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Friday May 2, 2008

Blazing through a rough terrain

A PASSION for speed is the factor that made biker Mohd Fadzlee clinch the fastest rider title at the Kiara Downhill Domination 2008 competition held recently. Despite the exhaustion from his Kenyir race the day before, the 27-year-old was fully guided by the adrenaline rush from racing down the challenging hill trails.

“It feels absolutely great to be in the 'hot seat' today since I didn't do so well in Kenyir. To be on top, I had to keep pulling myself to greater heights so the other riders out there won’t beat me,” Fadzlee said, adding that he was aiming to be selected to represent the country in the coming Mountain Bike Championship in Nepal.




Cool moves: Gravity defying jump from one of the participants.


Fadzlee who works for Petronas rode down the 2.5km trail in 3.48 minutes and also bagged the Elite category championship that had seen him racing against experienced riders from a variety of countries including Singapore and Indonesia.

In the second race out of five organised this year by Freeride Malaysia, an online mountain bike riding community, there were five categories competed with 80 participants in all.

The winners for each category are Muhamad Fareez, 17, (Junior) Ahmad Johari (Open), Mohd Syarid Mohd Yunus (Hardtail) and Greg Larsen (Master A).



Sharp corner: Some of the 'tricks' performed by the bikers.

“There are a lot of riders in the country. The online community boasts of 300 members right now and there is just not enough places or competitions locally for them to participate in,” Freeride founding member Amirul Khair said, adding that members of the community built the current trails by hand voluntarily.

As for organising committee member and fellow racer Ridzuan Ahmad, he was proud of what they'd achieved with the trail he said was one of the best in the region. “The trail is made for speed and there are a lot of challenging jumps to overcome. Every now and then we'd come up with new sections to add to the trail and no one will grow bored of it,” Ridzuan said.

Time out: Taking a rest before going downhill.

22-year-old Audi Fareza from Indonesia was among the competitors in the Open category and the sole female competitor. “Racing against men is exhilarating and I find myself pushing my limits that makes me the race fulfilling,” Audi, who is still studying in Jakarta, said, adding that she's been racing on a mountain bike since she was nine. She opined that the Bukit Kiara trail was really good with plenty of mounds, drops and edgier roads making it really challenging for the racers.

For more information on the upcoming races and tracks available locally visit www.freeridemalaysia.com.my