Marina Bay Sands Hotel / Photo Credit: Eranostra

Next month’s OCBC Cycle Singapore 2012, from March 2 to 4, will have a new route that covers Singapore’s iconic bay skyline. More than 10,000 participants are expected this year.

‘We have capacity for 12,000 this year and we are hoping to get as close as possible to that target,’ said Mr Chris Robb, managing director of Spectrum Worldwide, the event organiser.

This year will see all categories start and finish at the F1 Pit Building, and riding along Bayfront Avenue, past Marina Bay Sands Hotel before heading up East Coast Park. Apart from panoramic views of such features as the Singapore Flyer and Gardens by the Bay, the riders will get onto Sheares Bridge, a new addition to the route this year.

Source: Straits Times

KUALA TERENGGANU, MALAYSIA - APRIL 22: During Cycling Tour Event JELAJAH MALAYSIA or Tour Of Malaysia 19 April 2009 to 28 April 2009. This event features 8 stages with a total distance of 1240km.

The 30-year-old Suhardi, a veteran of numerous Asian meets himself, feels that the fast route is an added advantage to Anuar.

“But it will also depend on how his team-mates control the race. They must be able to control the breakaways or risk a repeat of the 2006 Asian meet at the same venue,” said Suhardi.

In 2006, the peloton refused to rein in the breakaway group as most teams vying for the gold medal already had a rider in the break.

“It all boils down to team strategy. If you have a rider in the break, your team-mates will not give chase as they might risk the position of their lead rider,” said Suhardi. “In Anuar’s case, he should be either in the leading group or sit in the bunch and have his team-mates work hard to reel in the breakaway group,” he said.

The other national riders who will help Anuar in his bid to nail the Asian title are Amir Mustafa Rusli, Mohd Zamri Salleh and Akmal Amrun.

Suhardi, who will ride for the national team in the Tour of Langkawi (LTdL), is going through the final phase of training with the Asian meet team. Only Zamri has yet to return to camp as he is still in Chiangrai with his Terengganu Pro-Asia team-mates.

“Our coach (Syed Mohd Husaini Syed Mazlan) really knows how to ‘torture’ us in training. We did motor-pacing to increase our speed threshold and we can see the improvements. I believe Zamri, Amir and Akmal can control the peloton,” said Suhardi.

Source: The Star Online

Azizul was virtually unknown when he last raced in Malaysia six years ago in what was his first Asian meet. It marked his emergence as a cyclist of promise as he sizzled with a three-gold performance in the junior ranks.

Azizul was absorbed into the elite squad the following year and went on to make the country proud with medals at the World Cup, World Championships and Asian and Commonwealth Games. He also won the 2011 National Sportsman of the Year award.

The 24-year-old rider, who returned from his Melbourne base to get ready for the Asian meet starting next Wednesday, is cautiously optimistic although a lot of his home fans are expecting him to deliver.

Ready to wear: (From left) MNCF deputy president Datuk Naim Mohd (left) showing the elite track team’s cycling suits to Mohd Edrus Yunus, Azizulhasni Awang, Fatehah Mustafa, Tan Sri Dr. M. Jegathesan, Yayasan Sime Darby CEO Yatela Zainal Abidin and national cycling coach John Beasley at the Cheras Velodrome yesterday. — S.S. KANESAN/The Star

While winning a sixth gold medal in the senior ranks of the Asian meet would be a perfect boost, Azizul remains focused on regaining his form in time for the London Olympics in August.

Azizul showed glimpses of his true form in the second round of the Track World Cup in Cali, Colombia, last December when he finished fifth in the keirin and 200m sprint.

Azizul is still not a 100% after the horrific crash in the final round of the World Cup in Manchester exactly a year ago. He was unable to get on a bike for six months after a wood splinter pierced his left calf in the crash.

“I’m expecting good home-ground support next week as I haven’t raced in Malaysia for some time. I will try my best not to disappoint them,” said Azizul, who was ranked world number one in keirin for the 2010-2011 season.

“I’m still not at the level I want to be but my form is getting better. I’m more comfortable aiming for a medal now.”

The keirin and sprint will be his main focus at the Asian meet, which is a designated qualifying event for the London Olympics.

“We are undergoing specific training sessions under coach John Beasley to get us ready for the World Championships and the Olympics, which are our targeted events this year,” said Azizul, who leads the elite track team sponsored by Sime Darby Foundation.

There will be a four-month gap between the world meet in Melbourne in April and the Olympics in August, hence it will be possible for Azizul to make a push for medals in both events.

After the Asian meet, Azizul will fly straight to London for the final round of the World Cup, which is also a test event for the Olympics.

Azizul settled for bronze in the keirin in the Asian meet in Korat last year. He did not feature in the team sprint where Josiah Ng, Edrus Yunos and Rizal Tisin took the bronze.

