Sabah cyclists claim surprise top 10 finish
Sabah’s cyclists shined at the Na onal Under-21 Road Cycling Championships held in Segamat, Johor recently.
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s cyclists shined at the National Under-21 Road Cycling Championships held in Segamat, Johor recently.
The tournament on July 22 saw Lim Chun Kiat and Bong Yong Xian finish 8th and 10th respectively in the Individual Time Trial event. It was the best result achieved by Sabah’s road cycling team at a national stage in the last five years.
It was Lim and Bong’s first ever national championship and they managed to shine in a field dominated by older and more experienced riders, with many of them already in the national reserve team with several SUKMA stints under their belts.
“These boys are so young and their results suggest they have a great future ahead,” said Johor Cycling Association’s race organiser Ahmad Sofi Daud.
In the 20km undulating course, Lim clocked 30:09.026 or 39.8km/ h while Bong did 30:19.070 or 39.58km/h.
Speaking after the race, Lim pointed out that his fitness preparation was ideal leading up to the event.
“Thanks to the Sabah Sports Council’s support, we got to Segamat a day ahead of the race and we managed to recce and ride the race route. This gave us a mental edge heading into the race,” he said.
Meanwhile, 16-year-old Bong Yong Xian said he was ecstatic to finish in the top 10.
“It was a hard with the strong headwind. I kept going and I couldn’t believe I finished top 10,” he added.
In the 126km road race the next day, Sabah finished with the main peloton, 12 minutes behind the winner Muhammad Hafizul Asyraf Jaafar.
The Sabah lads took heart as only 17 other cyclists were faster than them in a field of 72 junior cyclists. With other state teams sending six to eight riders per team, the odds were stacked against Sabah who had only fielded Lim and Bong.
The first hour of the race saw rapid and multiple breakaways. The Sabah duo weathered the onslaught and stuck to the main pack till the end.
Sabah junior cycling coach Louis Pang took the helm of the state team in February this year and had since implemented a stringent periodisation plan and training regime.
The days where cyclists only trained a month before a major race is over. The state juniors trained four to six days a week for the last six months.
Pang also introduced the latest knowledge and data-based training, phasing out archaic approaches.
“Our goals for the next 12 months is to move Sabah from the bottom rung in 2016 to be amongst the top 5-6 teams nationally by 2018. To do that, we must use scientific and knowledge based training to claw back lost time and narrow the gap,” said Pang.
The Sabah lads’ strong showing at the national championship suggests the team is on the right track, hence Pang called for allocation of more training equipment to help the team go even further.
“To deliver cutting edge athletes, we need cutting edge equipment and approaches. The Sabah Sports Council has been supportive and I believe we all agree that despite limited resources and time, Sabah had outperformed in the first half of the year.
“With better training tools, Sabah can go even further,” the coach added.