KUALA LUMPUR – Hariff Saleh, the country’s most prominent cyclist, especially in the Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL), has been unceremoniously omitted from the Cambodia SEA Games cycling squad for road race events, held in Phnom Penh from May 5 to 17.
Team manager Norazman Abu Samah said the decision to omit Hariff was made after discussions with the coaching staff, as the routes selected for road races in Cambodia would be better suited for a rider with “all-rounder” strengths.
Norazman said in Cambodia, only the criterium and road race (mass start) are competed, and the route selected is a little hilly which does not favour Harrif.
Harrif, 34, from the Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG), is the winner of gold medals in criterium events at the 2015 and 2017 SEA Games, as well as the gold medal in the mass start in 2017, while he has won four stages in the LTdL, the best ever achievement by a Malaysian rider.
Five riders have been picked for this year’s SEA Games, namely defending champion (mass start) Nur Aiman Mohd Zariff, as well as Nur Aiman Rosli, Nur Amirul Fakhruddin Mazuki, Akmal Hakim Zakaria, and Shahrul Mat Amin.
Meanwhile, Norazman said the Malaysian National Cycling Federation will continue to use the same formula that was used for the 2012 Vietnam SEA Games, which was blending riders from TSG and Sapura Cycling Team (Sapura) and using coaches from TSG for the coming Games.
“We hope our strategy of combining riders from two continent teams – TSG and Sapura – we can achieve the success we have targeted for,” he told reporters.
In the 2021 Hanoi edition, the national cycling squad came home with a gold medal from the men’s individual mass start, silver in the women’s individual and team events, and bronze in the men’s time trial and women’s criterium. – Bernama, February 15, 2023
