THERE were no surprises in the men’s cycling mass start road race as the national riders struggled to make an impact due to the tou gh climbs in the event in Tagaytay yesterday.
Zawawi Azman emerged as the best rider for Malaysia, coming in 16th in three hours, 26 minutes and 18 seconds.
Nik Azwan Zulkifle (3:30:04s), Nur Amirull Fakhruddin Mazuki (3:30:09s) and Ameer Ahmad Kamal (3:37:10s) settled for 21st, 22nd and 32nd respectively.
Thailand’s Sarawut Sirironnachai took the individual gold on 3:21:11s while Laos’ Ariya Phounsavath (3:21:20s) and Singapore’s Goh Choon Huat (3:21:40s) claimed the silver and bronze.
Malaysia finished fifth in the team classification on a combined 10:26:31s. Thailand clinched the gold on 10:07:05s, followed by Indonesia (10:09:09s) and the Philippines (10:14:50s).
Team manager Amrun Misnoh had little to say about the squad’s results.
“Nik was our leader (protected rider) today (yesterday). Hilly routes are unfortunately our weakness,” said Amrun.
Malaysia are superior when it comes to bunch sprint finishes and had won the criterium at the 2017 KL edition.