Rizal: Team sprint best chance for a medal

RIZAL Tisin will be competing in the 4km individual pursuit for the first time but it is in the team sprint, starting tomorrow, that he is looking to help Malaysia make a major breakthrough in Asian Games history.
The men’s 1km time trial is out of the Guangzhou Asian Games cycling programme, which means the loss of one gold medal prospect for Malaysia.

Having won bronze at the World Championships last year and gold at the World Cup, besides taking silver in the New Delhi Commonwealth Games, Rizal would have started as the favourite if the 1km time trial had been included in the programme.

Instead, he has had to switch his focus to the individual pursuit and will also ride in the team event with Mohd Adiq Husainie, Mohd Akmal Amrun and Amir Mustafa Rusli.
One cannot discount the possibility of Rizal earning a medal in the individual pursuit and much will depend on whether he has brought his endurance level up to where he was last year before fracturing his ankle in a hit-and-run accident.


But it is in the team sprint that he is focusing on as he feels it is his best chance to nail a medal.
Rizal will be the anchor rider behind Commonwealth Games champion Josiah Ng while two-time world championship silver medallist Azizul Hasni Awang is expected to start first.

The same combination rode to a bronze in the Delhi Commonwealth Games last month but the chances are coach John Beasley may opt to bring in Mohd Edrus Yunus as the starter if he is convinced his charge has the speed to help Malaysia break into the final.
Edrus has been entered for the team sprint as well and the Malaysian team will wait and see who China and Japan’s riders are before making up their mind.

China, led by the Zhang brothers of Miao and Lei, finished fifth ahead of Japan at the world meet in Copenhagen this year and will be the team to beat.
“We did not ride together in the team sprint at the world meet because I was still recovering from my ankle injury,” said Rizal.

“China are the fastest this year. I have a feeling they will field the same team from the world meet.
“We will be in the mix for the gold medal here with Japan and China. We need to beat one of them to get into the final. I will do my best to carry the team up as the last rider.”

The top two teams from qualification tomorrow will go straight into the final while the third and fourth fastest will battle for the bronze.

Malaysia have never made the team sprint medal rounds in Asiad history.
At the last two editions, Josiah was the only medal winner for Malaysia in cycling – taking silver in Busan (2002) and Doha (2006).

Star