KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Pro Cycling (MPC) team principal Sayuti Zahit is hoping the National Sports Council (NSC) will provide them a decent allocation to help them prepare national riders for the Thailand Sea Games next year.
MPC and their predecessor, Team Sapura Cycling, have consistently supplied riders to the national team for the last few editions of the Sea Games while Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG) have done so for over a decade now.
MPC and TSG are the only two UCI Continental sides in Malaysia.
Sayuti said it is thus only fair that they are given decent allocations.
"NSC essentially depends on TSG and us to prepare the riders for the Sea Games because road cycling is not under the NSC programme," said Sayuti recently.
"Although they (NSC) have given us allocations in recent years, it has not been much.
"As a professional team, we have a lot of expenses to cover including rider and coaching staff wages, training, travel and medical expenses as well equipment.
"RM100,000 for example is barely enough for us to send a team for three races in Asia. Races are important to keep our riders sharp and in optimum condition ahead of major competitions such as the Sea Games.
"We hope NSC will consider increasing the allocation given to teams such as us so we can strengthen our programmes and better prepare our riders ahead of the Sea Games.
"Other Southeast Asian countries are getting stronger and stronger as they have more UCI continental sides than ever before, so we cannot afford to be complacent.
"You also have to remember that while only one rider can win the gold, road cycling is always a team sport. No rider can expect to win without the support of his teammates."
Except for the 2019 Manila Sea Games, Malaysia has won at least one gold medal in road cycling disciplines at every edition of the Sea Games since 2015.
Hosts Thailand are expected to select a hilly course for the Sea Games next year which is better suited to their riders.
Malaysia has traditionally been known for its sprinting prowess thanks to riders such as Anuar Manan and Harrif Saleh but has in recent year's seen riders such as TSG's Nur Amirull Fakhruddin Mazuki, Nur Aiman Zariff (breakaway specialists) and Nur Aiman Rosli (time trial specialist) as well as MPC's Syawal Mazlin (climber) and Izzat Hilmi Abdul Halil (sprinter) showing encouraging results.
Amirull won one gold (road race) and one silver (criterium) at the Phnom Penh Sea Games last year.