Where there is a will, there is a way..: Shah Alam Criterium

First race for my new machine!

I wanted to do this race initially but due to transport issues I had to back out. But few days before the race Ah Chai told me I could take a bus up with Terence if we want to race. He would arrange Shaharin to pick us up over there. So after some discussion with Terence, we decided to go ahead with his plan. We left on Friday morning 8am for Sunway Lagoon KL. The bus journey took about 5 and a half hours. It wasn't as bad as I thought. A good nap and before long, we arrived in Sunway Lagoon.

Ice cream for dessert!

Shaharin took awhile to get here so Terence and I left our bike bags at the Hotel concierge and went to the mall beside for lunch (might as well take it as a short holiday trip too!). After lunch we explored around the mall and then headed back to the hotel lobby before Shaharin came to pick us. We decided to stay in Concorde Hotel, 2km from race site, for the night as we thought Dirk was staying there (ended up some communication break down - Dirk and Serene stayed at Holiday Inn instead). There was a small shopping centre opposite the hotel where we had our dinner and got our necessities. It was an early night for both of us.

Our appetizer before dinner!

Main course at Nandos! Similar to Spanish Paella. Yum! :)

The next day the sky was grey and it was drizzling outside. We woke up at around 8.30am, washed up and went down for breakfast. I must say the breakfast was awesome! I swore I wanted to try everything there was. But after getting a phone call from Ah Chai I lost all my appetite. He asked where we were and Shararin was waiting for us to register. I finished half of what I took and hurried off to get changed. Once we were ready we cycled down to the race site under the rain. We saw Dirk and Serene there and were surprised to see them not in their jerseys. They had heard that the race would only be only 5-7 laps (3km each) and figured it wouldn't be worth doing. So they decided to leave for Genting instead. The guys at the registration counter didn't know what time our category will start and we were told by them that the number of laps would be a "surprise". This was the first time I've done a race that is so unorganised. Feeling cheated not only by the lack of race info but also the mad rush to register, and with so much time to spare, Terence and I took an hour spin around Shah Alam. And the rest of the day were spent waiting and waiting. Time passed really slowly. When we finally gathered at the startline, it was close to 5.30pm in the evening!

Us and Shaharin before race registration.

We found shelter under a bridge to chill....

If I look bored in this picture, that is because I am!

I looked around, it was a strong field of about 90 riders, including Adiq (Champion System), Mat Amin (Malaysian Champion) and his few other Terengganu Pro Asia boys, Police and Navy team, MSN riders, a few state teams and many more. By the time we lined up at the start, I was already feeling tired and drained from the Sun and rain while waiting. But I was determined to do a good race since I took the trouble to travel 12 hours and waited 8 hours for this race.

The circuit was a 3km loop around a lake. There are 3 major corners, 2 sharp and 1 gentle, all were built in bricks so are quite bumpy. The first sharp left corner after the start had many holes on the inner bend and rough broken bricks. I knew I would need to take the outer bend for this corner. Besides this and a few drain covers, the circuit was generally quite safe, so it means a fast race. As I predicted, the speed shot up right from the get go. There were many attacks raining down by the bigger teams. I had to admit, for the first 3 laps I was still in dreamland. Hanging around a little too far back. On the 4 or 5 lap, there was a split in the middle of the pack. The gap quickly went up to 50m. That was when I suddenly woke up. Thankfully we got back to the front group after some chasing by a few Malaysians. If the front group had gone away, I would really be kicking myself in the head. From there on, I constantly reminded myself to stay at the front and out of trouble. By then, Adiq and Mat Amin had gone away and the pack was chasing them. As the race progressed, I was feeling better and better. I wanted to have a go in the last 2 laps but hesitated too much. But I doubt I would last in the front for too long as the pack was going at a fast pace and I could see some teams were getting themselves ready for the sprint. Before the last corner going into the last lap, I moved up to the front 10 riders as I know there is where I needed to be for the last lap.

Entering the last lap, Panjang gave a huge attack, followed by another Malaysian. Without hesitation, I jumped onto their wheels. I did not look back but I supposed the whole pack would latch onto us as no one would allow us to get away, not in the last lap. After another 20secs, Panjang looked back and realised the whole pack was behind him, so he let go. To my disgust, the whole pack swung around us and immediately I went from 3rd wheel to something like 30++ wheel. I knew I had to start getting to the front again before it's too late. But by then the speed was way too fast (im pretty sure we were going at at least 55km/h). Slowly I managed to overtake one rider at a time but it wasn't going to be enough. When we entered the last corner, I was maybe in the 20th position or something like that. I must say, this was the first time Im actually in position to sprinting with the big guys. It was really fun and I enjoyed that feeling. In fact, I felt really good for the sprint and my Canyon bike really responded well to each of my pounding. I knew I had the legs to overtake some riders at the end but had no space to go around them. In the end, I finished 13th overall. Mat Amin had won in the breakaway ahead of Adiq. The average speed for the race was 44.8km/h according to my Garmin!

All in all, I think it was still a race worth doing despite the 12 hours bus travel, 8 hours of wait, for a race lasting only for 35mins. Terence and I had a great time and gained some valuable race experience. I am not really a rider for the criteriums but I feel I am slowly getting better at it with so many criterium races done so far this year. I also feel more confident that I am able to compete with some of the best Malaysian riders. Maybe I can't beat them now, but with time and commitment, I believe one day I will be the one on top of the podium!