JELAJAH Malaysia’s record-breaking sprinter Anuar Manan will not feature in the 50th anniversary edition of the race on Dec 13-17 after the Kuala Terengganu-born pulled out from the Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG) squad due to a recurring knee injury.
The injury comes at a time when the worst seemed to be behind the 27-year-old who registered stage victories in the Tour of Khatulistiwa in Indonesia last month and played a formidable lead-out man for teammate Harrif Saleh to take his first victory of the year in the Tour of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates last week.
TSG coach Sebastien Duclos yesterday confirmed the team’s line-up for the Jelajah Malaysia will comprise brothers Harrif and Zamri Saleh, Adiq Husainie Othman, Nor Umardi Rosdi, Saiful Anuar Abdul Aziz and reigning national champion Shahrul Mat Amin.
“Anuar was complaining about some pain in his knee and upon further inspection, I took the decision to withdraw him from the Jelajah Malaysia squad. He may be out for a few weeks, but it is better to get him fully recovered and in optimum form for Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) in February,” said Duclos.
“If we carried on with Anuar, it would be impossible to have him at 100 per cent. But we still have a good team, with the riders all stepping up in training and we will be going into the Jelajah Malaysia with an aim to win as many stages as possible and to have a rider in the top three of the general classification.”