KUALA LUMPUR: Respected race organiser Emir Abdul Jalal supports the Malaysian National Cycling Federation's (MNCF) decision to test new organisers before allowing them to take a race to the UCI level.
MNCF had earlier this week revealed that an organiser is interested in organising Jelajah Malaysia - the country's oldest bike race — next year.
The national body, however, have told the organiser to hold the race as a non-UCI event first for one edition to prove their abilities as an organiser.
UCI-level races have stricter requirements and cost more to organise, though offer valuable ranking points to riders and teams.
MNCF will only consider allowing the organiser to return the race to its prior UCI 2.2 status in 2026 if the organisers are able to pull off a non-UCI version of the event successfully next year. The race has not been held since 2017.
Emir said doing so would be a good test for new organisers as tours such as Jelajah Malaysia involves interstate coordination.
"I think it is a positive move by MNCF as it forces organisers to prove they are able to run the race at a national level," said Emir when contacted today (Dec 22).
"Jelajah Malaysia is a tougher tour to run when compared to races such as Tour Gateh D'Tranung and Jelajah Negri Sembilan, which are only held in Terengganu and Negri respectively.
"Jelajah Malaysia will require a national coordination committee (NCC) to be set up and also requires the services of a special police unit from Bukit Aman to control traffic during the race."
A different organiser had announced plans to run Jelajah Malaysia last year. The event's dates, however, were postponed a number of times and would end up not being held at all.
This has led MNCF to be more careful when awarding the race to organisers.
Emir added that MNCF should also request for proof of finance from interested race organisers.
"The organisers should be asked to show proof of finance or proof of sponsorship before being allowed to organise the race," said Emir.
"This is to ensure that the organiser has the capability to run the race from a financial aspect.
"To run Jelajah Malaysia as a UCI 2.2 event — albeit a barebones version with no frills - would cost between RM1.5 to RM2 million.
"To run it as a non-UCI event would cost a bit less, possibly less than RM1 million."
Emir has successfully organised numerous tours in the past including Le Tour de Langkawi (UCI ProSeries) and Tour of Peninsular (UCI2.1).