Guardini won five stages of the 2011 edition while with Vini Fantini-Selle Italia and went one better last year with six, but he is finally off the mark in the 2013 Tour after pipping fellow Italian Francesco Chicchi (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia) to the finish line.
Orica-GreenEdge rider Aidis Kruopis of Lithuania finished third on the 149.8km route along the Malaysian east coast from Kuantan to Dungun for his third podium of the calendar year.
Kruopis’s team-mate Travis Meyer dominated the majority of the stage in a two-man breakaway with Europcar’s Cyril Gautier, opening up a seven-minute lead inside the first hour.
But the peloton kept the pace and remained intact heading onto the finishing straight where Guardini led the way.
Nippo-De Rosa’s Colombian rider Julian Arredondo retains the yellow jersey ahead of Orica’s Pieter Weening by one minute and 15 seconds after the short stage.
The Tour de Langkawi concludes on Saturday.
Stage seven result
1. Andrea Guardini (Ita) Team Astana
2. Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle
3. Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) Orica-GreenEdge
4. Allan Davis (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
5. Andy Fenn (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
6. Steele Von Hoff (Aus) Garmin-Sharp
7. Graeme Brown (Aus) Blanco Pro Cycling
8. Bryan Coquard (Fra) Team Europcar
9. Taiji Nishitani (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team
10. Rico Rogers (NZl) Synergy-Baku Cycling Project
