By Siti Rohaizah Zainal
SHAH ALAM, June 23 — The Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) plans to make the Selangor International Bicycle Race (SIR) an annual event, thereby nurturing more emerging talents.
Its deputy chief executive officer (corporate) Suhaimi Kasdon said that in addition to boosting the tourism sector, the event, now in its second year, provides local cyclists with the opportunity to compete against professional participants from various countries.
“PKNS is now organising many other sports tournaments including badminton, golf, and cycling as the latest entry. We want PKNS to be known not only as a property developer but also as an organiser of international sports tournaments.
“This is one of our efforts to further enliven sports in Malaysia, especially in Selangor. We always support the development of cycling and aim to make this event internationally renowned, on par with the quality of other cycling events,” he said during SIR 2024 at PKNS’ headquarters today.
During the event, Raja Muda Selangor Tengku Amir Shah flagged off 1,000 participants over a distance of 145 kilometres. Cyclists will traverse highways, hilly routes, and PKNS township projects like Kota Puteri and Ijok town, and finish the race in Shah Alam.
Suhaimi added that the championship has been met with positive feedback, with an increase in the participation of foreign cyclists compared to last year.
“The number of cyclists remains at 1,000 as last year, but the number of participating countries has increased. We actually received over 1,000 registrations but had to reject some to maintain the championship’s quality,” he said.
SIR 2024 brings together international cyclists from countries including the United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Germany.
The race offers RM100,000 in total prizes, covering two race categories: professional and amateur.
SIR 2024 was organised in collaboration with the Selangor Youth Community, Cycling Selangor, the Shah Alam City Council, and Arena Asia Malaysia.
