On the 45-kilometre route to Perdana Quay, a preliminary decision is made on the first singletrail. German marathon specialist Karl Platt picks up the pace on a route he knows from the previous year. Only Fabian Giger, Hannes Genze (GER) and the overall leader Michal Lami (SVK) are able to follow him. However, Genze was soon unable to keep up the pace.

On a descent, Giger has a mishap: he bends the brake disk on his bike in a crash. Nevertheless, Giger makes it into the next technical zone with the leading group. "I missed the connection when changing bikes and was only able to catch Genze in the end. I hope to get through the next few days without a puncture," said Giger, who finished third.Daniel Eymann also had a crash. After starting well, he slipped in a mud hole around ten minutes into the race. The valve and a spoke on his wheel broke off. The muddy tire makes the emergency repair difficult and, together with the wheel change in the first tech zone, Eymann loses too much time. "Maybe I can help Fabian make up some time in the coming days," says Eymann, explaining his change of strategy.Nicola Rohrbach was not spared from defects either. His tire runs out of air after just eight kilometers. Rohrbach had to ride four kilometers to the first repair station with the flat tire. "It's a shame, up until then I was right up there with the rest of the pack," says Rohrbach, who then makes up a few positions and finishes the stage in eleventh place.Schneitter fourth again - Klemencic unbeaten
Blaza Klemencic from Slovenia pulls away early on together with Eva Lechner from South Tyrol. Behind them, a leading group of four formed with Tanja Zakelj (SLO), Janka Stevkova (SVK), Nathalie Schneitter and Jovana Crnogorac (SRB). In the long main ascent, Lechner was no longer able to keep up the pace and fell behind Zakelj, who was coming on strong.

Nathalie Schneitter takes a conservative approach to the race. "I just did my thing because I knew that I would need all my energy on the long main climb." This tactic paid off, as Schneitter rode to fourth place on the stage without taking any risks.

The third stage of the Langkawi International Mountain Bike Challenge, which starts and finishes in Oriental Village, is a marathon over three laps of 27 kilometers each. The women ride one lap less.

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