Crédit Agricole’s Anthony Charteau wrapped up the overall victory at the Tour de Langkawi on Sunday as Alberto Loddo added yet another win to his tally, equaling the record of five stage wins in a single year.

Even though the 80-kilometer Kuala Lumpur Criterium was regarded more as spectacle than an event that could affect the final classification, Charteau did not breathe a sigh of relief until after he crossed the line. By successfully protecting his lead since his stage 3 victory at Cameron Highlands, Charteau becomes the first Frenchman in the history of the Malaysian stage race to win the overall title.

The final stage takes the peloton through...

"Winning this race is the next step in my career, although I have to point out that at the start I was not even thinking of winning the title, as we were supposed to give support to (Francesco) Bellotti," he said. "I’ve only won time trials in the past, so taking a stage race of this size is big for me. I will be looking to maintain my form for the ProTour races like Tour of the Basque country and Tour of Catalunya. I hope that I get a chance to ride the Tour de France as well this year."

As Sunday’s stage wound down, Thomas Voeckler (Bouyges Telecom) attacked hard and was joined by Sandy Casar (Française des Jeux) and Steffen Weigold (Tinkoff Credit Systems).

The peloton gave chase for Koji Fukushima (Nippo-Meitan Hompo) to join the breakaway group as Charteau still maintained his position within the bunch to protect himself from getting in trouble.

With just four laps to go around a course that wound through the varied neighbourhoods of Kuala Lumpur, the chase was driven by Ceramiche Panaria and Serramenti PVC as they joined up with the leaders to set up a sprint finish.

Although Voeckler and Nikolai Trusov (Tinkoff) made strong sprints for the finish with just 50 meters to go, Loddo was just too fast, storming them both from the outside to win his fifth stage, tying the record established by Graeme Brown in 2005.

... an assortment of Kuala Lampur neighborhoods.

"To win a record of five stage victories might seem big, but considering the great teamwork which was put in by the team, it is fair," said Loddo.

Ghader Mizbani, of Iran, picked up his second Blue jersey for best Asian rider in three years, as his Giant Asia Racing Team earned the team title, a first for an Asian team.

"I am proud to be part of this winning team although I must admit that this year, the race was a lot closer than it has been in the last few editions," said Mizbani. "The formation of the Continental team structure over the last two years has helped a lot in the development of the Asian riders and it is evident from the Tour de Langkawi this year."