Malaysia won one gold medal through Rizal in the 1km time trial.

Source: The Star Online

Double World Championships bronze medallist Guo Shuang of China and Asian Games 500m time trial winner Lee Wai Sze of Hong Kong are not on the provisional start list, leaving Fatehah as the hot favourite for at least one gold medal.

She is down for the 200m sprint which begins on Wednesday and will also compete in the keirin and scratch race, while the 500m time trial remains an option “if the situation permits.”

Fatehah, 22, only managed a bronze in the 500m time trial in last year’s Asian Championships in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, but recent form suggests she will offer a much improved personal haul.

“Currently my form is okay, but we’re aiming for the World Championships.

“This (Asian Championships) is also one of our targets, but I’m not expecting too much here,” said Fatehah.

Fatehah. along with Melbourne-based elite squad riders Azizul Hasni Awang and Josiah Ng, had taken a break from competition after the second round of the UCI World Cup in Cali, Colombia in December to beef up their form in training.

In Cali, Fatehah showed she was slowly arriving at the summit of the sprint events when she made the keirin final, although Wai Sze produced an even more impressive result when she topped the 200m sprint qualifying with a time of 10.971s, only to be knocked out in the quarter-finals.

“I’m pretty confident of medals from my events, but gold would be difficult.

“On current form, only if Wai Sze and Guo Shuang are not here, would I be more confident of putting gold medals as my target,” said Fatehah.

After the Asian Championships, Fatehah will head to London for the final round of the UCI World Cup at the new London Velopark, which will be the host venue for the London Olympics track cycling events.

HE’S signed for the top team in Asia and has his programme all set with just one thing on his mind this year — Adiq Husainie Othman wants to ride in the Olympics.

The 21-year-old is among  six riders shortlisted by the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) to fill two slots which Malaysia has qualified for in the London Olympics in July and he isn’t leaving anything to chance.

Being slotted for the Under-23 road race in the Asian Cycling Championships in Kuala Lumpur instead of being part of the elite team, Adiq feels this is the only setback he will go through.

Last year, he won a bronze medal in the points race at the Asian Championships in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, but will not have a chance to improve his collection as he will not compete in track events this time around.

“Nevertheless, I’m aiming for at least a top-five finish in the road race,” said Adiq Husainie, who has just returned from a month-long training camp in China with his new team Champion System.

Alongside compatriot Anuar Manan, Adiq Husainie will compete with the Champion System outfit in Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) on Feb 24-March 4, marking the beginning of their campaign with what is currently Asia’s only UCI Professional Continental team.

Champion System have made waves on the international scene with some big name signings in Australians William Clarke and Aaron Kemps, along with Estonian legend Jaan Kirsipuu and Belgium’s Gorik Gerdyns from the Silence-Lotto team.

“Right after LTdL, I’ll head for the Tour of Taiwan, but our team’s programme this year comprises a lot of races in Europe and North America, so this is my chance to collect as many ranking points as I can,” said Adiq Husainie.

“I am fully focused on my road programme this year and I’m not going to do any track events.

“This gives me the chance to put everything into getting that Olympic ticket.
“That’s my only goal this year. I want to ride at the Olympics.”

A statement by US attorney Andre Birotte jnr said Birotte’s office “is closing an investigation into allegations of federal criminal conduct by members and associates of a professional bicycle racing team owned in part by Lance Armstrong.”

The probe has reportedly included a grand jury sitting in Los Angeles hearing testimony from former Armstrong teammates and associates.

Although such grand jury proceedings are supposed to remain secret, the investigation has been widely reported on, prompting Birotte’s office to take the step of announcing it had ended.

“The United States Attorney determined that a public announcement concerning the closing of the investigation was warranted by numerous reports about the investigation in media outlets around the world,” the statement said.

Armstrong, who won the Tour de France from 1999-2005, has vehemently denied using performance-enhancing drugs during his cycling career.

However, he became the subject of the probe by federal investigators who were trying to determine if the US Postal cycling team owed much of their success to a systematic doping programme.

The investigation was sparked in part by confessed dope cheat Floyd Landis, who claimed Armstrong schooled him in doping techniques when they were teammates.

Landis was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title but didn’t admit doping until 2010.

Last March, US Congressman Jack Kingston criticised the probe, saying he wasn’t sure it was an effective use of resources.

In July, Armstrong assembled a legal team to combat the leaks of grand jury information in the case, targeting investigators as well as media outlets including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Armstrong said at the time that the leaks were “designed to propagate public support” for the investigation while smearing his reputation.

Birotte did not give a reason for ending the investigation, and praised the agencies involved.

“Mr. Birotte commended the joint investigative efforts of his prosecutors and special agents with the US Food and Drug Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Postal Service – Office of the Inspector General.”

- AFP/wk
Source: ChannelNewsAsia