Jijoe Can't Wait To Race Against Dutch Ace Lavreysen In Nilai World Cup

NILAI, April 20 (Bernama) -- National track cycling sprint ace Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang can't wait to take on Dutch five-time Olympic champion Harrie Lavreysen in the three-day 2026 Track Cycling World Cup at the National Velodrome in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, from Friday (April 24).

Mohd Azizulhasni, fondly known as Jijoe, said he watched the Hong Kong leg of the Track World Cup Series, which saw Lavreysen produce a scintillating performance to emerge as the keirin champion yesterday, and expects the Dutchman's appearance this weekend to make the Nilai championships even more competitive.

"Harrie performed really well in keirin in Hong Kong, and that has made me even more excited (about taking him on). Harrie even messaged me, and I also congratulated him.

"Harrie said 'see you soon in Malaysia’, and he will also be competing in Malaysia for the first time. I want to race against him as well, especially after such a long time,” Mohd Azizulhasni said at the 2026 Track Cycling World Cup press conference at the velodrome here today.

Mohd Azizulhasni did not compete in the Hong Kong leg of the Track World Cup Series, which ended yesterday, as he wanted to focus on the race in Nilai this week.

Lavreysen, for the record, is a 20-time World Championship gold medallist and swept the individual sprint, team sprint, keirin and one-kilometre (km) time trial gold medals at the World Championships in Santiago, Chile, last year.

Mohd Azizulhasni, also nicknamed The Pocket Rocketman, expects stiffer competition in Nilai following changes to the tournament format and an increase in the number of participants.

"It will definitely be more competitive. With more riders, there will be more rounds to race in. For example, in keirin, there will now be additional rounds, so we will have more races.

"As for the sprint event, if you win all the heats, you could be competing in nine rounds before you even reach the final. Even a rider of Harrie's calibre struggled to reach the semi-finals (in Hong Kong). So, the challenge is to remain strong until the end,” he said.

Among the big names expected to race in Malaysia are Matthew Richardson (Great Britain), Nicholas Paul (Trinidad and Tobago), Ota Kaiya (Japan) and Leigh Hoffman (Australia).

-- BERNAMA