Singapore National Championships
Photos courtesy of Adil Amran, Shahrizal (Studio 49) and Yasin Rahim (mr 36) | * Excerpt from race report from Second Wind Magazine by Alan Grant
"We came, we saw, we conquered" - By J/D Development Project. * Excerpt from race report from Second Wind Magazine by Alan Grant
We Did It!
"Conditions were perfect, the rain held off in the entire week, making things good for us and also a chance to rip the trails. The new trail was ready to received its new champions and boy did we sure make history." - Junaidi Hashim / Team Captain
Team Awano Treknology sees its first year into its racing journey by cleaning up the podiums on offer at the Singapore National Championships held at the newly developed Chestnut North Trails.
Arfan Faisal from Men's Junior secured his win in the category over his Thailand opponent. His blistering pace set up the tempo for his team mates in Men's Elite later that day.
Arfan Faisal - "It's brilliant to be able to wear the National Champion's jersey. Its a relief that i managed to finish the race in one piece and to be able to hold down an opponent from abroad. Although the scene for Men's Junior racing is small and i would like to see more riders around my age group, i am thankful for my win and wish to thank all those that helped to make this dream a success!"
Team Awano Treknology sees its first year into its racing journey by cleaning up the podiums on offer at the Singapore National Championships held at the newly developed Chestnut North Trails.
Arfan Faisal from Men's Junior secured his win in the category over his Thailand opponent. His blistering pace set up the tempo for his team mates in Men's Elite later that day.
Arfan Faisal - "It's brilliant to be able to wear the National Champion's jersey. Its a relief that i managed to finish the race in one piece and to be able to hold down an opponent from abroad. Although the scene for Men's Junior racing is small and i would like to see more riders around my age group, i am thankful for my win and wish to thank all those that helped to make this dream a success!"
Race Action Men's Junior
It's brilliant to be able to wear the National Champion's jersey. Its a relief that i managed to finish the race in one piece and to be able to hold down an opponent from abroad. Although the scene for Men's Junior racing is small and i would like to see more riders around my age group, i am thankful for my win and wish to thank all those that helped to make this dream a success!
- Arfan Faisal
Men's Elite Scenes
The minutes ticked away after the Men's Junior race as the other team members from Awano Treknology got their warm up routine on for the event of the day, Men's Elite Cross Country. It would be the first race for young stalwart Riyadh Hakim who would race alongside 4x National Champ and mentor Junaidi Hashim.
*The Team Awano duo displayed their intentions early by pulling away from the rest of the field from the gun and by the time they charged up the slope through the big crowd lining the start/finish stretch after Lap 1, they had opened up nearly 30 seconds on Brown and Mun Yong Liang (Team Trail+), the only two other riders to break the 12-minute lap mark during the race.Riyadh set the fastest lap on the opening salvo, his 11:01.5 just three tenths of a second faster than Junaidi. The youngster couldn’t maintain that speed, though, and next time through the assembled throng at the end of Lap 2 he’d lost some 20 seconds to the defending champ, with a shrinkage of a further 10 seconds coming on Lap 3.
*The Team Awano duo displayed their intentions early by pulling away from the rest of the field from the gun and by the time they charged up the slope through the big crowd lining the start/finish stretch after Lap 1, they had opened up nearly 30 seconds on Brown and Mun Yong Liang (Team Trail+), the only two other riders to break the 12-minute lap mark during the race.Riyadh set the fastest lap on the opening salvo, his 11:01.5 just three tenths of a second faster than Junaidi. The youngster couldn’t maintain that speed, though, and next time through the assembled throng at the end of Lap 2 he’d lost some 20 seconds to the defending champ, with a shrinkage of a further 10 seconds coming on Lap 3.
Behind, Brown was tapping out a rhythm that brought remarkably consistent lap splits, and while Junaidi had increased his lead to some 40 seconds at the halfway mark, the Cannasia man had Riyadh firmly in his sights.
Some drama unfolded just before the end of Lap 4, as Junaidi had to wait for an ambulance to clear the tight start/finish stretch after it had collected a rider injured on the downhill section. The delay cost the race leader lost some 10-15 seconds, but he still had a sizeable advantage over Brown and Riyadh, who had come together as they completed Lap 4. It would have taken a brave person to bet against Junaidi with two-thirds of the race distance completed.
So it was a huge surprise to the crowd when next time around, Brown had not only dropped Riyadh but also caught Junaidi. Indeed, as they started the last lap, it was Brown who surged past the defending champ and took the lead up the short, sharp slope that led into the downhill section.
A long 11+ minutes followed as the excited fans awaited the outcome of that final lap, with all eyes were focused down the slope to see who would appear out of the jungle first onto the home stretch. The teeth-gnarling Junaidi emerged first with Brown following a few seconds later, but Junaidi stomped down hard on the pedals up the final incline to make sure there was no way back for Brown. He crossed line to clinch his fourth Singapore mountain bike national title to go with the single road and time trial crowns also in his palmares.
Some drama unfolded just before the end of Lap 4, as Junaidi had to wait for an ambulance to clear the tight start/finish stretch after it had collected a rider injured on the downhill section. The delay cost the race leader lost some 10-15 seconds, but he still had a sizeable advantage over Brown and Riyadh, who had come together as they completed Lap 4. It would have taken a brave person to bet against Junaidi with two-thirds of the race distance completed.
So it was a huge surprise to the crowd when next time around, Brown had not only dropped Riyadh but also caught Junaidi. Indeed, as they started the last lap, it was Brown who surged past the defending champ and took the lead up the short, sharp slope that led into the downhill section.
A long 11+ minutes followed as the excited fans awaited the outcome of that final lap, with all eyes were focused down the slope to see who would appear out of the jungle first onto the home stretch. The teeth-gnarling Junaidi emerged first with Brown following a few seconds later, but Junaidi stomped down hard on the pedals up the final incline to make sure there was no way back for Brown. He crossed line to clinch his fourth Singapore mountain bike national title to go with the single road and time trial crowns also in his palmares.
Conditions were perfect, the rain held off in the entire week, making things good for us and also a chance to rip the trails. The new trail was ready to received its new champions and boy did we sure make history.
- Junaidi Hashim / Team Captain
Last modified onMonday, 09 October 2017 12:00
