Sukma cyclists complete Bukit Nyabau challenge
BINTULU: The Sarawak Sukma preliminary team of 13 riders took part in the Bukit Nyabau Individual Time Trial Uphill Cycling Challenge at Tanjung Kidurong Bintulu last weekend.
The trip was used as an exposure for the coming Sukma in Perak.
The competition catered for road bike, mountain bike and fat bike.
As there was no junior category in road bike, the Sukma boys were pitted against the men’s elite cyclists.
Brandon Lau Yu Siong, 17, came in second with a time of 10.02s behind former national rider Mohd Razif Mohd Salleh who clocked 9.57s, posting the fastest time for the Sukma team.
Fourth was teammate Jackson Kho Jia Yi also a junior rider (10.22s) behind Sabah’s former Sukma rider Nicklos Binol (10.07s), and just a second behind him in fifth was Zull Muharrmi (10.23s) while Ivan Ong Chung Wee came in sixth (10.32s).
In the top 10 finishers were Tie Xian Seng ( seventh) Abdul Quazmizan ( eighth) and Raya Othman claiming 10th position out of total 32 starters, with 29 riders finishing the race.
The mountain bike junior category saw Sarawak’s Sukma rider Lee ZhongXin coming in first in an impressive performance.
In the mountain bike open event, the ever- consistent Tay Choon Liang managed top placing despite experiencing some difficulty just 200 yards from the starting point as his chain came off.
His start time was 10: 33 and he finished in 12: 33’ 432.
In second position was Laurel Lauridsen Adrian while Syahrizan Saini was joint third with Mohd Jaya Rosidi and Sabah’s Niklos Minol was fourth.
Sarawak assistant coach Laurel Lauridsen Adrian, who won the men’s open MTB category, said the trip paid off as they had an opportunity to monitor their performance racing against former national champion Mohd Razif Salleh and former Sabah Sukma 2008 rider Nicklos Bimol apart from the local and international riders.