Waldron Chee in historic Sabah cycling victory
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s Waldron Chee won the Junior Cycling Malaysia (JCM) Under17 criterium race held at Menara Tun Mustapha here last Sunday.
Chee, 15, stormed to maximum sprint points and finished half a lap ahead of second fastest rival, Wan Shazemmeer Aiman from Kelantan, delivering Sabah road cycling’s first ever win in a national race.
The under-17 race attracted 27 cyclists from around the country and Chee was the first to storm past the first technical corner, building up a 10-second gap on the chasing pack after two laps, taking the first sprint lap by a big margin.
The Form 3 student from Kian Kok Secondary School stunned his competitors with his form and speed and he was able to capitalise on the indecisiveness of the chasers to increase his lead to over 20 seconds, winning all four sprint laps.
Chee, a Gleneagles-Speedster cyclist thanked his team-mate Bong Yong Xian for helping him win the race and coaches for race preparation and technical plan.
“We worked hard on the physiological and tactical demands of the race. The kids executed the race plans flawlessly, worked as a team, controlled their nerves and rode brilliantly today,” said Louis Pang, the head coach of Gleneagles Speedster.
“Winning our first national race is extra special. They realised how hard work leads to success. We need to stay grounded and stick to our training plans and methods,” said Pang who is also Sabah road cycling coach.
In the under-19 category, Lim Chun Kiat finished sixth with three sprint points in a highly competitive group while Bong finished fifth in the under-17 with three sprint points. The duo followed up their top ten finishing in the National Under-21 Championship in Segamat a week earlier, with another fine showing at the JCM criterium race.
At the prize presentation ceremony, Sabah Sports Council director Terrance Edward Pudin, who presented the mailot jaune or yellow jersey to Chee, said it was a huge victory for Sabah cycling, one that shattered the glass ceiling on how far Sabahans can go in road cycling.
The state has been traditionally strong in mountain biking, but its renaissance in road cycling gives Sabah something new to cheer for.
JCM is national junior criterium racing circuit established under National Sports Council to unearth young cycling talents and stream them into the national team.
Top ranking JCM cyclists from 2016 currently train in Belgium.