KUALA LUMPUR: Cyclist Shah Firdaus Sahrom will debut in the Track Champions League (TCL) which begins with the first leg at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome in France, today (Nov 23).
The explosive Johor rider, nicknamed the Terminator, earned his TCL ticket after reaching the Paris Olympics keirin final.
Shah was invited to compete in the 2022 TCL but turned it down due to family matters.
The race at the Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome, which hosted the Paris Olympics in August, will see Dutch Olympic champion Harrie Lavreysen start as the favourite.
National coach Harnizam Basri said: "Shah is going to compete against the giants of the sport. We will be trying out different strategies during the TCL. This is the best platform to experiment before we shift focus for next year."
After the France leg of the TCL, Asian Games bronze medallist Shah will compete in the next two legs — in Apeldoorn, the Nettherlands (Nov 29-30) and in London (Dec 6-7).