KUALA LUMPUR: National track riders competing at the Shanghai World Championships on Oct 14-18 will have to adapt quickly to conditions at the Shanghai Velodrome, China's new flagship indoor track.
National track cycling head coach (sprints) Harnizam Basri said nobody in the squad has experienced racing there before.
"We have no experience racing here as this is the first time they are having a (major international) competition here," said Harnizam recently.
"We don't have any data from this track. We have had a number of training sessions on the track so far and have been working out the best way to do a flying lap here.
"I guess the most important aspect is the gearing, we have to select the right gears."
Harnizam added that the track does have some similarities to the famous Izu Velodrome in Japan, where the squad raced during the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games last month, but described it as "heavier".
"Its characteristics do share some similarities with the Izu Velodrome, it is also a 7.5 metre wide track and has banking of 45 degrees," he said.
"But the conditions are a bit heavier as it is a sea-level track, the barometric pressure is over 1,000 hPa, Izu was only about 900 hpa."
The Shanghai Velodrome, officially opened in May 2024, is situated on Chongming Island.
The facility also serves as a UCI World Cycling Centre (WCC) Continental Development Satellite.
The world championships is set to begin on Wednesday with Malaysian riders set to compete in the men's team sprint (Shah Firdaus Sahrom, Ridwan Sahrom, Fadhil Zonis, Akmal Jusena) and women's team sprint (Izzah Izzati Asri, Nur Alyssa Farid, Aliana Azizan, Anis Amira Rosidi).
Former world keirin champion Azizulhasni Awang will take to the track for the men's keirin on Thursday.
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