http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2008/6/15/sports/21558536&sec=sportsCycling: Azizul stuns Olympic champs
By LIM TEIK HUAT
KUALA LUMPUR: Double Asian champion Azizul Hasni Awang kick-started his Olympic aspirations with a stunning victory over the fancied Australian cyclists in the Revolution 3 Track Series at Vodafone Arena in Melbourne on Friday.
The 19-year-old beat Australia's 2004 Athens Olympic double gold medallist Ryan Bayley, two-time Olympic medallist Shane Kelly and former world junior champion Mark French en route to bagging the keirin title.
Fellow Malaysian Mohd Edrus Yunus completed the list of five riders to qualify for the final and joined Azizul to go in front of the Aussies after the derny (pace motor) moved out.
But it was Azizul who charged home on the last lap to win the race in 10.51, leaving Kelly and French to finish second and third respectively.
It was a day of double delight when the trio of Azizul, Josiah Ng and Rizal Tisin went on to beat the Australia's Daniel Ellis, French and Bayley in the team sprint final.
The Malaysians stormed home to win the shoot-out for gold in 45.559. The Australian trio stopped the clock at 45.588.
Their effort is also just outside the national record of 45.511 set by Edrus, Josiah and Rizal in the World Cup in Beijing last November.
Azizul finished third in the 200m sprint race, which was won by Bayley.
And the morale boosting wins over the Australians, ranked second in the world track rankings, surely left Azizul pleased with the performances as he looked towards a debut Olympic appearance in Beijing.
“It’s not a bad time for the team sprint, as we did it on a cold track.
“It’s a good start to our campaign heading towards the Olympics. We beat the Australians for the first time in the team sprint and this will be the same line-up for Beijing,” said Azizul in a telephone interview from Melbourne.
The Malaysian cyclists will leave for Germany next week for another race and they will set up base in Spain after that.
The training stint in Spain will be where the Malaysian cyclists fine-tune their preparations under Australian coach John Beasley before they leave for Beijing.
The Malaysian team are unable to train in Melbourne due to the coming winter.
