Bennett 8th on penultimate day in Langkawi

With 8th place at the at the finish of the 7th stage, George Bennett leaps into the top 10 of the overall classification at the Tour de Langkawi, settling in 4th place at 1’50 “from the race leader Ivan Sosa (Movistar).

Today’s stage should have ended with the ascent of Gunung Raya but, due to a landslide in the area , the organizers decided to run the race on the route originally intended for the 8th day (107, 1 km with departure and arrival in Kuah).

The two laps of the final circuit split the main group, from which Sjoerd Bax (Alpecin-Deceuninck) emerged victorious, with the future UAE Team Emirates rider linking up with Willie Smit (China Glory) and Adrià Moreno ( Burgos-BH) and then beating them in the sprint.
Behind the trio, a group of 5 riders reached the finish line, including George Bennett, 8th on the day.
The New Zealander has jumped 7 positions in the overall standings and now sits just 3″ of the final podium (Uno-X’s Torstein Traeen is 1’47” behind Sosa).

The same finish as today, with the addition of a lap of the final circuit, will be the setting for the 8th and final stage of the Tour de Langkawi.

Stage 7 results
1. Sjoerd Bax (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 2h20’52 ”
2. Willie Smit (China Glory) s.t.
3. Adrià Moreno (Burgos-BH) s.t.
8. George Bennett (UAE Team Emirates) +12 “

General classification after the 7th stage
1. Ivan Sosa (Movistar) 23h28’05 ”
2. Hugh Carthy (Ef Education-EasyPost) + 23 ”
3. Torstein Traaen (One-X) + 1’47 ”
4. George Bennett (UAE Team Emirates) + 1’50 “