Muhammad Raihaan
Abd Aziz will
sign for
Continental
Cycling (CCN)
Team again.
Picture: BT
file
National cyclist Muhammad Raihaan Abd Aziz is set to re-sign with Brunei based Continental Cycling (CCN) Team.
Raihaan, who has been riding for Positiviti Peugeot Cycling Team from Japan over the past year, was offered a contract leading up to the end of next year to ride for CCN who he was also a part of in 2012.
"I'm very excited about this because they told me that they will be giving the chance to take part in the Tour de Langkawi next year," said Raihaan yesterday.
"It is a big event and one of my dream tours, and this definitely gives me the motivation to push myself a lot more.
"Hopefully this opportunity will help me move to the next level.
"I'd also like to thank my boss from the Mosque Affairs Department under the Ministry of Religious Affairs for always giving me the opportunity to gain more experience and the Brunei Cycling Federation for always supporting us," added Raihaan in an interview with The Brunei Times.
Arguably one of the strongest cyclists in the country, Raihaan cemented his status after capturing both the cross country Olympic and cross country circuit categories during the Malar Setia MTB (Mountain Bike) Challenge 2013 in May.
Raihaan also finished third place in the 50km individual event during the pre-SEA Games cycling competition in Naypyidaw, Myanmar the same month.
It wasn't long before he would prove his dominance once again after sealing second in the cross country event at the Harian Metro MTB Grand Prix in Putrajaya, Malaysia, in June.
More recently, Raihaan placed 13th in the 81km one-off marathon in the International Cycling Union (UCI) Marathon Series Race in Langkawi, Malaysia, on September 28th.
Following the race was the Langkawi International MTB Challenge where he finished 32nd overall.
Raihaan was also Brunei's second best rider during the Melaka Governor's Cup in April when he finished 34th.
Raihaan is also one of national cycling coach Yafiz Jamaludin's six picks for the upcoming December Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Myanmar, where he will be taking part in the cross country Olympic, individual and team trial events.
The national cycling squad are now going through two months of intense training to allow them to peak in time for the Dec 11-22 SEA Games.
