12 – 19
December 2013: The build up for the past 4 months have been for these Games –
the big event was finally here! The 2013 SEA Games in Naypyidaw, Myanmar. My
first international representation for Malaysia – excitement, nervousness – all
intermingled together.
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| Rockin' my new skin suit for my first international race! |
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| The Malaysian cycling contingent at KLIA |
After a long
day of traveling, transiting through Bangkok airport, we finally arrived in
Naypyidaw on Thursday 12 Dec night. All the cyclists were put up at the Golden
Lake Hotel – comfy beds, great service, good food – checked! Our bikes were
flown to Yangoon, some 320km North of where we were, and thus didn’t arrive
till the Friday morning. It wasn’t till mid-day before we managed to head out
on an easy ride to spin the lactic acid from all the travelling.
By now, we had
less than 48 hours to race day, and yet, no one in the team knew what the ITT
route was. I was rather agitated, and finally, after some asking around, thanks
to the help of our Singaporean neighbours, I managed to get hold of the course
map and profile. Next morning, team-mate Marianna and I, together with the coach
recced the course – half-riding and half hanging on to the motorbike. 8-12
lanes wide, twisty, bumpy cement roads, 3 roundabouts, couple of sharp 1-2km hills
– this was going to be one technical and challenging course!
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| The course profile......!!?! (and they said to train for a flat course!) |
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| Checking out the course - no, it's not an airport runway! |
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| Team-mate Mariana ahead on the course.. |
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| Being silly knocking off the pre-race nerves.. |
9 am 15 Dec – 30km
ITT - race day!! I had woken up a couple of times the night before – it really
has been a while since I’ve been this nervous about a race. An easy ride to the
start, warm-up and before I knew it, I was on the start ramp with the clock
ticking down!! 3,2,1…I kicked...leaving the roaring crowd behind as I quickly
found my rhythm. Focus. Breathe. With the first climb only a kilometer in, I
tried to find a steady pace, constantly aware not to go too deep into the red. With
the 12 lane wide road, I felt like a tiny ant amongst it all! The unpolished
cement roads made for a very bumpy ride, making it tougher to find a steady
rhythm. Within 7kms, I caught my first rabbit, and the next one not too long
after. I was now leading the race! It
was at this point that I realized that my radio wasn’t working…grrr. Over the
next quarter, it was a cat and mouse game with the Myanmar rider. She’d push a
massive gear, come past me, linger for a bit before I’d go past her again. The
Myanmar team even had an ambulance filled with supporters, with the siren
wailing in the background!!
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| The start line! Let's go!! |
The biggest
climb of the day was at the mid-way point, kicking up to 10% at the steepest
bit. 2km of pain, as I tried to zone out the burn in my legs from the lactic
acid. The Myanmar rider came stomping past me again. Arghh. I held pace, before
re-passing, and finally shaking her off for good on the downhill. I had maxed
out my gear by this stage, and was trying everything I could to hit top speed
over the next quarter. 7 kms to go, and we were back on the start straight.
Windy, bumpy, burning legs – I tried my best to focus. Push a little harder. Go
a little deeper. A mistake on the final 1.5km climb of the day left me trying to
grovel out of the red. Not good!
3kms to go, I
was now going flat out. Everything I had. I could see the supporters lining the
road. Not long to go. Screecheeeeeed!!! My back wheel swung out, and I just
only managed to save myself from crashing!! The lead police car had stopped 50m
before the finish line!!! “F!!” Heart racing at a million miles an hour, I
gathered myself, squeezed past the car before sprinting for the line.
I ended up
finishing in 6th place, +2.44 (didn’t get any time for the police
car incident!) from Dinah Chan of Singapore who rode magnificently that day. I
was happy to have given it my best that day and even enjoyed quite some time in
the hot seat! Perhaps a tinge of disappointment of not having the benefit of
course knowledge and course practice time like the other countries did, nor the
opportunity of being part of the opening/closing ceremony. Nonetheless, it was
a huge learning curve at my first international race against some very
experienced riders. My sincere apologies to the crowd for swearing out cusses
at the finish line – I was boiling in anger from the near crash just before the
line and couldn’t quite hold it in! Sorry!!
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| Checking out the athlete's village |
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| The ITT riders having a bit of fun post competition |
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| Enjoying the sunshine. |
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| Eggs for brekkie?? :) |
The past few
months has been a very exciting cycling journey – happiness, tears, excitement,
disappointment, achievements, mistakes – each contributing to the strength and
maturity as I continue to develop as a rider. Winning the Malaysian National
ITT, making the national road team, racing my first international race at the
SEA Games and discovering my niche in ITT's – it’s been a real adventure!
Thanks to
everyone to have helped me along the way – your encouragement, support and
advice have gone a long way!
- Simon Quick, my coach, for his training,
advice and encouragement, and the Quickcycle riders for all the great times on
those training rides
- Graham Seers and John Beasley for your
words of wisdom
- My manager and work colleagues at the
ANZ Bank for supporting my passion
- Family, friends and support staff for all your help and encouragement!!
2014 is going
to be a huge year ahead - chasing entry into the Asian Cycling Championships,
Commonwealth Games and Asian Games! “Whatever you can do, or dream you can,
BEGIN IT! Boldness has genius, magic and power in it! (Goethe).” Can’t wait!!
