Still Firdaus will give his all to at least reach keirin final
Mohd Shah Firdaus Sahrom (pic) is realistically the only medal hope when Malaysia kicks off their campaign in the World Track Cycling Championships in Ballerup, Denmark today. With Azizulhasni Awang out of the picture, the task of continuing his outstanding legacy rests on the shoulders of Shah Firdaus, who had a positive outing at the recent Paris Olympics. In Paris, Shah Firdaus managed to qualify for his first Olympic final in the men’s keirin event but crashed out while in bronze medal position. The 28-year-old has made good recovery from a back injury but still admits it will be a tough to rise to the challenge due to the limited training time.
“We were given three weeks off after returning from Paris, so the preparation has not been the same as what we went through for the Olympic cycle. “I am fine now but honestly, I am not in peak condition for this world championships. “But I will give my all. Some big names will not be competing as it takes place not long after the Olympics but it’s still a high quality field that will be present.
“The standards are still there and personally, it will be an achievement to get into the keirin final as I’ve never achieved this before,” said the Johor-born cyclist, who will compete together with his younger brother Mohd Ridwan Sahrom in the men’s keirin today. Azizul is the only Malaysian cyclist to have ridden at a world championships final. He made the podium seven times, even winning gold in Hong Kong in 2017.
Women cyclists Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri and Anis Amira Rosidi will compete in the women’s sprint qualifying round today. The men’s individual sprint will be on Saturday followed by the women’s keirin on Sunday. All eyes will be on triple Paris Olympic champion Harrie Lavreysen of Holland as he makes a bid to become the most decorated cyclist in world championships history.
Lavreysen, only 27, already has 13 world titles to his name and could possibly surpass France’s Arnaud Tournant’s all-time record of 14 by Sunday. Lavreysen has his eyes set on making history and has even added the 1km time trial event to his roster apart from the team sprint, sprint and keirin.
Courtesy from – The Star
https://www.thestar.com.my/sport/cycling/2024/10/17/still-firdaus-will-give-his-all-to-at-least-reach-keirin-final