KUALA LUMPUR: The Chef de Mission (CDM) asked Nur Aisyah Zubir what she wanted, and the cyclist didn't hesitate to state her wish.
The Olympic-bound Nur Aisyah told Datuk Hamidin Amin, when he visited her at the National Velodrome in Nilai yesterday, that she hopes to get upgrades to her bike.
"The CDM asked what support I need and I told him. It looks positive for me to get upgrades to my bike.
"The equipment is important. We will be competing against world-class riders and they will have the best equipment. So we need to have similar equipment and the difference can be up to 30 per cent in terms of performance.
"Although it might look small, it makes a big difference in cycling. My bike is still new but the accessories and the sets that I have on it are two years old."
Aisyah is set to become the first Malaysian woman to compete in road cycling at the Paris Olympics.
Malaysia earned an Olympic slot after getting ranked second among Asian countries that had yet to qualify for Paris at the Asian Road Championships in Thailand last June. And the Malaysia National Cycling Federation selected Terengganu rider Aisyah for the slot.
The 26-year-old conceded that the gap between her and the world-class riders is big but she aims to push herself hard in her Olympic debut.
As part of her preparations for the Paris Games, Aisyah will compete in Vietnam, followed by a training camp in Thailand before competing in the Tour of Thailand. She will head to Belgium in May for the last stage of her preparations.