PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Pro Cycling (MPC) rider Syawal Mazlin can’t afford to take a break during Ramadan and Hari Raya as he faces a busy competition schedule.
Syawal, who is adept at both mountain biking and road cycling disciplines, will be racing in three mountain bike events in India and Japan over the next three weeks.
The cross country specialist knows he cannot afford to let his guard down as he wants to impress to secure a spot at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games later in September.
“I like both road and MTB disciplines but for the first quarter of this year I will be focusing on mountain bike,” he said.
“I have races in India and Japan coming up, so it looks like I will have to sacrifice Hari Raya celebrations as well.
“I hope to earn a spot in the mountain bike squad for the Asian Games.
“If I am selected, I will continue to focus on preparing for the Asiad.
“If not, I will focus on preparations for Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL).
“Hopefully, I can make my sacrifices worthwhile,” said Syawal, who will be heading to Japan for the Coupe Du Japon Aichi International (on Sunday) and Japan MTB Cup (March 20-22).
He will then go to India for the second leg of Asian Mountain Bike series in Itanagar on March 26-28.
Syawal has shone as a road rider since joining MPC in 2024.
He helped the national squad clinch bronze in the men’s team road race event at the Thailand SEA Games last year.
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