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
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