Azizul fails to make keirin final in World Cup

PETALING JAYA: Reigning cycling world champion Azizulhasni Awang (pic) is ranked 10th overall in his pet keirin event after missing out on a place in the final of the second leg of the UCI Track World Cup in Manchester, England.

Azizul finished behind Britain’s Joseph Truman in the first-round heat to secure an automatic spot in the second round.

The 12-rider second round saw the riders divided into two heats, with the top three from each heat moving into the A final.

Azizul could only finish sixth in his second-round heat.

In the B final, he finished fourth. Holland’s Matthijs Buchli took gold ahead of Ukraine’s Andrii Vynokurov and Spaniard Juan Peralta Gascon.

Azizul wasn’t too disappointed at not finishing on the podium as “I was riding in pain.”

Azizul’s left ankle was all taped up as he had yet to fully recover from a crash in the first leg in Pruszkow, Poland, last week.

“I’m satisfied with my performance level despite my injury.

“I feel that it’s a good start for me as I prepare for the Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC) Championships in Nilai (Feb 16-20) and the World Track Cycling Championships in Apeldoorn, Holland (Feb 28-March 4) next year.

“I still need to improve on the physical, tactical and mental aspects over the next two months back at our Melbourne training base,” said Azizul, who rode for CIMB Pro Cycling Team.

Teammate Muhd Shah Firdaus Sahrom exited in the first round after failing to win the repechage.

KL SEA Games double gold medallist Mohd Fadhil Mohd Zonis clocked 1:04.193 for 18th spot in the men’s 1km time trial while Farina Shawati Mohd Adnan posted 11.807 to be ranked 31st in women’s sprint.

The remaining World Cup legs are in Milton, Canada (Dec 2-3); Santiago, Chile (Dec 9-10); and Minsk, Belarus (Jan 19-21, 2018).