Fauzan optimistic of grabbing gold in team time trial event

NILAI: National cycling elite racer Muhammad Fauzan Ahmad Lutfi is optimistic of grabbing the gold medal for Malaysia in the Team Time Trial at the 29th Kuala Lumpur SEA Games 2017 (KL2017).
He said the national cycling squad had been fully prepared for the past two months including undergoing intensive training in Thailand.
"The Team Time Trial had last participated in the Myanmar SEA Games in 2013 where we won the bronze medal.
"The distance was also different at 80km and the route was uphill and this time, it is 50km. Insha Allah, we can come up with something," he told Bernama when approached at the Team Time Trial training, here today.
Muhammad Fauzan, 31, who had joined the national cycling team six times, said, however, the national squad could not look down on the capability of the other racers especially those from Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.
"So, our chance of winning the gold is good Insha Allah, and we will give our best," he said.
Meanwhile, he also called on Malaysians to continue to give their solid support to the national athletes.
For the record, the national Team Time Trial squad had won the gold at the Manila SEA Games in the Philippines, in 2005 and the bronze medal at the Myanmar SEA Games in 2013.
Meanwhile, the rider from Brunei, Muhd Nurjamri Johari, 32, said his team had also made close preparations with the target of winning at least one medal in the event.
"If we can have our way, we want to win the gold and we will do our best to win either the gold, silver or bronze medal," he said.
In the Team Time Trial event scheduled to be held on Tuesday involving a distance of 51km, the race will begin at the Dataran Nilai and end at the same place. — Bernama