KUALA LUMPUR: National track cycling programme technical director John Beasley believes his riders performances in the men's individual sprint yesterday bode well for their hopes in the all-important keirin which starts on Saturday.
Beasley said he had expected fast times from both Azizulhasni Awang and Shah Firdaus Sahrom as well as the other top riders in the individual sprint qualifying round at the Saint Quentin en Yvelines Velodrome.
"Today (yesterday) was expected for us as this is the Olympics and the track here in Paris is very steep and is an extra metre wider than most tracks around the world (which allows for greater acceleration for bigger riders)," said Beasley yesterday.
"We set a target of going faster than we have ever gone before and we were also aiming for a top-ten placing which we both achieved, so we ticked (boxes for) a lot of goals today.
"Our focus has never been on the sprint, the sprint was always going to be a warm up event for the keirin where we set some markers to achieve so we know we have the speed to win the keirin and we did just that today.
"This is the same preparation (process) as Tokyo 2020, only that we are faster (now) than we were in Tokyo. We are right where we want to be heading into the keirin."
The individual sprint discipline is better suited to larger and physically stronger riders while the keirin provides a more even playing field for all riders as tactics play a greater role and thus has always been the preferred event for Malaysia.
Azizulhasni, 36, clocked a blistering 9.402 seconds to place 10th overall from 30 riders in the individual sprint qualifiers. The time bettered his own national record of 9.523s which he had set en route to gold at the Asian Championships in Nilai last year.
His timing was briefly a new Asian record until Japan's Ota Kaiya took to the track and clocked 9.350s (eighth overall), erasing the former Asian mark of 9.518s set by Yuta Wakimoto (Japan) at Tokyo 2020. Shah did well to clock a solid 9.635s, which was a personal best, to place 22nd overall.
The Olympic and world records were also broken yesterday by the Netherlands Harrie Lavreysen, who is the outright favourite in the sprint and keirin disciplines.
The world mark was first bettered by Australian Matthew Richardson who clocked 9.091s before Lavreysen reaffirmed his title credentials with a scorching 9.088s. The previous world record of 9.1s flat was set by Nicholas Paul (Trininad and Tobago) in 2019.
Azizulhasni made it to the third round of the individual sprint competition though Shah did not make it past the first round repechage.
Azizulhasni, 36, and Shah, 28, will be gunning for gold in the keirin and will now have the advantage of having two days rest over their main rivals, who are expected to go deep in the individual sprint competition, before the keirin starts.
Izzah Izzati Asri made her Olympic debut in the women's keirin yesterday. She finished fourth in her first round heat and third in the subsequent repechage and thus did not advance to the quarterfinals.
The 20-year-old showed good racecraft in both heats but was unable to match her rivals in terms of outright power.
Beasley, who is grooming Izzah to be a medal contender at Los Angeles 2028, was nevertheless pleased with her performances.
"Incredibly proud of Izzah today, she raced really well," said Beasley.
"Izzah has so much upside and she is going to be very good at the next games (LA2028). Very fast for a young, lightly raced athlete, be patient with her and she will reward you."
Izzah will next compete in the women's individual sprint which also begins on Saturday.