SHORT HISTORY OF BICYCLE RACING IN MALAYSIA

It is not known when actually the sport of bicycle racing was introduced in Malaysia. From reliable sources it is
believed that bicycle racing was introduced by British Soldiers posted to Malaya before 1938. It was only in 1938
that organised activities in the sport of bicycle racing began with a number of Road races being held in and
around Kuala Lumpur.
The first State in Malaysia to form an Association was Selangor in 1938 with a number of Bicycle Racing Clubs
already in existence then such as the " Rough Riders " "Agas Wheelers" and others. With the formation of the
Selangor State Cycling Association, cycling activities started to spread to other States like Perak, Melaka and
Penang.
The Malaysian National Cycling Federation was formed in 1953 thanks to the untiring efforts of the late Mr.
Gurchan Singh and Captain C.O. Jennings (an officer of the New Zealand Regiment) with the States of Selangor,
Melaka, Perak and Penang being affiliated members. The Registration Number of the Federation was RSM
146/55.
Major Road Races such as the Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh Race had been held since 1947 and the response from the
Affiliates and all concerned had been tremendous. This went on until the end of 1970 when it was replaced by the
Kuala Lumpur to Alor Star Race. Apart from this, other road races and track events were held from time to time.
It needs to be stated here that track events had already been introduced in the 1950s in Venues like the Lucky
World Park in Kuala Lumpur where events were run on " Plank Track " and on grass in Melaka. Other events
competed on grass were in Kuala Lumpur, Klang, Melaka, Ipoh, Penang, Muar and Segamat.
The Malaysian National Cycling Federation organised an International Road Race and Grass Track Events in
conjunction with the Independence celebrations of Malaysia in 1957 - all in all, eleven Countries took part in the
Competition.
In 1957 when Thailand hosted the 1st SEAP Games ( now know as the SEA Games ) the National Cycling Team,
though very prepared and can be considered as strong contenders, was unable to take part because the National
Cycling body had not been accepted as an affiliate of the Union Cycliste Internationale, thus preventing it from
competing.
On 5th. March, 1960, the Malaysian National Cycling Federation was accepted as a member of the Union
Cycliste Internationale and at the same time became a member of the Olympic Council of Malaysia. With this
new status, the MNCF was invited by Indonesia to participate in their Competition and without hesitation sent a
team there.
In August 1962, MNCF took part in the IV Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia where we managed to finish third
for a Bronze Medal in the Team Road Race.
During the IV Asian Games in Jakarta in August, 1962, the late Mr. Gurchan Singh initiated the formation of the
Asian Cycling Federation comprising of Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Taiwan, Iran, Hong Kong, Thailand and
Malaya ( now Malaysia ) with him being elected as the President.
In October, 1962, the National Cycling Team once again competed in an International Meet. This time in the
Commonweatlh Games held in Perth, Australia, where for the first time, the Team competed in the Track Events
in a real Velodrome.

