MORE THAN 3,000 PARTICIPANTS JOIN THIRD EDITION OF L'ETAPE MALAYSIA

MELAKA, May 4 (Bernama) -- A total of 3,358 local and international participants have confirmed their participation in the third edition of the L'Etape Malaysia cycling race by Tour de France, which will start at The Sail Melaka here tomorrow.

MUSE Group Asia Chief Executive Officer, Riduwan Matni said that after the previous two editions of the cycling event were held in Desaru, Johor, it has now moved to Melaka to further expand the brand of the largest amateur cycling championship in the country.

"This year, we felt it was time to hold this event outside of Johor, also coinciding with Visit Melaka Year 2024.

Of that number, 45 percent of participants are from abroad. So in terms of tourism, this event is one that has received good response from international participants," he said when met here today.

Like the previous years, this L'Etape edition features the same race categories, including the individual men's and women's 'Elite Wave' 140 kilometres (km), 'The Race' (140km), and 'The Ride' (70km).

Riduwan also said that they are planning to organise another similar event, with the choice of location still under discussion, as part of their efforts to expand the L'Etape brand across Malaysia.

L'Etape de Tour is an annual mass cycling event that allows amateur cyclists to race on the same route as a stage of the Tour de France.

The series has now expanded to 14 countries, including China, Thailand, Mexico, Brazil and Australia, among others, along with Malaysia.

-- BERNAMA