Familiar Izu Velodrome holds no surprises for experienced track squad

NAGOYA: National riders will be returning to a familiar venue when they take to the track at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Tuesday.

The Izu Velodrome in Shizuoka is Azizulhasni Awang's old stomping ground.

He won Olympic silver in the keirin there during Tokyo 2020 and five years earlier, he clinched a keirin-individual sprint bronze double during the 2016 Asian Championships.

National track cycling head coach (sprints) Harnizam Basri believes his riders should have no difficulty adapting to the conditions at the 3,600-capacity Izu Velodrome.

"Izu has long straights and sharp corners so it does have different characteristics compared to other velodromes," said Harnizam.

"If compared to the National Velodrome in Nilai, it is also about a metre wider and the banking is also slightly steeper at 45 degrees compared to 44 degrees in Nilai.

"This makes it slightly more suitable for bigger, more powerful riders as they can gain more momentum.

"Almost all our riders are used to this track already as they have raced here before. The only exception is Akmal Jusena, who is here for the first time."

Akmal will be competing in the team sprint alongside Fadhil Zonis and Ridhwan Sahrom.

The Izu Velodrome was first opened in 2011 and is the only 250m indoor velodrome with a wooden track in Japan.

Japan, who invented the keirin race, are known for their outdoor asphalt tracks which are usually 333m or more in length.