KUALA TERENGGANU − The Terengganu Malaysia Games (Sukma) cycling squad will participate in a series of 20 races in Belgium for a month beginning end of April.
Terengganu cycling head coach Syed Mohd Husaini Syed Mazlan said it was part of final preparations for the Games in Kuala Lumpur from September 29 to October 10.
He said nine selected racers would depart for Belgium this Saturday to participate in the high-intensity, competitive and challenging races.
“We will participate in about 20 races there and some are of International Cycling Union (UCI) status, which will include the participation of professional racers.
“The task of guiding the team there will be handed over to coach Anuar Manan whom we are well aware is very experienced in races in European countries,” he said when contacted today.
Husaini said the squad’s exposure to the challenge of high altitude races abroad was crucial to meet the target of collecting 12 gold medals in the cycling event and helping Terengganu defend its status as overall Sukma champions achieved in Perak in 2018.
He said after the series of races in Belgium, the squad would continue training locally until September to maintain fitness and performance levels.
“We will arrange another high-intensity programme for the women cycling team because there are constraints faced by the racers that prevent us from sending them there (Belgium).
“But we will ensure that they will also receive similar exposure to that of the men’s squad because there are prospects for gold medals there (for women racers),” he added. – Bernama, April 14, 2022
