KUALA LUMPUR: Despite the emergence of a number of new rivals, national track cyclist Azizulhasni Awang still considers Dutchman Harrie Lavreysen to be his biggest threat at the Paris Olympics (Jul 26-Aug 11).
With 13 world championship titles and two Olympic golds to his name, Lavreysen, 27, has already cemented his status as one of the greats in the sport.
He has, however, shown that he is not invincible. He was pipped to the keirin silver by Azizulhasni in Tokyo and was also been beaten by Matthew Richardson (Australia) in last year's UCI Champions League.
Lavreysen also finished off the podium in the keirin at last year's Glasgow World Championships when Colombia's Kevin Quintero stunned the field to win gold.
Azizulhasni made it clear that he cannot afford to underestimate his rivals in the keirin.
"For me, the biggest threat will still be Harrie but I cannot take any of the other riders easily," said Azizulhasni recently.
"Riders such as Richardson, Nicolas Paul (Trinidad and Tobago), Ota Kaiya and Shinji Nakano (both Japan) all have their own characteristics.
"Harrie is a big threat because he is more flexible, he can do both long and short sprints.
"But I beat him in Tokyo and in the Jakarta leg of the Nations Cup last year I was able to race side-by-side with him despite having only come back to training at the time (after undergoing heart surgery in 2022).
"Quintero also beat him by a big gap in Glasgow.
"So he is not unbeatable, but we have to race well and use the right tactics. We cannot be overconfident but at the same time we cannot show him too much respect, we have to find the middle ground.
"At the Olympics, it is not just about performance it also about handling the pressure. Sometimes the riders are not able to absorb the pressure."
Shinji claimed the keirin bronze at last year's world championships while Paul is a former world record holder over 200 metres.
Azizulhasni, who underwent open heart surgery to correct a coronary artery anomaly in 2022, will be racing alongside national teammate Shah Firdaus Sahrom in the men's individual sprint and keirin in Paris.
Shah, 29, has struggled with inconsistency throughout his career but there is no doubt that he has the potential to finish on the podium if he is firing on all cylinders in Paris.