Perk-ing up their ride

Strong legs: Azizulhasni Awang (front), Shah Firdaus (back) and Shane Perkins (below) came out second in the men’s elite team sprint qualifying at the Australia Track National Championships.

PETALING JAYA: Tokyo Olympics-bound cyclists Azizulhasni Awang and Mohd Shah Firdaus Sahrom enjoyed a good workout in the men’s elite team sprint event at the Australia Track National Championships in Brisbane.

Azizul and Shah Firdaus teamed up with Shane Perkins, the 2011 world champion keirin cyclist from Australia who now represents Russia, to clock the second fastest time in the team sprint qualification at the Anna Meares Velodrome last night.

Perkins was the starter with Azizul the second rider and Shah Firdaus as the anchor to clock a time of 44.854 for the Combined International team.

However, Azizul, Shah Firdaus and Perkins were not eligible to contest the final against the New South Wales trio of Charles Hoffman, Tom Cornish and John Trovas, who were the fastest with 44.800, under the championship rules.

Despite this, it was a beneficial work session for Azizul and Shah Firdaus ahead of their participation in the individual sprint and keirin events in the Australian national championships.

“It’s the first time Azizul and myself rode in the team sprint since the 2018 Asian Games campaign, ” said Shah Firdaus, who will be making his Olympic debut in Tokyo come July.

“Perkins needs our help as Russia was in the midst of doing the selection for the Olympics and he was keen to make it for team sprint.

“It’s been some time since both raced the team sprint, so it’s fun and a good warming up event for us although we are not eligible to be on the podium, ” said Shah Firdaus.

Perkins took bronze as a member of the Australia team sprint at the 2012 London Olympics but decided to apply for Russian citizenship after he was not picked for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016.

Perkins, also a former Commonwealth Games gold medallist, still trains in Brisbane although he represents Russia.

Azizul is the defending champion for the men’s keirin in the Australian national championships.

He won the event while Shah Firdaus claimed the bronze in the 2020 edition in Brisbane in December.

The Australian national championships started with a jaw-dropping performance by Cornish when he set a new national record in the men’s elite 1km time trial event.

Cornish produced a blistering 59.598 to break the one-minute barrier mark, which is also the leading time in the world this year.