Sunday, January 5, 2014

2013 South East Asian Games!!


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.

Rockin' my new skin suit for my first international race! 

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!

The course profile......!!?! (and they said to train for a flat course!)
Checking out the course - no, it's not an airport runway! 
Team-mate Mariana ahead on the course..
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!!

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!!

Checking out the athlete's village
The ITT riders having a bit of fun post competition
Enjoying the sunshine.
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!! 

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