KUALA LUMPUR – Tour of Thailand (ToT) green jersey winner Mohamad Izzat Hilmi Abdul Halil said getting dropped from the now-defunct Team Sapura Cycling was a wake-up call that pushed him to work harder to reclaim his position at the pinnacle of cycling.
Izzat was on the books for Sapura from 2017 until 2019, but when his contract was not renewed, he found himself without a team to race for.
Soon after, the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic stopped the sporting world in its tracks in 2020.
“Though my time with Sapura is in the past, maybe it was not meant to be. But it was a wake-up call for me to work harder and not quit. I didn’t lose hope and started looking for opportunities everywhere.
“Because of the pandemic I had to quit cycling for a while and ended up joining recruitment for the armed forces, but I only started cycling with them in 2022.
“I was also called up to the national team by coach Mohd Yusof Abdul Nasir in the same year,” Izzat told Scoop when contacted.
With the support of Yusof and the armed forces team, Izzat, who will turn 29 in September, put in the work he needed to reclaim his former glory.
It culminated with a strong performance at last year’s Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) where Izzat finished Stage 1 in fourth place and Stage 8 in fifth.
“My strong performance with the national team at last year’s LTdL led to Malaysia Pro Cycling (MPC) recognising my talent.
“They signed me in January and I’m happy to achieve the green jersey for the best sprinter at the Tour of Thailand recently.
“I had targeted to win a jersey at ToT as I saw the riders list and they were familiar names to me, and the stages were relatively flat, so it suited me.
“After getting third in the first stage, I was confident that I could win the best sprinter classification and I want to thank my teammates and team for their support,” said the Batu Pahat-born Izzat.
The ToT ran from April 1 to 6 and is classified as a UCI 2.1 race.
Izzat had finished third in Stage 1 and second in Stage 2 and 6, contributing immensely to his quest to win the best sprinter classification, the first jersey in his career.
For his effort, he was awarded an RM7,000 bonus by MPC’s sponsor Helaz.
“I’m grateful for the bonus as it motivates me to hunt more victories so I can get more rewards soon.
“I believe we will head to China and Indonesia to race soon, the team for this year’s LTdL has not yet been decided.
“We must fight for our spot and I would love to feature again in this year’s race,” said the eldest of three siblings. – April 15, 2024