Searching for a rainbow
Azizul hopes to wear the coveted world champion’s jersey in Hong Kong
KUALA PILAH: Azizulhasni Awang (pic) is hoping for a memorable outing in his 10th Track Cycling World Championships in Hong Kong next month.
The Rio Olympic bronze medallist will focus on speed training for the next two weeks as he eyes a breakthrough in his pet event – the keirin – at the Hong Kong Velodrome from April 12-16.
“I’ve been trying for many years to become the world champion. I want to experience what it feels like to wear the rainbow jersey ( given to the winner) at the World Championships.
“At my age (29), I’m feeling stronger than before. I was surprised that I was still able to win the sprint title at the Asian Championships in New Delhi two months ago despite having gone through only two weeks of training.
“With my current performance level, I feel I can fight for the gold in Hong Kong. I will work on my speed in Melbourne from tomorrow. Hopefully my 10th campaign will be the best for me.
“And I hope all my Malaysian supporters pray that I succeed to bring back the gold for the country,” said Azizul.
Besides the keirin, he will also compete in the sprint in Hong Kong.
Azizul has bagged four medals in the World Championships since his debut in 2008.
He rode to a silver in the 2009 edition in Pruszkow, Poland, in the sprint and he grabbed another silver in the keirin in Copenhagen, Denmark, the following year.
Azizul was back on the podium for keirin, bagging a bronze in Paris, France, in 2015. He repeated the feat in his pet race in London last year.
Yesterday, Azizul was with Rio Olympic team-mate Fatehah Mustapa to support the inaugural CIMB Cycle 2017 at Seri Menanti in Kuala Pilah, Negri Sembilan.
Azizul, Fatehah and squash star Nicol David are the sporting ambassadors for banking giant CIMB.
More than 1,300 riders took part in the 130km Endurance Ride and 35km Challenge Ride.
Azizul hailed the staging of the race. “It’s good to have such event to promote cycling. We’ve a lot of budding cyclists who will sign up to compete in events like these,” enthused Azizul.