25-07-2025
Young track cyclists hopeful of making history at World Juniors in Holland
National track cyclist Sawda Hasbullah in action during the Women Junior Category Time Trial Final at Asian Track Championship 2025 at the National Velodrome in Nilai, Negri Sembilan.— MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The Star
PETALING JAYA: The time is right for the track cyclists to make history at the World Junior Championships in Apeldoorn, Holland, from Aug 20-24.
At the last edition of the championships in China, Herman Terryn guided budding track cyclist Nur Alyssa Mohd Farid to a historic feat by qualifying for the keirin final. However, she crashed after taking the lead in the final stretch of the race.
The French coach is now banking on former world record holder and double Asian junior champion Sawda Hasbullah, Nur Umairah Qhaisara Zulfikha Razak, Luqman Haqim Ali Badrun and Yu Jing Liang to deliver a podium finish.
The French coach said preparations for Apeldoorn are in their final stretch and the riders have shown improvement since the Asian Cycling Championships in Nilai in February.
"The riders have been showing good progress, especially in July. We had to negotiate with their schools to get more training time. Umairah and Sawda are less fatigued after training now compared to the March to June period," said Terryn.
"We are tapering down the training towards the competition. We can't work on the riders' physique anymore — the focus now is on fast recovery. We don't want them to be exhausted during the World Junior Championships.
"We want the riders to have the best possible recovery. Training in the final weeks will be very specific, focusing on replicating race cadence. I hope we can return with a medal this time."
Sawda, who was the standout performer at the Asian meet in February with gold medals in the women's sprint and time trial, as well as silver in the team sprint, will be Malaysia's main medal hope.
The Melaka lass had set a world record of 1:10.818s in the 1km time trial in February but the mark has since been surpassed by Erin Boothman of Britain, who clocked 1:08.092s at the European Junior Championships in Portugal last week.
