KUALA LUMPUR: Former world keirin champion Azizulhasni Awang is set to race for the first time since the Paris Olympics at the Track Asia Cup which begins in Suphanburi, Thailand tomorrow (Aug 28-30).
The 37-year-old, who just began track-specific training last month, said he will use the UCI class one competition to gauge his current level of performance.
Azizulhasni, who turned professional in April, will be registered under his trade team, Team Azizul, for the Asia Cup.
“I had not really done any track training for almost a year (after Olympics), I just went for some rides for fun,” said Azizulhasni recently.
“I only started training more seriously in the gym and on the road after announcing I was turning professional but it was just basic training until last month.
“John Beasley (national cycling programme technical director) invited me to train with the national team last month and that was the first time I had stepped back on track (to train) since the Olympics.
“When I started, we found that my performances were not bad and I was still close to the national team riders.
“I am not yet in peak condition, however, I will be racing in Thailand just to see my current level of performance.
“The more serious races will be next year starting with the Nations Cup (Perth) in February, followed by the Glasgow Commonwealth Games (July) and Nagoya Asian Games (Sept).”
National team head coach Harnizam Basri disclosed that Shah Firdaus Sahrom and Izzah Izzati Asri, currently the nation’s top riders, will not see action in Thailand as they are both focusing on preparing for the Santiago World Championships (Oct 22-26).
Thus Ridwan Sahrom, Fadhil Zonis and Akmal Jusena will lead the national team’s charge in the men’s events in Thailand while Anis Amira Rosidi, Aliana Azizan and Alyssa Farid will compete in the women’s events.
Harnizam said the Asia Cup will provide a good opportunity to gauge the competition ahead of the Thailand Sea Games (Dec 9-20).
“We expect Thailand to be our main rivals at the Sea Games, however, Indonesia also has a number of strong riders,” said Harnizam recently.
“The Asia Cup will be a good chance for us to assess our own performances as well as that of our rivals before the Sea Games as everyone will be using the event to prepare their squads.”
The men’s keirin and men’s team sprint are the only sprint discipline events that have been included for the Thailand Sea Games this year.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
