Cyclists train for Olympic qualification

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Thu, 02/28/2008 11:29 AM | Sports

The Indonesian Cycling Association (ISSI) rates the chance of qualifying for the Olympics as 50 percent for its women's team and 40 percent for the men.

"However, we will give our best in shaping up the cyclists and are optimistic that they can snap spots at the Olympics," team manager Wahyudi Hidayat told The Jakarta Post here on Wednesday.

ISSI is currently training eight cyclists on a mountainous plateau in Subang, West Java. They have been training since January and are expected to travel to Japan next month for the Asian cycling championships.

The event, which will run from April 15 to 17, also provides slots for the Olympics in Beijing in August.

Among the Indonesian hopefuls is Uyun Muzizah, who won three gold medals during last year's Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.

However, Uyun will be an underdog in the Asian event.

Wahyudi said the national team would face tough competition from top Asian teams such as Japan, China, Korea, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Hong Kong and Iran.

Uyun is one of only two women's cyclists on the team, the other being Santia Trikusuma. The men's lineup consists of Tonton Susanto, Samai, Ryan Ariehan, Fatahillah, Asep Suryana and Yudo Sasongko.

Ryan, who will take part in the road race in Japan, said he had been training hard for the event.

"Hopefully, I can win the race so that I can go to the Olympics," said the gold medalists at the 2007 SEA Games.

Ryan said he and fellow cyclists were focused on improving their speed.

"To enhance our performance, speed training starts earlier than scheduled. We have been speed training for a month now," said Ryan.

Wahyudi said the cyclists also were going through endurance and strength training.

"In January-February, they received special endurance and strength training. In March they will have specialized speed training for track races, such as point, scratch and sprint, as well as road race categories," he said.

Wahyudi is assisted by Endang Suparyo who supervises the point race, Rudi Dwijanuar for road race and Nurrohman for sprint.

As a warmup before Japan, the cyclists may take part in the one-day Tour d'Jakarta on March 23.

Wahyudi said the Asia-level competition would feature 15 teams, with some 100 cyclists, from Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Thailand and Indonesia.

Wahyudi said the national team's cyclists might take part in the competition if the track was safe and the race would help them get ready for Japan.

"So, we have to make sure about track safety first," he said.

Tour d'Jakarta 2008 will take cyclists from the National Sports Council office in Senayan, Central Jakarta, to Semanggi-Pluit-Sunda Kelapa-Ancol-Tanjung Priok-Rawamangun-Pemuda-Casablanca-Permata Hijau-Semanggi-Halim-Palmerah and back to Senayan.

The event, which is organized by the Jakarta Cycling Association, will offer Rp 50 million (US$5,526) in prize money.(nkn)

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