TERENGGANU PRO ASIA PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM (TSG)

MISSJEWELZ 22 Jan. : Le Tour de Langkawi (LTDL) the 16^th Edition kicks off tomorrow ! But the heat is already on, in Langkawi and the rest of Malaysia ! Okay, I don’t want to make this post sound so news-ish or too formal. It is, in the end just another blog that you may be ‘surfing’ by. I got the chance to be in touch with the team representative from Terengganu Pro Asia cycling team (TCG/ TCT=UCI code) – a pro team you would like (and need) to watch out for at this year’s LTDL edition. Hence the more reason to blog about this team which will be making their debut appearance in this international UCI recognized cycling tour. I ‘heard’ about the plan to form a team by Anuar Manan a couple months back from fellow cyclists from the east coast of Malaysia last year after a ride. I didn’t know it was going to be huge ! Read on.

A brief history

The team was actually put together around October 2010 and registered under the International Cycling Union(UCI). Just last year, and not too long ago ! Surprised? Well, it is not the word to describe my thought about it. I am not surprised. Just awed and impressed by the efficiency and determination involved in setting up this giant of team in so short period of a time. So congratulations to those involved in setting up this team. The team was co-operatively founded by the Terengganu State Sports Council and Pro Asia Sports Management.

Team line up

The 13-men strong team is managed by Ahmad Kamarul Idrus as team manager and assisted by Danny Feng, assistant team manage and representative. All 13 riders are pro cyclists *woot* who most you cycling enthusiasts might have heard and already know or heard of.

1. Shinichi Fukushima, 38, Japan  (Captain)
   
2. Motoi Nara, 29, Japan (Sprinter)
   
3. Anuar Manan, 24, Malaysia (Sprinter)
   
4. Phuchong Sai-Udomsin, 23, Thailand (Climber)
   
5. Harrif Salleh, 25, Malaysia (Sprinter)
   
6. Shahrul Mat Amin, 24, Malaysia (Attacker)
   
7. Kim Do Hyeong, 25, Korea (Climber)
   
8. Yusrizal Yusoff, 24, Malaysia (Domestique)
   
9. Umardi Rosdi, 24, Malaysia (Attacker)
   
10. Saufi Mat Senan, 20, Malaysia (Climber)
    
11. Shobry Abdullah, 20, Malaysia (Domestique)
    
12. Sharifuddin Kadir, 20, Malaysia (Domestique)
    
13. Fakhruddin Marzuki, 19, Malaysia (Domestique)
    

 

The team comprises a lethal combination between Asia star pro cyclists and budding talents from the Asia cycling world is headed by Shinichi Fukuchima (JPN) and Anuar Manan (MAL). The newly formed team might not be ‘new’ at all as some of their cyclists have debuted and won more than just a few races. Last year itself, the cyclists from this team (before it was formed ) gained 17 international victories from various races i.e. Tour de Taiwan, Mi-aout Bretonne and Tour of Murray River, and on top of that made 40 podium appearances.

The Kuala Terengganu based team is supported by Terengganu state cycling coach Syed Hussein Syed Mazlan and their mechanic, Naim.

Terengganu ProAsia Cycling team (TSG) Star Riders

So it is not a surprise anymore that this particular team has, already, strong and accomplished achievement records. Some more scoop that you should know about the team star riders –Shinichi Fukushima, Anuar Manan, Phuchong Sai-Udomsin, Shahrul Mat Amin and Harrif Salleh, below :-

Shinichi Fukushima (Japan)

Winner of numerous races in Asia and Europe

2010 Overall winner of Tour de Okinawa

2010 Japan national time trial champion

2008 Tour de Langkawi best Asian jersey winner

2007 Tour de Langkawi stage 7 winner

2004 Overall winner Tour of Japan

2003 Japan national champion

Anuar Manan (Malaysia)

One of best sprinters in Asia

2010 Tour de Langkawi stage 5 and sprint jersey winner

2010 Tour of Thailand and Tour of East Java multi-stages winner

2009 Jelajah Malaysia stage 4 & 5 winner & sprint jersey winner

2009 Perlis Open stage winner

2008 Jelajah Malaysia stage 2, 3 & 5 winner & sprint jersey winner

Phuchong Sai-Udomsin (Thailand)

