Zulkifli Hassan
KUCHING: Sarawak will only be sending five women cyclists to compete in this year’s national-level competitions in Peninsula Malaysia.
Sarawak State Sports Council (MSNS) cycling chief coach Zulkifli Hassan also disclosed that the number of races for the five cyclists to compete will also be limited.
“Due to budget constraints, we cannot send too many of our cyclists to compete outside the state and they will only be taking part in races which can give the best exposure to them,” he told the Borneo Post recently.
According to him, local cyclists cannot afford to participate in the many competitions and the resulting tight schedule.
“We will concentrate on those competitions which can give maximum exposure to our cyclists,” the coach said. The timing of the competitions is also a concern as three of the selected cyclists are still students.
They are 16-year-old Aina Ahmad Jumry from SMK Green Road and Rosnina Minggu with Carlene Wong from SMK Sematan Lundu.
Joining the three will be their senior-cum-part time coach Junaidah Juss who is a member of the national mountain bike squad and Caroline George who just completed her Form Five studies.
They are expected to compete in the Malaysia’s Women Cycling Tour in May, a gruelling 800 km road race which covers five stages starting in Melaka and ending in Negeri Sembilan.
“We are hoping for the budget to be approved so that the cyclists can race against the best in the country,” Zulkifl said.
“It will be a challenging race for our cyclists because it is a team event and they will have to work hard together in order to overcome the difficult route during the five-stage race,” the coach added.