Track cyclists head to Chiangmai to adapt to new conditions at SEA Games

No let-up: Mohd Ridwan Sahrom, along with Mohd Fadhil Zonis and Akmal Jusena Nazimi, will train at the Chiang Mai Velodrome ahead of the SEA Games next month.

NILAI: The competition venue in Thailand is off limits to outside teams but the Malaysian track cycling squad will make do with similar surface conditions further up north.

The track cycling squad bound for the Thailand SEA Games will head to Chiangmai this weekend for a month-long training camp to adapt to the outdoor conditions.

Track cycling is making a return to the SEA Games roster after an eight-year absence and the Malaysian squad aim to dominate the sprint disciplines.

The SEA Games competition will be held at the Huamark Velodrome in Bangkok, a concrete outdoor track, which is 333m long.

This differs from the 250m wooden indoor tracks that Malaysia’s current crop of national riders are used to. The national track cycling team train at the National Velodrome in Nilai.

Mohd Ridwan Sahrom, Mohd Fadhil Zonis and Akmal Jusena Nazimi, who have been selected for the SEA Games, will train at the Chiang Mai Velodrome, which was used for the 1995 Games, in the lead-up to the competition.

“Competing on an outdoor track is very different. The laps in a race remain the same but the total distance of the race becomes longer because the velodrome is 333m.

“We thus have to train longer to adapt to the longer distance of the race. A team sprint event is three laps, so instead of being 750m, it now becomes a one kilometre event.

“We have to plan a different strategy as we cannot afford to launch our attacks too early due to the longer distance.

“Banking on an outdoor velodrome is different as you are also exposed to wind, which can be a big factor.

“And don’t forget, if it rains the surface condition will be different.’’

Thailand currently have four velodromes, all of which are concrete, outdoor tracks measuring 333m per lap. The other two are located in Suphan Buri and Nakhon Ratchasima.

A total of five golds are up for grabs in track cycling this time.

Malaysia will especially aim to sweep the men’s team sprint and keirin.

There are unfortunately no sprint events for women this time.

Malaysia swept 11 gold medals in track cycling when it was last held at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games in 2017.