National cycling squad ready if TSG, MPC pull out of SEA Games

New Straits Times

a day ago

KUALA LUMPUR: National road cycling coach Yusof Nasir insists his squad will be ready to race at the Thailand SEA Games (Dec 9-20) - even if both UCI Continental teams, Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG) and Malaysia Pro Cycling (MPC), withdraw.
TSG and MPC have threatened to withhold their riders from the Games unless the National Sports Council (NSC) agrees to fund their participation.
Malaysia's gold-medal success in the men's mass start road race at the last two SEA Games was built on a combination of riders from TSG, MPC and the national team, with TSG's Nur Aiman Zariff (Hanoi 2021) and Nur Amirull Fakhruddin Mazuki (Phnom Penh 2023) striking gold.
However, NSC has now asked the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) to choose only one of the two Continental teams for the Games.
Yusof, whose national squad are funded by the NSC, said they will comply with any directive from their paymasters but hopes the ongoing stand-off will be resolved swiftly.
"We are the national team and will follow the NSC's instructions. It's now up to the MNCF to decide on rider selection," he said.
"In previous SEA Games, we combined riders from the Continental and national teams to win gold. We hope the same can happen again - that the best riders are selected for the country
"But if it comes down to a worst-case scenario, we'll still be ready to compete."
Yusof said the national team are currently preparing for the Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL), which runs from Sept 28-Oct 5, and will continue training beyond that if needed for the SEA Games.
Among the riders in the national squad are Ren Bao Tsen, Afiq Huznie Othman, Muhsin Misbah and Shaiful Adlan Shukri.
"We're grateful for the support and funding from the NSC," said Yusof. "We're focused on the LTdL for now, but if our riders are called up for the SEA Games, we'll be ready."