KUALA LUMPUR: The spotlight may be on the sprinters but their endurance counterparts will have their own mission in the second leg of the UCI Track Nations Cup which kicks off in Cairo today.
Endurance riders Abdul Azim Aliyas, Zainal Zulhelmi and Asian junior scratch champion Nyo Ci Hui, who will compete in the omnium on Thursday and Friday, are hoping to secure their berths at the World Championships in Glasgow (August).
National track cycling head coach John Beasley said they will have a chance to pick up valuable qualifying points in Cairo.
"You pick up ranking points from the Nations Cup and then hope that you have enough to get into the World Championships," said the Australian recently.
"You have a chance to get into the list for the World Championships if you are somehow in the top 25 or 30 depending on the continental allocation.
"It's a pity that the qualifying campaign for the Olympics is compressed into the best two out of three (performances from the) Nations Cup, the Continental Championship and the World Championship.
"This means if you can't make it to the World Championships (which carries more weightage), your dream of making it to the Olympics is basically over.
"We know the sprint boys are targeted for qualification but we also want to give the endurance cyclists the opportunity.
"These (endurance) riders are still young and have a lot of races ahead of them. They need the racing exposure to develop.
"Azim is only 20 but has already done well in recent races in Australia. He has a good future ahead of him."
Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Azizulhasni Awang and Birmingham Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Shah Firdaus Sahrom will be focusing on the keirin (Thursday) and individual sprint (Friday) in Cairo.
Shah will also be competing in the team sprint event tomorrow alongside younger brother Ridwan and Fadhil Zonis. Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri, Nurul Aliana Syafika Azizan and Anis Amira Rosidi will tackle the team sprint and keirin.
Beasley is hoping Azizul and Shah can continue with the good form they showed at the opening leg in Jakarta last month but is not placing any pressure on the duo.
"To be honest, I did not know what to expect in Jakarta last month. The target was to get one (rider) into the keirin semi-final and kickstart our Olympic qualification off with some good points. To get both Azizul and Shah into the final was a special day," he added.
Azizul claimed the keirin silver in Jakarta. Shah also made the final but crashed in the final lap.