Siol all set for Asia Mountainbike finale
KUCHING: Petra Jaya’s DBKU t rack looks set to provide challenging conditions for this weekend’s Siol International Mount ai n Bike Cha l lenge (SIMBC).
The SIMBC race is the finale of this year’s f ive- leg Asia Mountainbike Series which kicked off in Yawatahama, Japan (April), then Tambunan, Sabah (Aug), Timor Leste (mid-Sept) and most recently Yamaguchi, Japan (mid- Oct).
The wet weather of late will likely produce the di f f icult conditions the competitors had to endure in 2016.
The 3.5km XCO track has been slightly altered for this year’s race with the addition of a challenging section at about the 2km mark.
It is a section called the Expert Climb, about 40m in height but with a steep gradient.
“You can easily lose a lot of time if you are not careful and lost traction,” said a competitor who has tried out the course.
Like all the other AMS events, it is a UCI sanctioned race with valuable points that are needed for anyone who has Olympic or World Championship ambitions.
The points may be less as it is a Class Three race.
Even so, it has attracted some top cyclists such as Kazakhstan’s Ki r i l Kazant sev who won the Tambunan race ahead of Japan’s Toyo Frame rider Yu Takenouchi.
The Kazakh rider is already here and has been spotted training at the FAC, the favoured training haunt of Kuching cyclists.
Thailand’s Keerati Sukprasart, the 2016 Siol winner, is expected to provide the stiffest opposition to Kazantsev.
Team SBS Giant ’ s Muaz Abdul Rahim, who became the UCI Malaysian champ at the Tambunan race, will have his work cut out for him.
He and team captain Fauzan Ahmad Lufti, who finished third in Siol 2016, may have an outside chance of a podium finish.
Local hopes will rest on Team Corbusier’s Laurel L.
Adrian and Team Sonamu’s Wan Haikal, a 2016 Sarawak Sukma rider.
Meanwhile, Ariana Dormitorio of the Phi lippines, the AMS womens XCO points leader, is one of the hot favourites to win womens XCO.
UCI Malaysia champion Siti Aisyah Alias of Pahang and SBS Giant’s Maziyaton Radzi are among those expected to provide the national challenge.
Corbusier’s Nik Nadila, who f inished a strong fourth at Beautfort, Sabah recently, looks to be the best local hope of a good showing.
Junaidah Jus, who was once ranked in the top three in Malaysia, is again absent as she is taking time of f to raise a family.
In the men’s downhill, Filipino Eleazar Barba and SBS Giant’s Aim Fauzi are two of the top contenders for the title.
Sabah’s Natashya Soon, the UCI Malaysian champ, is a hot contender for the women’s downhill.
In the masters category, Corbusier’s evergreen Supian Nor, Team Saxon Racing’s Patrick George and privateer Lee Yong Hui will be going all out for a final podium place in 2017.
The racing is scheduled to start at 8am on Saturday ( Nov 4) with the men’s junior XCO.
The downhill is set for Sunday with the seeding runs in the morning and the final in the afternoon.
The final event is the team relay, a crowd favourite.
SBS Giant has dominated the relay battle for the Mayor’s Chal lenge Trophy in recent editions and can be expected to pull out all the stops to maintain their hold on it.