Bike race all set to go

Bike race all set to go

KEDAH lass Masziyaton Mohd Radzi will lead the Malaysian women challenge at the inaugural TM-Langkawi International Mountain Bike Challenge which starts today.

Masziyaton, 22, who is the top female mountain bike rider in the country, will take part in both the 4.3km Olympic Cross Country race today and the 8.5km Endurance race tomorrow.

“It’s going to be a challenge for me and the other riders as well because of the new tracks,” she said yesterday.

Joining her in the competition are her siblings, Mardiana, 17, and Mohd Ayub, 18.

The three siblings are among the 130 competitors who have signed up for the two-day com-petition.

The youngest participant is Cassian Rausch, 12, the son of expatriates living in Selangor, while the oldest rider is Beswich Hydn, 65, who lives in Lang- kawi.

The 130 participants, including riders from Denmark, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Thailand, checked in for the competition at Kampung Tok Senik yesterday.

There are a mix of recreational and competition cyclists.

Many of the riders took the opportunity to test the tracks yesterday.

The cross country event will start at Kampung Tok Senik today while the endurance event will start at Telaga Harbour Park tomorrow.

Organising chairman and Human Voyage (M) Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Malik Mydin said he had received good feedback from the cyclists.

“I am happy that the two professional cyclists taking part in the event said that this is the best track that they have ever tried in Asia,” he said.

Kedah mountain biker Asyaraaf Shaari, 19, said he was happy to get a chance to compete with foreign cyclists in the cross country event.

Asyaraaf, who recently won first place at the Bukit Kiara downhill challenge in the hard trail category, said this would be the first time he competed at international level.

Prizes totalling RM250,000 are up for grabs.

Telekom Malaysia Bhd is the title sponsor of the event.

-News courtesy of The Star-