Cycling

Cyclist Shah to celebrate Raya on the track in Milton

KUALA LUMPUR: It is a norm for track cyclist Shah Firdaus Sahrom not to celebrate Hari Raya with his family due to overseas assignments.

The 27-year-old is in Milton, Canada, for the UCI Track Nations Cup, and this would be his eighth year not celebrating Aidilfitri in Malaysia.

However, he treats his teammates as family and celebrating Raya with them is just as good.

"It is my eighth year abroad during the Raya period. In Australia, I was on my own celebrating Raya during Covid-19," said Shah.

"It is always fun celebrating Raya with family. However, I treat my teammates as family, and they are around during the festive season."

After years of misfortune, lady luck is finally smiling on Shah. The Malaysian showed his pedigree by winning silver medals in keirin at the UCI Nations Cup in Cairo in March and the International Belgian Track Meeting last week.

Shah also leads the UCI Track Nations Cup standings after the Jakarta and Cairo legs with 1,240 points.

He will compete only in the sprint in Milton. Shah is ranked 33rd with 96 points in the event.

The cyclist hopes to reach the sprint quarter-finals in Milton.

"I'm grateful for my results this year. I also have a great support system to push me hard on the track," said Shah, who will start his sprint campaign in Milton on Sunday.

"My target is to reach the quarter-finals," he added.

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