KUALA LUMPUR: Shah Firdaus Sahrom's campaign in the opening leg of the UCI Track Champions League came to an early end in both the sprint and keirin disciplines in France yesterday.
Shah finished third from as many riders in his first round heat in the men's individual sprint and thus did not advance to the semi-finals at the Saint Quentin en Yvelines Velodrome.
The 28-year-old then placed fifth from six riders in his first round keirin heat. Only the top-two qualified for the final.
Great Britain's Matthew Richardson and the Netherlands' Harrie Lavreysen continued their rivalry from recent seasons in France.
Richardson, who recently switched allegiances after previously representing Australia, had the upper hand this time as he beat Lavreysen in both the individual sprint and keirin.
Malaysia national track cycling head coach Harnizam Basri admitted that Shah was not at his best having only recently returned from performing the umrah.
"Shah's is not yet at his best," said Harnizam today.
"He only recently started training again after returning from umrah, so we had anticipated that his performances would not be at the level we want.
"Regardless, this first leg of the Champions League is a good platform for him to reset himself and prepare for important competitions next season such as the Asian Championships, World Championships as well as the Thailand Sea Games.
"We are hoping to see his performances improve next week."
Shah's performances in France earned him nine points which places him 13th in the Champions League standings after the first leg.
Richardson sits atop the table with 40 points while Lavreysen is second on 34 points. Trinidad and Tobago's Nicholas Paul is third (26 points).
The Champions League, which features five legs this season, uses a truncated format for each event which allows each leg to be completed in a day.
The next leg will be held in Apeldoorn in the Netherlands on Friday (Nov 29).