KUALA LUMPUR: A physically and mentally spent national track cycling squad will take two weeks off before resuming preparations for the Asian Championships in Nilai (Jan 31-Feb 6).
National head coach (sprints) Harnizam Basri said the squad deserve a break after a very long season which saw them compete across the UCI World Cup Series, Tagaytay Asian Championships, Glasgow Commonwealth Games, Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games as well as the Shanghai World Championships, the latter concluding on Sunday.
The squad's performances at the world meet were nothing to shout about as none of the riders were able to go deep in their respective events.
Harnizam said this did not come as a surprise to him as his riders had peaked at the Asian Games, which was held just a fortnight before the World Championships.
The squad won one gold, one silver and two bronze medals in Japan.
"Our riders had peaked at the Asian Games so it was tough for them to pick-up their performances again in such a short timeframe," said Harnizam yesterday.
"Our goal at the world championships was to collect ranking points which will help us to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and we achieved that.
"We did pick up some injuries during the competition but they should be able to recover soon.
"The squad will get two weeks off after this as they are physically and mentally fatigued. It is important for their morale.
"After that we will have about 15 weeks to prepare for the Asian Championships."
Nur Alyssa Farid, who crashed during the women's keirin first round in Shanghai, and Akmal Jusena, who crashed during training, both suffered contusions to their hips and abrasion wounds.
Harnizam stressed that the upcoming Asian meet and next year's World Cup series will be equally important in their mission to secure qualification to LA 2028.
"For the Asian Championships in Nilai, the winner in each category will get 600 points, which is substantial," he said.
"It is important we do well there as well as the World Cup series which will be held in Canada, Hong Kong and China.
"The points are bigger for the World Cup as the winner in each category will get 800 points."
Malaysia had hosted a round of the World Cup earlier this year.
The squad returned to Malaysia from Shanghai yesterday.
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