Muhammad Raihaan Abd Aziz ended the Langkawi International Mountain Bike Challenge (LIMBC) as Brunei's best finisher at 32nd in the general classification with a time of 12:35:56.

Mohd Nurjamri Johari came in 48th with a time of 13:14:33 and Muhammad Rafiuddin Zikara in 56th with a time of 13:37:38.

The national cyclists took on the final 16km Stage 5 trail yesterday.

Muhammad Rafiuddin was the first of the trio to finish the course, coming in 39th with a time of 40:07.

Mohd Nurjamri finished just over a minute behind in 42nd with a time of 41:03 and Raihaan clocked 48:31 to come in 52nd out of the 74 riders.

Muhammad Raihaan told The Brunei Times, "I still feel the pain from my crash in yesterday's 32.2km Stage 4 but I felt alright so I could still make it."

"When we get back to training in Brunei I definitely have to train harder in preparation for the SEA Games," he added.

National cyclists coach Yafiz Jamaludin has used the LIMBC as a warm-up for Raihaan and Rafiuddin who are two of the six riders that will be taking part in December's Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Myanmar.

"I'm still happy even though they didn't get good results because all the riders managed to finish the five stages and this is part of their training for the SEA Games," said Yafiz.

"This is good for them to gain experience since they are going against professional teams," he said.

"Almost all the ASEAN countries joined the race so I can see the weaknesses and strengths for my riders.

"Once we get back to Brunei, they will have five days of easy rides before I start the intensive training.

"All the national cyclists for the SEA Games will join the training camp on Monday at the Sg Asam Sports Complex," he added.

It was an one-two finish for Giant Pro XC Team with Fabian Giger coming in first and Emil Lindgren in second with a time of 34:14 in the Stage 5 route.

Russian Rourke Croeser from team Kargo Mountain Bike Team came in two seconds behind.

Specialized Racing Japanese rider Kohei Yamamots stripped defending champion Giger of his title to top the general classification with a total time of 10:09:21.

Lindgren took second with a time of 10:12:03 followed by Frenchmen Maxime Marotte of Bh Brsuntour KMC Team with a time of 10:20:10.

Meanwhile in the women's open, Poland's Maja Wloszczowska of Giant Pro XC Team won the stage after crossing the line with a time of 26:21.

American Lea Davison of Specialized Factory Racing took second with an equal time of 26:21 followed by Switzerland's Nathalie Schneitter of Colnago Sudtirol with a time of 26:23.

Davison was crowned as the general classification champion with a total time of 9:40:02.

Wloszczowska was second with a time of 9:45:57 followed by Italian rider Eva Lechner of Colnago Sudtirol with a time of 9:51:11.

Courtesy from Brunei Times