Loong.

<< BACK