Official Website of Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council
NEWS & EVENTS
Brunei cyclist wants sunshine
Thursday, 7th November 2009


OMAR 'Ali Hj Ibrahim will be praying for good weather at the 15th Asian Mountain Bike Championships and inaugural Asian Junior Mountain Bike Championships in Melaka. Malaysia, today.

The manager of the national cycling team said that weather would play a key part in Mohd Raihaan Abd Aziz's performance at the Bukit Beruang downhill cycling course where it rained yesterday.

The only Bruneian cyclist competing in the final of the downhill event today, 21-year-old Mohd Raihaan finished second last in the official timing yesterday.

"It is a challenging course and it rained today (Friday), so a lot will depend on the weather tomorrow (Saturday)," said Omar 'Ali in a telephone interview yesterday.

"If the weather is good he can go down faster. There are 15 riders and Mohd Raihaan will start as the second rider.

"The better your timing today (Friday) the further back you will start tomorrow (Saturday)," explained the manager.

The race is expected to start at 2pm.

The Sultanate's other cyclists in the four-day tournament which started on Thursday, Mohd Halid Sata and Mohd Nurjamri Johari, will see action in the cross-country event held at the Recreational Forest in Ayer Keroh today.

Mohd Raihaan will also compete.

Before leaving to Melaka on Wednesday, Mohd Raihaan and Mohd Nurjamri said the cross-country course was challenging since it is very technical, with the rocky and muddy terrain adding to the difficulty level.

Though the trio are seasoned cyclists, Mohd Halid's specialty is road races.

But since the Brunei Darussalam Cycling Federation (BDCF) could not find enough cyclists to compete in the cross-country event, the 31-year-old was roped in to join the team.

The three were supposed to be joined by two more downhill cyclists in Melaka, but the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports said it was unable to provide funds for the trip.

Courtesy from Brunei Times