It's not even three weeks since Sjoerd Bax (Alpecin-Deceuninck) took his first professional victory at Coppa Agostini, and already he has added to that tally, by taking a second win on stage 7 of the Tour de Langkawi.
Bax won a three-way sprint after leaping over to the early break from a chase group in a stage originally planned to finish on Gunung Raya summit. Landslides after a deluge, however, led to a last-minute change to the course, which was suited to a break, with its undulating terrain and two category three sprints.
"The moment I attacked, I knew I had a chance," Bax, who went with 14km to go, told Cyclingnews after the stage. "I knew there was not really a good collaboration [in the chase], but my earpiece wasn't working, so I couldn't hear the advantage from the car, so it was a bit hard."
"I was looking back and didn't see guys, so it was a bit of guessing. And at the sprint, I had confidence. I didn't know all the guys, so it was a bit of a gamble, but I knew I was fast."
Bax came up the left hand of the finishing straight and went straight past the early launch of Willie Smits to beat the China Glory rider and Adria Moreno (Burgo-BH) to the line, while teammate David van der Poel led the charge from the chase group to secure fourth.
"This confirms my win a few weeks ago. I already had a good stage race in Luxembourg and then the win, and now this," said Bax. "So, I think I've shown that I can compete on a good level for constant periods."
The 26-year-old Dutch rider took second place on the first stage of the Tour de Luxembourg and finished fourth overall in September, then won Coppa Agostoni - Giro delle Brianze before continuing his strong run into the Tour de Langkawi, his last race with Alpecin-Deceuninck before he switches to UAE Team Emirates for 2023.
"For next year, it gives like a lot of confidence, and I would also like to thank Alpecin for this last year – they gave me the chance, and now I hope that I can improve even more next year," said Bax.
Bax, who joined Alpecin-Deceuninck at the start of this season from Continental team Metec-Solarwatt p/b Mantel, quickly stepped up from his first 1.1 win at Coppa Agostoni - Giro delle Brianze to a 2.Pro win at the eight-day Malaysian tour, and now he is looking to take it up a notch again and secure his first WorldTour win.
"I always have it in my mind that I know that I can win and that I never settle for second," said Bax when asked what had helped him make the step up to the top step of the podium. "I like riding for other people, but I also like to win, so I try never to lose that feeling."