On his return from Perth, the late Mr. Gurchan Singh started the ball rolling for the construction of a proper
Velodrome in Malaysia but his efforts came to an abrupt end with his unexpected demise on 5th. March, 1965.
When Malaysia was formed in the year 1963, MNCF were given the honours to host the 1st. Asian Cycling
Compionships in Kuala Lumpur. Nine Countries took part in the Championships i.e. Philippines, Thailand,
Vietnam, Singapore, Iran, Indonesia, Japan, Hong Kong and the hosts Malaysia. The Malaysian team managed
to win a gold medal in the Team grass track event at the Merdeka Stadium.
In preparation for the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1964, MNCF for the first time, organised the Tour of Malaysia
which started in Alor Star, Kedah and ended in Singapore. A number of Countries took part in the Tour.
And again for the first time, Malaysia took part in the Olympic Games in Tokyo in October, 1964. Even though we
did not win any medals, the exposure and experience the Team gained from the Olympic Games were
considerable.
In October, 1965, the Malaysian Team took part in the 2nd Asian Cycling Championships held in Manila,
Philippines where the Team managed to win a number of Bronze medals only.
In December of the same year, Malaysia hosted the 3rd SEAP Games in Kuala Lumpur. Seven Countries took
part and Malaysia managed to win one gold, six silver and one Bronze medals.
From the year 1966 to 1969, the Malaysian Team, took part in a number of International Competitions suSch as
the Asian Games, the SEAP Games and also the Olympic Games but the most memorable event was the "
Goodwill Race " from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore with the Riders carrying a Goodwill message from the Rt. Hon.
YTM Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, Prime Minister of Malaysia to the Rt. Hon. Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister of
Singapore.
Due to the failure of the National Team in the 1969 SEAP Games in Rangoon Burma, the Olympic Council of
Malaysia decided to drop Cycling from the SEA Games to be hosted by Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur in 1971. This
failure also saw the resignation of the whole EXCO during the Annual General Meeting of the MNCF in January,
1970.
A new Committee without a President was formed to take over the admisnistration of the MNCF immediately after
the Annual General Meeting and it inherited a total of $44.60 being the balance in the Bank. But with dedication
and personal sacrifices by the New Committee Members, they were able to face all the challenges including the
damaging decision of the Olympic Council of Malaysia not to include Cycling in the 1971 SEA Games in Kuala
Lumpur.
With this kind of determination and dedication by the Committee Members and all those involved, all the hard
work put in by them finally paid off, when in August 1970 the National Team won the SUHARTO Cup in the Tour
of Jawa in which more than a dozen teams from inside and outside Indonesia took part.
This win in Indonesia was greeted by ridicule by most of the news media in Malaysia saying that it was only a
flash in the pan. But when in December, 1970, the National Team when competing in the Asian Games in
Bangkok, won 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze Medals, only then the press started to took at MNCF in a different
light and with renewed respect.
And now with the Press behind as, we were able to convince the Olympic Council of Malaysia to reinstate
Cycling in the 1971 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur. With the reinstatement of Cycling, the Malaysian Team once
again proved the we were a team to be proud of when we won 5 Gold, 3 Siver and 2 Bronze Medals.

In order to improve and further develop Cycling in Malaysia, MNCF revived the Tour of Malaysia which was last
organised in 1963. This event was competed for by four of our neighbours i.e. Brunei, Singapore, Thailand and
Indonesia.
In August, 1972, the National Team took part in the Munich Olympic Games. The Team did not win any medal
here but the exposure and the experience gained from it, proved to be very valuable when we succeeded greatly
in the SEA Games 1973 in Singapore.
In 1973 and 1975, we organised the Tour of Malaysia and these times around, Countries from the West, Middle
East and the Far East took part.
During this period, MNCF organised a number of Courses and Seminars for our Local Coaches and Technical
Officials. International Coaches and Technical Officials such as Mr. Oscar Plattner, Mr. Gustar Killian, Mr. Ib Van
Mansen and others were invited to conduct these Courses and Seminars. Most of our local Coaches and
Technical Officials benefiltted greatly from these Courses and Seminars.
Between the period 1966 and 1979, a member of State Cycling Associations were formed. They included the
States of Kedah, Johore, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perlis, Terengganu, Sarawak, Kelantan and Wilayah
Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur. Recently a new association was born i.e. the Labuan Cycling Association. The State
of Sabah was in the process of forming an association then.
Once again in 1974, Malaysia hosted the 9th Asian Cycling Championships. The Road Events were held in Shah
Alam while the Track Events were held in the Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur. The Malaysian Team managed to
win 2 gold medals in this Championships in which 16 Countries took part.
In the Eighties saw the birth of 2 Velodromes, one in Ipoh City and the other in the Federal Capital of Kuala
Lumpur. All these were due to the cries of the officials, riders and the supporters for a Velodrome as early as the
Sixties. And now instead of one, we have 2 Velodromes which can be considered if not the best in the world, at
least the best in this Region and which we hope will be fully utilized and not be regarded as " White Elephants ".
We only had 4 affiliates in the Sixties but now the number has increased to 15 with the latest being the Labuan
Cycling Association. We are in the process of assisting Sabah represented to form an Association and once this
is achieved, the whole Country will have been represented in the MNCF.
Presently a number of Riders have been sent overseas to Europe and Australia for exposure and to undergo
Scientific training. They were also equiped with the latest Modern Equipments with the assistance of well wishers.
We hope that all those fortunate Riders will in return, render their services to the MNCF for the further
development of the Sport of Cycling in Malaysia, when the time comes for them to retire from active cycling.