Singapore’s competitive cyclists made waves in international competitions last year around the world.

Riyadh Hakim became the first Singaporean to register a podium finish at a UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup, after finishing 5th in the Barcelona leg and 10th overall in the UCI World Cup while Goh Choon Huat joined Team BikeExchange as a stagiaire for three months, making him the first Singaporean to race for a professional team in Europe. Chelsie Tan became the first Singaporean to receive a full 2022 contract for the Women’s World Tour Team GreenEDGE and at the Paralympics in Tokyo 2020, Ang Kee Meng and Steve Tee represented Singapore in cycling (road & track) where they achieved personal best timings and set a new national record.

Most recently, three Singaporean women qualified for the 2022 Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Cycling Esports World Championships.

Here to Play caught up with riders Faye Foo, Lyn Ahmad and Tsalina Phang, who qualified for this prestigious race via the World Continental Qualifiers. They will be flying our country’s flag at the 2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships which will be held on 26 February 2022 at the OCBC Arena at Singapore Sports Hub.

Faye shares that she is very new to the cycling scene and is very thankful for her unexpected success thus far.

“When I first heard that the OCBC 2021 Time Trial Race was going on as planned amidst the pandemic, I had literally just bought my time trial bike. Partnering my teammates who introduced me to road cycling was something I always said I wanted to do. We trained for two months — taking home the gold in the open duo category was totally unexpected,” remarks Faye.

“The time trial competition opened my eyes to competitive cycling. I’d say the camaraderie during training is something I truly enjoy. It was mundane going through practice rotations time and time again, but it paid off.”

Faye adds that training for her solo event requires a lot of discipline, especially since she is also juggling a full-time job and two young children. She shares that she is very grateful to the Singapore Cycling Federation for their resources and especially grateful to her coach, Adrian Ng, who has supported her throughout her journey.

“I mostly have one day of rest a week. The rest of the time is spent doing interval training, zwift races and long base rides. At the same time, I keep myself well hydrated and try to eat clean. Although it’s tough, as I need to get up very early most days for cycling, I make sure I get sufficient rest whenever I can. That intangible feeling of witnessing my own growth and progress ranks very highly for me. I want to be able to perform up to the standards that I have now set for myself, but I consciously remind myself that failure is always part and parcel of the learning process.”

Lyn shares she has been cycling competitively for about four to five years now. She got into competitive cycling about a year after she started cycling and switched to road biking. Currently, she is doing interval training and training with her teammates in preparation for the upcoming 2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships. As to what keeps her going, she says, “I might feel extremely fatigued after a painful race, but once I recover, I want to do it again.”

Tsalina used to compete in endurance events, which are non-stop multi-day events, but took a break when she had her first baby. She divulges that she soon felt the itch to compete again and entered her first cross-country event, in the Philippines, after her eldest child turned one.

“I am very new to zwift racing but it was one of the avenues I experimented with when lockdown hit,” says Tsalina. “Now, with volatile travel and health circumstances, esports racing is a consistent platform that safely brings racing right into your home!”

Tsalina has been mountain bike racing since 2015 and discloses that she loves how competition can bring out the best in her, and that she is grateful for her exciting mountain biking and zwift racing journey, which has let her represent Singapore in countries like China, Lebanon and India, and across Southeast Asia.

“I have moved some of my outdoor training indoors. I have been racing on zwift to improve my knowledge and instincts for online racing and to recce the race course. I loved that while mountain bike racing is a solo sport, its training has a large outdoor social aspect — I meet training buddies for intervals, race simulations and group rides.”

Tsalina shares that zwifting not only lets her compete and socialise despite travel restrictions, but also fits her busy schedule — she is able to squeeze in training to prepare for the upcoming world championships and also care for her young son, who was born just a few months ago.

Let’s show our support for our riders. Visit Singapore Cycling Federation website for more information.