MALLORCA: Olympic chef de mission Datuk Hamidin Amin sat down for lunch with the national track cycling team in Mallorca, Spain, on Wednesday.
Hamidin travelled to Spain to check on the preparations of Azizulhasni Awang, Shah Firdaus Sahrom and Nurul Izzah Izzati Asri.
He was briefed on the cyclists' training programmes and their upgraded WX-R Vorteq bikes, specially brought in from the United Kingdom.
"They are very excited and full of enthusiasm ahead of the Games. The opportunity to train using the new WX-R Vorteq machines has given them the much-needed impetus," said Datuk Hamidin, who also visited the team while they were training at the Illes Balears Velodrome.
Azizulhasni, who will make his record fifth appearance at the Olympics in Paris, said: "The three of us are in the best shape ahead of the Games. We are indeed thankful that we got to use the new bikes in Mallorca.
"For me personally, having won the bronze in Rio 2016 and silver in Tokyo 2020, I am aiming for the gold this time.
"Although there will be strong opposition from riders from the Netherlands, Japan, Australia and Britain, I believe I am on par with them, particularly now that we are equipped with an upgraded version of the bike.
"I want to prove something and repay the trust given to me all this time by bringing home the first Olympic gold medal for Malaysia," said the 36-year-old.
The track team are scheduled to check in at the Games Village at St Denis, Paris, on Aug 1.