Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman believes that the Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG) have the potential to compete in the prestigious Tour de France in five years.
The team have just completed a successful campaign at the Malaysia Games (SUKMA) in Sarawak after bagging 14 gold medals, four silver medals and four bronze medals. This has been the east coast peninsula state’s largest medal haul for the cycling category.
TSG also participated in Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) in February and upsetted a number of professional teams in the process, by finishing ninth (out of 22 teams) in the overall rankings. Terengganu’s Adiq Husainie Othman created history when he finished the tour as the best Asian rider, making him the first Malaysian to win it in LTdL’s 21-year history.
“He (Adiq) outshone more established riders from China’s Hengxiang Cycling Team and Japan’s Aisan Racing Team,” Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman said quoted by New Straits Times.
“Anuar Manan was crowned the tour’s first Malaysian sprint king in 2010, whereas Mohd Hariff Saleh was the sprint king at Le Tour de Jakarta, with TSG finishing second for sprints.
Ahmad Razif presented a cheque worth RM10,000, a plot of land and a place in the ‘Malaysia Book of Records’ to Adiq Husainie for winning the best Asian rider in Langkawi in February.
“We can take pride that Terengganu is the home of some of the best cyclists in all of Asia.
“We should not look back but ride on our success to sustain the momentum.”
Terengganu Cycling Team have just signed Slovakian coach Adam Szabo, who was behind the success of world champion Peter Sagan and European champion Erik Baska, as well as the introduction of riders Daniel Whitehouse, Dadi Suryadi and Maral-Erdene Batmunkh.
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