As the sun set on the western beaches of Kuala Terengganu, all 19 teams of the 2017 Le Tour de Langkawi assembled at the Primula Beach Hotel for the presentation on the eve of the race. The now iconic winner`s Challenge Trophy was shown off to the teams, officials and dignities before riders were called on stage. The only WorldTour team in the race, Dimension Data, were the first squad called on the stage but it was the last team of the presentation, the Malaysian national team, who received the loudest and warmest welcome. With no former winners lining out in 2017, a new rider will add his name to the honour roll.ADVERTISEMENT All-time stage win record holder, Andrea `Mr Langkawi` Guardini, is also absent. Italian sprinter Jacob Mareczko is regarded as the heir apparent to Guardini in an open field of fast men. The Wilier Trestina rider won a stage of the race last year and is aiming to match and possibly better his result in 2017. `This year I will try to repeat my win, so my team is very strong for the sprint. There is [Rafael] Andriato, [Filippo] Pozzato that can help me in the final kilometre so I think we can do a good job,` he said, adding the riders he sees as rivals. `There are many sprinters from Italy... [Nicolas] Marini from Nippo [Vini] Fantini, [Marco] Benfatto and [Andrea] Palini from Androni. Another sprinter is [Scott] Sunderland; there is a lot of sprinters.` Mareczko`s teammate Pozzato is making his debut at the race in his final season as a professional. The 35-year-old explained that while he will be concerned with helping Mareczko, he is also eyeing his first win since 2013.
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