KANGAR: Favourites Terengganu were upstaged in the men’s cycling road race event in Chuping as Hamdan Hamidun of Selangor took home the gold medal from a bunch finish.
Defending champion Sofian Nabil Omar of Terengganu was pipped at the finish line in the 156km race to claim the silver medal while team-mate Mohd Azri Ahmad settled for the bronze. All were credited with the same time as Hamdan in 3’53:19.
Hamdan and his team-mates were just looking to claim the team title, but the 21-year-old had some extra strength in the final run for the finish line to beat Sofian.
“I really didn’t expect to win today. The race was a hard one because of the heat and most of the teams made it a difficult one,” said Hamdan.
Selangor, Terengganu and Johor formed an alliance midway through the race to keep any breakaway from escaping.
“We sort of agreed that it would come down to a bunch finish and we kept the tempo high. I’m just happy to win because this is my final Sukma and at Pahang two years ago, I finished second to Sofian,” said Hamdan.
Although Selangor won the individual gold medal yesterday, Terengganu bagged the team title, according to finishing order of team members. Selangor claimed the silver while Johor took home the bronze.
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