KUCHING: Top local MTB rider, Junaidah Juss will battle it out with reigning national champion, Masziyaton Mohd Radzi when the Siol Extreme National MTB GP Circuit kicks off today.
Masziyaton had arrived early for the two-day event and started training at the 3.4km beaten track along the foothill of Bukit Siol in Jalan Semariang yesterday.
She needed only 9 minutes 8.3 seconds to finish a lap with Junaidah trailing.
According to the event coordinator, Fadillah Jais the two national riders are among the early birds who had started training for the annual event which will be flagged off this morning by Kuching North City Commission (DBKU) director, Dr Saadiah Abdul Samat.
“We have a lot of riders from other states like Trengganu, Sabah, Selangor and Kedah who are already here…those from Kuching and Bintulu are the most who have entered for the competition,” said Fadillah who is with DBKU’s Community Relations Department (CRD).
“We are expecting 50 riders from Kuching itself while Bintulu is sending 15 of their best including four women and there will be more of them (women) when teams from Miri, Indonesia and Brunei have arrived,” he enthused.
The event is jointly organised by DBKU and Sarawak Cycling Association (SCA) and sanctioned by Malaysia National Cycling Federation (MNCF) where winners are given GP points.
For the country’s top two women riders, they need to win at Bukit Siol to safely secure the slots for the coming SEA in Myanmar this December.
On paper, Masziyaton is in safe hands after winning silver in the recent Myanmar Cross Country MTB Championship held in Naypytaw on April.
Even though racing with home ground advantage, Junaidah however need to push herself a notch further if she were to collect enough points in order to achieve the dream of competing in SEA Games for the first time ever.