Young racer on the move

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M Faisal Izuddin

KUCHING: It would appear that the best way to become a top cyclist is to train with the best.

That seems to be the case with teenager M Faisal Izuddin, winner of the Sarawak Closed event at last Sunday’s Samarahan criterium.

The son of former Sarawak coach Ahmad Joyo won his race with a sprint finish.

It was double joy for the Joyo clan when elder sister Nur Faizaltul YuYue, 22, won a tight women’s race.

“I wasn’t completely confident when I saw that Natahsya Soon was in the race,” confessed YuYue after the race.

Sabah’s Natahsya Soon is a top mountain biker and rarely races on the asphalt.

“It was a close race. I beat Natahsya by just a tyre,” added Yuyue.

Her brother’s story is remarkable in that he decided to take it upon himself to move up in the competitive world of bike racing.

Compared to the conditions in the Peninsular, Sarawak’s standard is quite low.

There are on-going efforts to raise the bar but it has been a slow-burn.

In a bid to improve himself, Faisal decided to move to Terengganu to train with the cyclists there.

Terengganu is widely acknowledged as having the best cycling programne in Malaysia.

“It was my own decision and my parents were supportive of it,” said the 16-year-old.

He has been there since 2016 and his improvement has been impressive enough for him to be offered a spot in Terengganu Sports School.

In Sunday’s Samarahan criterium, he also raced in the 36km junior event where he finished fourth.

He then raced in the 54km Open event where he finished as sixth overall and the top Sarawakian.

“I basically conserved my energy in the junior race as my target was the Open and Closed,” said Faisal.

In the Open, Faisal found himself in a field sprint with four others.

“I didn’t really pay attention to what the others were doing. We were all basically lined-up so I just went for it,” he explained.

“My plan was to start the sprint 150m from the line and that was what I did. I just knew I was going to win once I started my sprint,” said Faisal with the confidence derived from 1,000km a week in training.

Faisal is now on a hectic schedule as he is also a member of Junior Cycling Malaysia (JCM).

The JCM is an organisation supported by the CIMB Foundation which aims to produce the nation’s next generation of top cyclists.

They will be going to Europe on 18 July for a month-long tour.

“We are going to 12 races as well as a four day stage-race in Holland,” said Faisal.

He will also compete in the upcoming Perak Sukma as part of the Terengganu squad.