Brunei's cyclists continue to show they can hang with the big boys by advancing to the 4.5km Stage 4 of the Langkawi International Mountain (MTB) Bike Challenge (LIMBC) yesterday.
The riders successfully conquered the 81km Stage 3 but their results could not be obtained as of press time.
Raihaan Abd Aziz, Muhammad Rafiuddin Zikara (pic) and Mohammad Nurjamri Johari have been through three intense stages against world ranked riders but their biggest hurdle has been the muddy terrain.
Over the course, the weather has given them more than just a challenge but they continue to plough on through.
Muhammad Rafiuddin, who is preparing for December's Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Myanmar, had a strong first lap one of three in Stage 3 standing in the top 20 before he encountered technical issues with his bike.
"After what happened I will try my best again during Stage 4 and I will get to do some running in it," said Muhammad Rafiuddin.
Muhammad Rafiuddin was the best finisher for Brunei in Stage 2 where they had to push and run through the 45km trail with their bikes.
Their official results for Stage 2 were Muhammad Rafiuddin in 33rd with a time of 2.26.29 hours, Raihaan in 41st with a time of 2.30.04 and Mohammad Nurjamri in 48th clocking in at 2.33.53.
Raihaan, another rider preparing for the SEA Games, felt that Stage 3's conditions were amongst the worst.
"It was another day with a wet and muddy trail," said Raihaan.
"Stage 4 is a short course but I will still have to push the bike through, which isn't that easy for me," he added.
Japan's Kohei Yamamoto who finished third during Stage 1 was first to cross the line during yesterday's Stage 3.
Switzerland's Nicola Rohrbach and France's Stephane Tempier followed suit in second and third respectively.
