KUALA LUMPUR: National track cycling coach Harnizam Basri has downplayed Malaysia's chances at the World Championships which begins in Ballerup, Denmark today.
With the now-retired Datuk Azizulhasni Awang out of the picture, any realistic hopes of a medal at the world meet will rest on the shoulders of Shah Firdaus Sahrom, who had a positive outing at the Paris Olympics in August.
Harnizam, however, disclosed that both Shah and Izzah Izzati Asri, who will lead the nation's hopes in the women's competition, are not quite in peak form.
Anis Amira Rosidi and Ridwan Sahrom - Shah's younger brother - are the two other riders in the squad.
"Our (main) riders' preparations for Ballerup have not been the same as for the Olympics," said Harnizam recently.
"Shah and Izzah were given three weeks off after Paris and have only recently started training again so I don't think they will be at peak performance levels for the world championships.
"Ridwan and Anis, however, have both been training continuously and are in good form."
Izzah and Shah both set new personal bests in the 200 metre flying time trial in Paris, the latter also reached the men's keirin final.
The first world championships after the conclusion of the Olympics is not usually a priority for the top riders in the world.
This is because the riders are looking to rest their bodies and avoid burnout after two or three years of tough training and competition in the lead up to the Olympics.
Harnizam disclosed that he is expecting both Anis and Ridwan to make the quarterfinals in the keirin and second round in the individual sprint in the men's and women's categories.
"For Anis, we have moved her up to a bigger gear so it will be interesting to see how she does on race day. Previously she has been using a mid-sized gear," added Harnizam.
Bigger gears offer riders a higher top speed though are tougher to accelerate, especially for smaller sized riders. Massive chainrings are now de rigueur in the men's game at the world level.
Izzah and Anis will open their campaign with the women's individual sprint event while Shah and Ridwan will start with the men's keirin, both held tomorrow.
The men's individual sprint will begin on Saturday while the women's keirin will be on Sunday.
It will also be an interesting outing for Harnizam as former national head coach John Beasley has long made it clear that he plans to hand over the reins to Harnizam after Paris. Beasley has moved into a technical director role but has also made the trip to Ballerup.
Harnizam, who has been Beasley's trusted lieutenant for many years now, is expected to be officially appointed as the new head coach at the start of the new year.