NILAI: The Sahrom brothers notched a hard-earned 1-2 finish in the men's keirin (race two) at the President's Cup series here today.
But this time, it was younger brother Ridwan who upstaged his Paris Olympics-bound brother Shah Firdaus at the National Velodrome.
Ridwan, 23, launched a long sprint just over two laps from the finish and was able to fend off Shah, 29, at the line.
Ahmad Safwan Ahmad Nazri completed the podium while Akmal Nazimi Jusena was fourth. Australian Sam Gallagher and Indoesia's Dika Alif Dhentaka came in fifth and sixth.
A beaming Ridwan said he was determined to win the race after failing to make the keirin podium in race one yesterday.
"I really wanted to win today. I just went full gas and didn't look back, I just wanted to hit the line first," said Ridwan.
"This is probably the biggest win of my career so far, I have never beaten Shah before this.
"It has been a while since I won a race so this is an important win for me. It will definitely motivate me to keep working hard and push myself harder in the future."
To be fair to Shah, he is currently undergoing a heavy training load in preparation for Paris and did not taper for the President's Cup series.
There were no surprises in the women's keirin final (race two) as Izzah Izzati Asri left no room for drama despite some hesitance from her opponents in the race.
Yong Ann Tung and Aliana Azizan settled for second and third.
Anis Amira Rosidi, Yong Ann Yi and Indonesia's Ratu Afifah Nur Indah were fourth, fifth and sixth.
"Today's race was a bit nervy, I think everyone was a bit unsure of when to really go for it," said Izzah.
"But I am happy that I was able to hold my lead until the finish. I felt a bit tired but it was all worthwhile."
Izzah breezed to the individual sprint and keirin (race one) gold medals on the first day of the competition yesterday.
Shah, Izzah and Azizulhasni Awang will travel to Japan on Monday to compete in the Japan Track Cup series on May 9-12. All three riders have qualified for the Paris Olympics.