Shah alam: The United States-based ProTeam, Modern Adventure Pro Cycling, is set to make a significant impact in their debut at the 2026 Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL26), despite being new entrants. This ambitious team, officially founded in mid-2025 and headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, and Girona, Spain, is poised to challenge more seasoned teams as they aim for top-tier competitions like the Tour de France by 2032.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the LTdL2026 Secretariat highlighted the team's balanced roster led by manager Alex Howes. The team will rely on three adept climbers-Stefan De Bod, Kieran Haug, and Leo Hayter-alongside three sprinters-Robin Carpenter, Scott McGill, and Riley Pickrell. De Bod, 29, a well-known figure among Malaysian cycling enthusiasts, previously rode for the local team TSG and clinched second place in Stage 6 of LTdL24.
Haug, a 23-year-old American from Brunswick, has shown his prowess by winning the Tour of Gila last year and finishing second this year, along with a sixth-place finish at the US National Championships. Hayter, 25, from Britain, comes with an impressive resume, having won the Giro d'Italia Giovani Under-23 in 2022 and recently securing a third-place finish in Stage 3 of the Tour of Poitou-Charentes in France.
The team also includes the experienced 34-year-old American Carpenter, who made a comeback after a three-year break, winning the Yarmouth Clam Bike Festival in July. McGill, 27, boasts victories in two stages of the 2022 Volta a Portugal and a stage in the 2024 Tour of Gila. Meanwhile, 25-year-old Canadian-born Pickrell has demonstrated his sprinting capabilities with stage wins at the Sibiu Cycling Tour and strong performances in the Tour of Trkiye and Arctic Race of Norway.
LTdL26 will kick off with Stage 1 from Shah Alam to Kampar on September 27 and conclude with Stage 8 from Muar to Putrajaya on October 4, covering a total distance of 1,285.5 kilometers. The event, ranked as a 2.ProSeries, will feature two WorldTeams, eight ProTeams, nine Continental teams, and the Malaysian national team. It is organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports through the National Sports Council, with full support from the Malaysian National Cycling Federation.