7Eleven Cliqq Riders Keep Best Asian Rider Hopes Alive at Midpoint of 2025 Le Tour de Langkawi

At the halfway mark of the 2025 Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia, Joshua Pascual and Joseph Javiniar of 7Eleven Cliqq Road Bike Philippines remain firmly in contention for the coveted Best Asian Rider title.

Pascual moved up to 8th place in the category, sitting just three seconds behind current leader Vadim Pronskiy of Kazakhstan’s TSG team. Javiniar held on to 11th place, also maintaining a slim three-second gap to the leader — keeping 7Eleven’s hopes for the Asian crown very much alive.

Despite challenging conditions in Stage 4, Pascual and Javiniar crossed the finish line in 67th and 82nd places respectively — but crucially, both riders finished with the same time as stage winner Matteo Malucelli (XDS Astana). Malucelli claimed his third stage victory of the race and continues to lead the Individual General Classification.

Slovenian rider Matej Drinovec was the standout for 7Eleven in the overall standings, jumping eight spots to 28th, just 36 seconds behind Malucelli. Fellow reinforcement Edouard Bonnefoix currently sits in 99th place.

As a team, 7Eleven Cliqq Road Bike Philippines holds 15th place among 22 squads in the General Classification and is ranked 5th out of 9 Asian teams, a solid showing heading into the final stretch of the race.

A total of 115 riders remain in the Pro Series event as it enters its final four days. The upcoming Stage 5 covers 123 km from Shah Alam to Port Dickson, followed by the race’s longest stage on Friday — a grueling 214.9 km from Melaka to Medini. The event will then culminate on Saturday with a 180.2 km finale from Tangkak to Kuala Lumpur.

With momentum building and the time gaps razor-thin, Pascual, Javiniar, and the rest of the 7Eleven squad are poised to fight all the way to the finish for Asian honors and a strong overall result.

Photo: Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi / Mar Sudario