LUNDU: The MSN Sarawak team of eight cyclists had their fair share of good results as they prepare the team for Sukma 2018 by competing in Lundu MTB XCO Challenge championships held here over the weekend.
There was also a Kedah MSN team who did well in the various categories winning in the boys Under-18, the women open, time trial events plus achieving good placings in most of the events, while the main local rivalry came from the MSN Kuching team – consisting of Kuching, Bintulu and Sibu athletes.
Ivan Ong from MSN Kuching came in second behind Kedah’s Muhammad Ibni Hissam Abdul Rauf in the XCO boys under 18 (4.5 x 5 laps) while Tay Choon Liang also from MSN Kuching who came in second in the mountainbike cross country at the Lubuk Linggau Mountainbike national championships held in Sumatra in July was fourth.
His teammates Brandon Lee and Brandon Lau both from MSN Kuching were behind him in fifth and sixth.
Lim Chia Hsien representing the MSN team, who like Tay is also from Bintulu, was fifth in the race followed by Clement Wong from Kuching MSN while Samuel Tie from Sibu MSN was 13th while Jackson Ting from Sibu MSN did not finished the race.
Assistant coach Laurel Lauridsen Adrian also got into the act by winning the Open category title and was also runner-up in the time trial event which was held on the first day on Saturday.
Sarawak head coach Leon Schepers described the competitions which is used as an exposure for the cyclists, most of whom are still new to competitions the opportunity to test themselves.
This is part of his working plan and build-up in preparation for Sukma 2018 in September next year and the athletes are expected to peak during the Games.
He said the coaches need to concentrate on their athletes and not get distracted by the performances of other athletes “for winning does not mean you will win in Sukma.”
The exposure trip was also good for Sibu riders Samuel Tie and Jackson Ting who had their first test of the mountainbike competitions terrain as they had been training in open gravel track near timber camp sites in Sibu.
About 50 cyclists which also included a team from Kedah, MSN Sarawak and local riders from Lundu took part in the two-day six-events mountainbike competitions, including the men’s Open, men’s masters, women open and time trial.
