Comeback ride, all right
Azizul gives good account of himself in first competition since heart surgery
PETALING JAYA: Absence makes the heart grow fonder and how apt it was for track cyclist Azizulhasni Awang as he made his competitive comeback after 15 months at the venue where he made his first world championships debut.
Love for the sport drove him back on the track after undergoing an open heart surgery and his determination was rewarded when Azizul put himself in the top 10 standings in the UCI Track Champions League after the first stop in Mallorca, Spain, on Saturday.
Azizul finished fourth in his keirin heat ahead of France’s Rayan Helal and Poland’s Matuesz Rudyk.
In the sprint later, Azizul just missed out on qualification to the semi-finals after coming in second in his heat.
Reigning Olympic and world champion Harrie Lavreysen of Holland claimed the keirin title but his hopes of a double was dashed by Australia’s Matthew Richardson in the sprint final.
It was the 34-year-old’s first competition since he rode to the Olympic Games silver medal in keirin in Tokyo in August last year.
Azizul may not have made the final but his return to high-level competition in less than a year after undergoing open heart surgery is nothing short of amazing.
It was just in April when Azizul went for a life-saving heart operation in Melbourne after he was diagnosed with anomalous aortic origin of the right coronary artery.
The Track Champions League is a prestigious one-day track competition involving 18 men and 18 women cyclists that takes place in four European cities and will be broadcast live on the major networks there.
The cyclists need to qualify for the competition but a special exemption was made for Azizul due to his status as the Tokyo Olympics silver medallist and a former world No. 1 ranked cyclist.
“I’m happy to put on the skin suit again and reunite with coach John (Beasley) for a competition,” beamed Azizul.
“It took almost 24 hours of flight time to reach here and not counting the transit hours but I had time to recover.
“I’m just happy to be here racing, which I have not managed to do for sometime.
“I was actually invited for the inaugural season last year after the Olympics but I wanted to take a break. Then later I had to deal with my heart condition. But the world body invited me again to compete.
“I was hesitant on whether to make a comeback to competition as the plan was to return late December at the earliest and avoid long travels.
“But after discussing with my coach, I accepted the invite because it’s a good place for me to make my comeback. This is the place where I made my world championships debut back in 2007.
“This competition also gathers only the 18 best sprinters in the world and everyone who races here will collect ranking points, which of course, will help in my goal to qualify for the Paris Olympics,” said Azizul, the 2017 keirin world champion.
Azizul will get ready for the Berlin leg this Saturday, followed by stops in St Quentin En Yvelines (Nov 26), London (Dec 2) and (Dec 3).
“I’m far from my top condition. In fact, I am at the bottom while the level of other competitors are at the top. And these are not ordinary competitors as all of them have proven themselves at the world championships and Olympics.
“They are in top form, having just competed in the world championships in France last month.
“But I love these kinds of challenges,” said the determined Azizul.
THE emotions could not be more contrasting for two characters in Malaysian sports. While cyclist Azizulhasni Awang was so happy to make a positive comeback in his first competition in 15 months at the UCI Track Champions League, Terengganu coach Nafuzi Zain was a disgruntled man despite steering the Turtles into the Malaysia Cup semi-finals.