KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) are disappointed that Jelajah Malaysia has been postponed to May 28 to 30.
MNCF vice-president Datuk Amarjit Singh Gill said there was no choice but to postpone the tour as the race organisers, Dwau Holidays Travel Sdn Bhd, had issues with their funding.
"They (Dwau Holidays) are the race organisers while we sanctioned the race," said Amarjit today.
"They told us everything was on track when we enquired during our exco meeting last month. In their presentation, they also showed that their coordination with the local government agencies was going well and they had no issues with their finances.
"However, a few days ago they suddenly informed us that they have issues with their finances, which really put us on the spot.
"We know that the teams have bought their flight tickets (to come here). We subsequently told them (Dwau Holidays) to contact all the competing teams to inform them of the postponement and refund their flight tickets.
"We hope Jelajah Malaysia will run smoothly on the new dates and will inform UCI of the postponement.
"We are saddened that MNCF's image has been tarnished by the action of the organisers."
The UCI 2.2 event was originally scheduled to be held over five stages from Feb 26 to March 2 but on Monday was postponed to Feb 28 to March 2 and shortened to three stages.
A second postponement to May 28 to 30 was announced yesterday.
A total of 24 teams, involving 120 riders from around the world, had confirmed their participation in the race.
Meanwhile, Team Sapura Cycling (TSC) boss Sayuti Zahit said they have no choice but to shift their focus to other races.
"We had prepared mentally and physically for Jelajah Malaysia. We are a bit sad with the postponement, but we have to move on," said a frustrated Sayuti.
"We will be competing in the Tour of Thailand in early April and will continue to prepare for that race."