Sofian waiting on news about becoming World Cycling Centre trainee

Saturday October 13, 2012

PETALING JAYA: Junior cyclist Sofian Nabil Omar Bakri is on the verge of becoming a trainee at the World Cycling Centre (WCC) in Aigle, Switzerland.

The 19-year-old Terengganu lad is still awaiting news on the WCC scholarship. If accepted, he will be the second Malaysian rider to enter the prestigious centre after Josiah Ng.

Josiah enjoyed an 18-month stint at Aigle from 2002 and has clearly benefited from the world-class programme there.

"This is just great for me. I think it is an opportunity that no one should miss out on if they want to be better cyclists," said Sofian.

Sofian is slated to start his days at the WCC in March, where it will last for six months.

Unlike Josiah, Sofian has built his resume through either road or track endurance events which he will focus on in Aigle.

Unchallenged in the SportExcel Junior Circuit in recent years, Sofian bagged the National Grand Prix junior title last year.

He also went on to win the silver medal in the points race in the Track Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur last year, a feat he achieved despite being down with fever.

At the recent Sukma (Malaysia Games) in Pahang in July, Sofian grabbed three gold medals in the criterium, mass start and team time trials with Terengganu.

"The WCC has produced a lot of cyclists of real calibre and I'll be proud to say that I am a product of WCC one day," he said.

"The level of exposure you get and the experts who surround you will turn you into a good rider."

As Sofian waits to spend his time training in Aigle, the immediate task for him starts with the Track Asia Cup in Tehran from Oct 20-22.

Malaysia will be sending a group of young riders – Nik Mohd Azwan Zulkiflie, Zulhilmie Afif Ahmad Zamri, Mohd Fakhruddin Daud, Mohd Faiz Izzudin Omar and Wan Syazwan Afiq – to compete in track endurance events.

Sofian will take part in the team pursuit, madison and points race

Young Malek confident he can justify selection

By Shamshul Fitri

PETALING JAYA: Track cyclist Malek Marcus McCrone is ready to step up to the plate after being promoted to the elite squad after years in the junior ranks. The 18-year-old Selangor lad earned his spot in the elite squad recently after a decent performance in the World Junior Track Cycling Championships in Invercargill, New Zealand, in August. Ummi Hamimah Mohamad too has been promoted to the women’s elite squad, joining the likes of Fatehah Mustapa and Ju Pha Som Net. Promoted: Malek Marcus McCrone (right and inset) plans to further his studies in Australia next year. “It is a big opportunity for me and one that is important to my future in cycling. For me to learn and really do well, I need to experience the kind of training the elite cyclists go through and do a lot of races,” said Malek, who in Invercargill, finished 17th in the men’s 1km time trial clocking 1:07.848 and ninth in the keirin. But that was enough for national head coach John Beasley to promote him to be in the same ranks as Azizulhasni Awang and Josiah Ng in line with their ambitious plans for the 2016 Olympics in Rio. “The elite squad’s training regime is quite different,” said Malek, who got the chance to train in Melbourne prior the junior meet. “Plus, I will pursue my studies in Australia next year.’ Malek will be featuring in the Track World Cup in Cali, Colombia, starting on Thursday until the weekend. He will compete in the 1km time trial, keirin and sprint events. “I don’t have any lofty targets there because competition will be very stiff. What I want is to experience competition at a higher level,” he said.

Amira cipta rekod baru kebangsaan

Amira cipta rekod baru kebangsaan KUALA LUMPUR - Atlet lompat kijang wanita, Noor Amira Mohamad Nafiah menjadi perhatian pada hari pertama Kejohanan Olahraga Terbuka Kebangsaan Ke-88 di sini, semalam apabila mencipta rekod baharu kebangsaan dengan lompatan 13.90 meter. Kejayaan Noor Amira yang mewakili Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (ATM) itu mengatasi rekod lama 13.74m milik atlet kebangsaan, Ngew Sin Mei pada 2004. Kata Noor Amira, rekod baru tersebut adalah sasarannya peribadinya yang berjaya direalisasikan sebelum berakhir musim 2012. "Saya memang tak jangka mampu memperbaharui rekod baharu kebangsaan dan ini semua adalah hasil sokongan daripada semua pihak selama ini. "Bagi saya catatan tersebut masih boleh diperbaharui lagi kerana pada saingan hari ini (semalam) saya tidak mempamerkan prestasi 100 peratus," katanya kepada pemberita pada kejohanan tersebut di MSN, Bukit Jalil, di sini, semalam. Pada saingan lompat kijang wanita akhir semalam, Noor Amira berjaya mengetepikan cabaran atlet Sarawak, Kee Siew Lian yang meraih pingat perak dengan catatan 11.83m manakala Merry Gabali dari Sabah sekadar pulang dengan pingat gangsa (11.29m). Malah, kemenangan Noor Amira itu juga membolehkan ATM menguasai kutipan pingat dengan 10 pingat emas daripada 23 acara yang dipertandingkan pada hari pertama kejohanan tersebut. Sementara itu, turut menjadi perhatian semalam ialah dua atlet pecut ATM, Mohd. Noor Imran AA. Hadi dan S. Komalan Shally yang mengungguli acara 100m lelaki dan wanita. Mohd. Noor Imran meraih emas pertama 100m lelaki pada musim ini melalui catatan masa 10.61 saat pada kejohanan semalam selepas berehat panjang sejak Sukan SEA di Indonesia tahun lalu. Komalan terpaksa bekerja keras untuk memenangi acara 100m wanita dengan catatan masa 12.08s menewaskan pencabar dari Iran, Maryam Toosi yang meraih pingat perak. Hari ini bakal berlangsung 18 lagi acara akhir termasuk 200m dan 4x400m kategori lelaki dan wanita pada kejohanan yang turut disertai Singapura, Taiwan, Kuwait, Thailand, Hong Kong, Iran dan Brunei Darussalam. Artikel Penuh: http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/Sukan/20121007/su_03/Amira-cipta-rekod-baru-kebangsaan#ixzz28feL7LOt © Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd