Sabah cyclists making international debut at Taiwan Cup
KOTA KINABALU: Cycology Sabah Racing Team will make their international debut at the 2019 Taiwan Cup UCI Track International Classic in Kaohsiung from May 1820
he team’s head coach Louis Pang said the goal was to gain international experience as they were looking forward to preparing for future races including the Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Johor next year.
According to Louis, the squad comprised five cyclists including Asian Cycling Championships bronze medallist Waldron Chee in the Men’s Junior 3km Individual Pursuit in January.
Lim Chun Kiat, 19, Bong Yong Xian, 18, and Darren Chong Tshun Lok, 17, who were bronze medallists with Chee in the Team Pursuit in Sukma 2018 will also be in the team.
The other member is Chika Cherryca Chia, 18, who is the only female cyclist in the squad.
“We have gone through five months of preparation. We are in the best physical shape since Sukma 2018 and hopefully, we can be proud of ourselves.
“We are putting our mental strategies to test. As a coach, I would like to see maturity in decision making, poise under pressure and focus on execution,” he said.
Louis added that apart from Lim who would race in the Men’s Elite event, others would compete in the Men’s and Women’s Juniors categories.
For the record, Cycology Sabah Racing team are one of the three Malaysian teams in the championships.
The other two are the national team featuring Muhammad Khairul Nizam Rasol, Amar Danial Masri, Taib Azmudden Mohd Shukri and Fatehah Mustapa as well as the Sime Darby Foundation Track team comprising Mohamad Shariz Efendi, Fairna Shawati Mohd Adnan and Aris Amira Rosidi.
The other participating nations in the championship are Kazakhstan, Spain, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Macau, Indonesia, Romania and hosts Taiwan.