PUTRAJAYA, April 21 — National cycling ace Mohd Azizulhasni Awang is working hard towards his first Olympics gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, with his training focused on muscle growth, physical strength and speed.

Weighing 70kg, Azizulhasni needs to increase it to 75kg, especially in terms of muscle growth to improve his physical strength for heavier gears and speed.

"I have gained 3kg and have another two more kilos to go. This is more on improving muscle mass. I have to increase my food volume from six to seven meals a day,” said Malaysia´s "Pocket Rocketman ".

Azizulhasni, who is also CIMB’s brand ambassador, told reporters this after completing the VIP Challenge category (40km) at the third edition of CIMB Cycle 2019, at Dataran Putrajaya this morning.

Azizulhasni said he is looking forward to European tournaments (Germany, Ireland, England) in June, which is part of his journey en route to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Commenting on the establishment of Team Azizul, Azizulhasni said there are three potential local cyclists, adding there is also interest from Australian cyclists but the matter need to be discussed with the coach first.

The event, officiated earlier by Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman, was participated by 3,700 amateur riders and pro cyclist from 26 countries.

Also present was Group chief executive officer of CIMB Group, Tengku Zafrul Aziz.

This year´s CIMB Cycle was specially curated to provide riders with a more challenging experience in both distance and terrain.

The event was divided into two categories — Endurance Ride (160km) and Challenge Ride (80km).

Meanwhile, Tengku Zafrul said the group was delighted to see a significant increase of 250 per cent in participation since CIMB Cycle was first staged.

"The great turnout of enthusiastic cyclists from 26 different countries reflects the quality of CIMB Cycle, now much anticipated by amateur and pro-cyclists alike, while firmly placing Malaysia on the regional sporting map,” he said. — Bernama