ONCE a trailblazer on the international scene for Malaysian cycling, Loh Sea Keong is now resigned to switching the jet-set lifestyle of a Europe-based professional cyclist to modest Kuala Krai, Kelantan, his hometown.
Having failed to find a team for the new season having spent five years with Dutch-Chinese team Marco Polo racing around Asia and Europe, 25-year-old Sea Keong feels he would rather take some time off. "The timing this year was all haywire. There were some teams interested but the deals didn't suit me, so I'm just going to take a break in my hometown," said Sea Keong.
Sea Keong was the first of the current generation of Malaysian cyclists to sign with a UCI Continental team when he joined Marco Polo as a trainee in 2005. He featured regularly for the Chinese squad in Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) and had been a regular member of the national team.
Injury forced Sea Keong out of the Sea Games last year after crashing heavily in training, but he doesn't see the national team's training camp as a suitable long-term career destination. "I was asked by some officials to join the national team's training camp in Kuala Terengganu, but after thinking it through, I declined," said Sea Keong.
"I'm used to being independent and I will continue trying to find a private foreign team to sign me this year. "In the meantime, I'll just head home to Kuala Krai and train on my own to keep myself in shape."Asked how long his self-imposed lay-off will be, Sea Keong said it would be until he finds a new team. "I think I'll give it two years. If I still don't have a team by then, then I'll quit cycling for good," he said.