I'maadi Abd Aziz was unlucky at
Tour de East Java as he was
stuck in an accident during
the second stage. Picture: BT
file
The National cycling team finished their recent September 4-6 Tour de East Java with disappointing results.
Ahmad Rifa'ie Hj Johor was the only one of the five Bruneians who managed to finish all three stages with a time of 9:39:17 to finish at 30th place overall out of 65 cyclist.
Rifa'ie clocked in 4:18:22 during the first stage (180km), 3:10:49 in the second stage (84.5km) and 2:10:42 in the final stage (79km).
National cycling coach Yafiz Jamaludin told The Brunei Times, "Now that we are finished with the Tour of East Java (ToEJ) I think that I need to add more intensity to my training programme."
"My riders still need to improve on many things if we want to get a podium finish in the upcoming Myanmar SEA Games in December.
"I hope the team still has the motivation after what happened during ToEJ," said Yafiz.
Unfortunately for I'maadi Abd Aziz and Reduan Yusop the race came to an end for them in the second stage after getting stuck behind an accident.
Both riders finished the race but were over the time limit.
Muhammad Rafiuddin Zikara and Mohammad Nazri Mastan dropped out in the first stage of the tour after falling to the 180km route.
"During ToEJ we were unlucky with the accident and I hope that won't happen whilst they are racing at the SEA Games," said the Malaysian coach.
"All the riders need to do now is trust themselves and show the best commitment during their preparations leading up to the SEA Games.
"Only training can confirm them a medal," added Yafiz.
The national mountain bike (MTB) team will have their chance of competing in two separate races at the upcoming Langkawi International Mountain Bike Challenge from September 28 to October 5.
Their first race will be the International Cycling Union MTB Marathon on September 28.
The second is the LIMBC Race Stage from September 30 to October 5.
This will be the last chance for the MTB team to qualify for the SEA Games.
