MALAYSIAN fans can expect to see much bigger and physically stronger national riders at the Southeast Asia Track GP (SEA GP) which will begin at the National Velodrome in Nilai tomorrow.
National head coach John Beasley said his charges, who are supported by the Sime Darby Foundation - have all at least gained four kilogrammes of muscle mass each since the Poland World Championships ended in March.
But the Australian, credited with the rise of Malaysian track cycling over the past decade, believes the SEA GP will only offer a glimpse of the riders’ true potential as they aim to peak at the Asian Cycling Championships (ACC) in Seoul on Oct 17-21.
“A lot of foundation work has been put in over the past few months and we have just completed our last block of strength building,” said Beasley yesterday,” said Beasley, when met at a press conference with the Sime Darby Track Team in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
“It is something that has to be done early and we could not afford to leave it until next year and risk being caught out. Building muscle mass is important, it forms the foundation, for our riders to produce more power.
“All of our riders are at least four kg heavier than they were at the world championships (March). Anis Amira Rosidi is four kg heavier, Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom is five kg heavier while Azizulhasni Awang is six kg heavier.
“We are producing our best peak power outputs ever but we are not fast yet. The guys are still a little bit tired from all that strength work and we also have to start working on speed work and also further improve ourselves in areas such as aerodynamics.
“It is like when you are baking a cake but you only have half of the ingredients needed. Only when you have everything in place can you bake the cake and see it rise beautifully so we have to be patient.”
The squad had only returned from a training-cum-competition stint in Europe on Sunday.
Despite his riders yet to hit top form, Beasley is still expecting to see them mount the podium at the National Velodrome this week. Nilai will also host the National Track Championships on Sunday and Monday after the SEA GP has concluded on Friday. The national squad will compete in both competitions.
A total of 20 teams – comprising nations, clubs and trade teams – will be competing in SEA GP.
“Expectations are obviously high, we want to collect as many UCI points as possible from the SEA GP. I am sure they will be able to finish on the podium and hopefully on the top spot. You will get a good display of where we are currently at,” added Beasley.
“Shah is a little bit sick, he probably has virus coming on, but otherwise has been in really good shape and he has become quite a handful for Azizulhasni. Fadhil Zonis is also not far behind so we are starting to grow in terms of depth.
“But our major focus for now is to see them going really well in six weeks time at the Asian Championships and obviously the Olympics next year.”
Beasley is confident that Azizulhasni and Shah will have no difficulties qualifying for their individual events at the Tokyo games. Azizulhasni, Shah and Fadhil will, however, have to win gold in the team sprint at the Asian Championships if they are to keep their chances of qualifying in that category alive.
The Australian also paid tribute to long-time sponsors Sime Darby Foundation which has pumped in sponsorship in excess of RM7 million to support the national elite squad over the past decade to help them prepare for London 2012, Rio 2016 and now Tokyo 2020.