One of best climbers in SE Asia

2010 Thai National Road Champion

2010 Tour of Thailand best SE Asian jersey winner

2009 Tour of Thailand KOM and best Asian jerseys winner. 2nd overall

Shahrul Mat Amin (Malaysia)

One of the top riders in Malaysia

2010 Jelajah Malaysia stage winner and Yellow jersey wearer

Harrif Salleh (Malaysia)

One of Malaysia elite national team riders

2010 Tour of Murray River Australia winner of 4 stages

CQ Points

Just like any other world class sports, UCI uses the CQ ranking system to rank professional cyclists annually based on their participation, performance and achievements. From cqcranking.com ‘CQ is short for Cycling Quotient. The CQ-ranking is a world ranking of professional road cyclists, based on their performances during the last 12 months. It can be seen as the non-official successor of the UCI-ranking which disappeared when the ProTour was introduced in 2005‘ . Let’s take a closer look at Terengganu ProAsia riders’ CQ points and ranking ! The points and ranking is listed below in this format à [ CQ points, current ranking]  (previous ranking)

1. Shinichi Fukushima = 89, 618 (prev. 950)
   
2. Motoi Nara, 29, Japan = 8, 2160 (prev. – )
   
3. Anuar Manan = 64, 769 (prev. 864)
   
4. Phuchong Sai-Udomsin = 10, 1973 (prev. 1463)
   
5. Harrif Salleh = 5, 2474 (prev. 2893)
   
6. Shahrul Mat Amin = 46, 939 (prev. 2783)
   
7. Kim Do Hyeong = 2, 2931 (prev. 2930)
   
8. Yusrizal Yusoff, 24, Malaysia
   
9. Umardi Rosdi, 24, Malaysia
   
10. Saufi Mat Senan, 20, Malaysia
    
11. Shobry Abdullah, 20, Malaysia
    
12. Sharifuddin Kadir, 20, Malaysia
    
13. Fakhruddin Marzuki, 19, Malaysia
    

Terengganu ProAsia Professional Cycling Team Sponsors

Main sponsor – Terengganu State

Co-sponsors – Champion System, Shimano, Meitan, Kabuto

Debut Team Appearance at Le Tour de Langkawi 2011

The team hopes to have stage wins and making it for the top GC (general classification= category that tracks overall times for bicycle riders in multi-stage bicycle races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest time when all the stage results are added together). On top of that, Anuar Manan said that it would be a bonus for the team to be ranked top ten, in the 10 days tour that will see 23 teams competing. The coalescence of international and local riders and blended with the rich experience of Shinichi, speed of Anuar and Harriff, team chemistry and team work is hopes to give and edge for this state professional cycling team in their maiden ‘outing’. As quoted by Danny, Team assistant manager, Danny Feng, no matter how well prepared the team is, there will always unexpected events in the race. TSG alongside LeTua Cycling and the national cycling team will be the ‘local’ team to watch out for in this year’s LTDL. Fingers crossed, I hope all teams will do their best.

Terengganu ProAsia Line Up for LTDL 2011

1. Shinichi Fukushima
   
2. Anuar Manan
   
3. Puchong Sai-Udomsin
   
4. Mohd Harrif Salleh
   
5. Mohd Shahrul Mat Amin
   
6. Saufi Mat Senan
   

Missjewelz supports LTDL

As much as I ‘wish’ to become a sports journalist (huh?!) , I will do my bit, from this side of the peninsular to update on LTDL. My best wishes to ALL teams taking part. To media members, I will be hunting your info, database and photos to be scooped and shared in here. To Danny Feng, assistant manager and representative of Terengganu ProAsia Cycling team, thank you for your support and help. Much appreciated !

Terengganu ProAsia – Photos

 

SHINICH FUKUSHIMA

 

ANUAR MANAN

 

MOTOI NARA

 

PHUCONG SAI-UDOMSIN

 

 

FOLLOW TERENGGANU PROASIA (TSG) ON FACEBOOK!

http://www.facebook.com/TerengganuProAsiaCyclingTeam