Harrif Saleh not in SEA Games squad - MNCF

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 15 (Bernama) -- Hariff Saleh, the country’s most prominent cycling ace, especially in the Le Tour de Langkawi, has been unceremoniously ommitted from the Cambodia SEA Games cycling squad for road race, held in Phnom Penh from May 5-17.

Team manager Norazman Abu Samah said the decision (to omit) Hariff was made after discussions with the coaching staff because the routes selected for road races in Cambodia would be better suited for a rider with an ‘all-rounder’ strength.

Norazman said in Cambodia, only the Criterrium and road race (mass start) are competed and the route selected is a little hilly which does not favour Harrif.

Harrif, 34, from the Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG), is the winner of gold medals in Criterrium events at the 2015 and 2017 SEA Games, as well as the gold medal in the mass start in 2017 while he has won four stages in the Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL), the best achievement by a Malaysian rider ever.

Five riders have been picked for this year’s edition, namely defending champion (mass start), Nur Aiman Mohd Zariff as well as Nur Aiman Rosli, Nur Amirul Fakhruddin Mazuki, Akmal Hakim Zakaria and Shahrul Mat Amin.

Meanwhile, Norazman said the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) will continue to use the same formula that was used for the 2012 Vietnam SEA Games, which was blending riders from TSG and Sapura Cycling Team (Sapura) and using coaches from TSG to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

“We hope our strategy of combining riders from two continent teams - TSG and Sapura - we can achieve the success we have targetted for,” he told reporters.

In the 2021 Hanoi edition, the National cycling squad came home with a gold medal from the men’s individual mass start, silver in the women’s individual and team events, bronze in the men’s time trial and women’s Criterrium

-- BERNAMA