Upcoming: 13th Tour de Langkawi, February 9-17

Langkawi: Nine days in tropical conditions is a nice prelude to the chilly upcoming Spring Classics

The 13th Tour de Langkawi will commence on the Indonesian island of Malaysia Saturday with a solid field of 25 teams of six riders each. The ten day event has changed drastically from previous years, as the feared queen stage to Genting Highlands has been removed for the 2008 edition. In previous years, the climb limited the amount of potential winners to only a few, whereas this year over 20 are in for a chance at the overall.

It's no Genting Highlands, but stage 8 from Temerloh to Bukit Fraser will provide enough steeps to see most of the peloton fade away in the race for the general classification

One of the names looking to add the Langkawi overall title to his palmares will be Alberto Loddo of the Tinkoff Credit Systems team. The dimunitive Italian took five stages of the event last year, and will be keen to repeating his early season successes in 2008. He already has a win under his belt from this year's Tour of Qatar, where he bested Tom Boonen, and so will possess sky-high confidence as he rolls to the start line in Alor Setar. A new signing for Tinkoff, Loddo will have an excellent team backing him for the ten day affair with Pavel Brutt, a stage winner from last year in the mold of Jen Voigt and two other staunch Russians, Segey Klimov and Nikolai Trusov.

Loddo and the Tinkoff team will be a force to be reckoned with in Langkawi

Loddo's competition will most likely come in the form of of the Pro Tour team Credit Agricole. The French squad brings some good talent to the table with two riders looking for good overall results, Aussie Simon Gerrans and Ireland's Nicolas Roche. Gerrans won the Tour Down Under in 2006, and will be looking to add another early season stage race title to his palmares as he makes his way up cycling's ladder. Roche, son of the great Irish TDF champ Steven, will look to build his form ahead of the Criterium International and Paris-Nice, in hopes of gaining a ride on the Credit Agricole team for those events.

Gerrans took the overall title in the 2006 Tour Down Under. He feels that with the help of his Credit Agricole team, he can add another early season overall in Langkawi.

For wildcards, look no further than Danilo Hondo of the Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni team. The German sprinter has had a rough spell of it the last few years, as he has served a few suspensions for doping. In what will surely be his last chance, he'll try to start 2008 off with a bang for the small Italian outfit. Another possible spoiler could come out of the Ag2r La Mondiale line up. Alexandre Usov (one win in 2007) knows his way around a bike race, as a former stage winner of the Circuit des Ardennes in 2005.

Hondo will hope he can regain the form that saaw him win for German teams Gerolsteiner (above) and T-Mobile, among others

The weather for the event will be stifling, as temps are predicted in the mid 90's. Clouds are predicted, which could aid breakaways, and a thunderstorm or two could turn things messy. With the hot temperatures and the threat of rain, Langkawi should have some surprises in store for the peloton as it turns the screws on the new season.

Riders will be greeted by the Langkawi eagle, watching over the island at all times