PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) have now listed Josiah Ng as the rider for the sprint event, leaving Azizulhasni Awang for the keirin at the London Olympics.

MNCF deputy president Datuk Naim Mohamed said the change was a strategic decision which will allow Malaysia to have the best riders for both events.

Josiah Ng

MNCF had earlier listed Azizul-hasni for both the sprint and keirin with Josiah as the reserve. But having Josiah as a reserve would have meant his not being accredited for the Games and Malaysia not having a standby in case the main rider was unable to compete.

“Each country can only have one rider per event unlike in the past where we were allowed two riders. Thus, we needed to strategise and Josiah is now down for the sprint. Of course, we can still make changes at the technical meeting prior to the race,” said Naim.

“The chief coach will make the final decision on any changes but we will have to wait and see how the riders shape up in the meantime.”

Azizul is a three-time former world keirin champion who is adept in the sprint as well.

Besides Azizul and Josiah, the national cycling team have three other riders for the Games.

They are road racers Adiq Husainie Othman and Amir Mustafa Rusli, and woman rider Fatehah Mustapa.

The cyclists will leave for Ghent, Belgium, on Friday where they have a training and competition camp which will be their final tune-up for the Olympics.

The team will head for London on July 23 where they will check into the Games Village. The road race is on July 28 while the track events start on Aug 4.