THE PIONEERS: The original Team Elite members (from left) Stepen Tsai, Teo San Kui and Liu Sim Fook with an original 1980’s Team Elite jersey which Teo wore in the February race at FAC.
KUCHING: Let the good times roll. Those were the days. The good ol’ days.
These were the thoughts that came to mind when I was told Team Elite would be returning to Kuching’s cycling scene.
In the 1980’s, Elite were one of the top teams in the Kuching peloton and always a podium contender.
Kuching denizens of a certain vintage would remember the peloton of those years had names like Ginger, Challenger, Viking and Kenbirds.
Led by Mohd Asmara, the Elite of those years had top juniors like Liu Sim Fook, Teo San Kui and Stephen Tsai racing for them.
Through the 1980’s, the team would claim victories and podium finishes, and 1982 was a particularly memorable year for Kuching cycling. That was the season when a scratch team, cobbled together from Elite, Ginger and Challenger, went to Penang for a national-level road race as a club team.
They scrapped together their own funds to finance their trip — something practically unheard of in those days. In fact, it is still rare for Sarawak cyclists to go road racing in the peninsula as a privateer.
In the Penang race, Liu and Elite teammate Peter Ho were part of the team as was Ginger’s Jordon Pang. The team shocked everybody when Ho won the race, beating some of Malaysia’s top cycling names. As a result, Elite’s Mohd Asmara, Choon Kiong, Liu and Ho were invited to train with the then SEA Games squad.
However, none of them took up the offer.
At one time or another, Asmara, Liu, Ho and Pang were all members of the state team. Liu left the sport when he turned 20 while Tsai quit racing after finishing his schooling at St Joseph’s Secondary and entered college.
“Jordan was a really fast sprinter,” recalled Liu when we met at a coffeeshop together with Teo and Tsai.
Pang raced into the 1990’s as leader of Kenbirds’ together with Jackson ‘Ironman’ Goh, among others. He was a true sprinter with the physique to match.
Kenbirds would domimate Kuching racing in the late 1980’s.
“Asmara was actually a member of the SEA Games squad in the 1970’s but he crashed badly in training and did not make it to the Games,” Liu said.
The fact that Sarawak actually had a cyclist good enough to make it to the Malaysian team is a part of Sarawak’s sporting history that few people know about.
Teo was the one who carried the flame for the sport, continuing through the lean years of the 1990’s when road racing popularity was at its lowest.
Road racing revival
The arrival of mountain biking in the mid-1990’s helped revive road racing. And it was Teo who started the process of rebuilding Team Elite.
“I felt it would be a shame to see the Elite name disappear,” he explained.
He now wears the blue of the new Team 3GX when racing in the Masters category.
“I managed to convince Stephen to get back on the bike in 2009 and he then got Sim Fook to join us,” said Teo who has that weather-beaten look of a endurance athlete.
Liu only returned to the sport in November 2011.
“I told them they were crazy to suggest this. The first time I got on the bike, I went into the bushes as I was not used to the new pedal system,” he recalled.
Nowadays, they all ride regularly, notably Liu and Teo whose Sunday routine would be challenging for even younger riders.
The idea to rebuild the team finally gelled a few months ago.
“I talked to our old captain, Asmara, and he encouraged it,” Tsai said.
New Elite jersey
The redesigned white Elite jersey with the familiar black, orange and yellow stripes made its appearance recently. Their Facebook page has helped them in the rebuild with some 50 Elite kits made and worn.
For now, the team are but a shadow of their storied past. They are hoping to field a race team for the 2013 season.
“We have a few juniors who I think are quite good,” said Liu who has taken them under his wings.
As one who has been a railbird of the sport and written about it since the late 1980’s — albeit on and off — I am glad to see the return of a familiar name.
Having been around since the days of Haji Evon and Abang Majidi Julaihi as Sarawak Cycling Federation officials — now Sarawak Cycling Association — I have seen the sport go through ups and downs.
At first glance, one could be forgiven for saying these pioneers of the sport are just washed-up racers, looking to relive their glory days. However, their dedication is evidence of their commitment to the objective.
There are always difficulties in reviving a storied name, especially in an expensive and time- consuming sport like cycling. Only time will tell if the reborn Team Elite can once again be a race contender or just another also-ran.