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14th August, 2007
KOTA KINABALU: Promising Sukma cyclist Nicklos Minol beat all odds to grab the Men’s Open Sports Cross Country race title at the Mount Kiara MTB Carnival, held in Selangor over the weekend.
The other Sabahan cyclists in the fray were Sharin Amir and JR Stanly Jalip, who finished third and fourth respectively.
Their feats made Sabah Cycling Association (SCA) president Raijas Anang happy, attributing the success to their aggressive long-term junior development programme and continuous intensive training.
In another development, he was also happy to note that both JR Stanly and Shahrin Amir, who donned national colours in the recent ACC Asia MTB Championship in Shenzhou, China also performed well.
Both cyclists and another national team-mate Mohd Hafiz Rosli (5th place), JR Stanly’s 6th placing in an international event was indeed commendable while Shahrin only managed to settle for the 22nd placing in the tough and challenging MTB (Mountain Bike) event against top Asian stalwarts.
Raijas said the ACC Asia MTB race is a high-profile challenge and for JR Stanly and Shahrin, it was a very good exposure for them to further improve in their weaknesses and focus their training in preparation for the 2008 Sukma.
Apart from that, he was also happy to see some of their Sukma potentials do very well in last weekend’s Sabah Tea Adventure Race, held in Nelapak, Ranau, where he gave cyclists and coaches a pat on the back for a job well done.
Coach Jason Ong, who trains Jeoffrey Jerry Jemie showed that his coaching technique was on the right track after the latter reached the finish line first in the Men’s Open category with a time of 2:33.39sec.
The others in Marvin George (4th) and Mohd Suhaidzan Rayim (5th) also showed vast improvement in their cycling skill, endurance and stamina.
Sukma girl cyclist Laura Avila Adrian, trained by father cum coach Adrian Sinit Gisan also came in first in the Women’s Open race with a time of 3:22.57sec, while the rest who completed the race among the top finishers were Laurel Lauridsen Adrian, Brittney Adlynne Anang (3rd), Irie Alixron Pausek (6th), Marshall Michael, Elvis Nonong, Leroy Bazan and Jessica Cilia Petrus.
Raijas also wished to congratulate cyclists representing the Sandakan Cycling Club, where Johnny Ngongoloy proved his worth in the Men’s Open race coming in second, which showed he has the potential, stamina, endurance and commitment.
Some of their cyclists like Johnny too showed vast improvement in their overall cycling prowess compared to last year’s Sandakan Open event.
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