KUCHING: Sarawak Cycling Powerhouse is banking on homeground advantage to push for multiple podiums at the 10th Siol International Mountain Bike Challenge (SIMBC) 2025, which takes place from August 21 to 24 at the Siol MTB Track.
The team, managed by Ariana Nurminda Arifin, will field a 25-strong squad drawn from across Sarawak, with representatives from Miri, Bintulu, Saratok, Sematan and Kuching.
“Preparations have been good overall, but the recent rainy weather has made training more difficult.
“The track is slippery, which makes it harder to push at full pace,” she told Sarawak Tribune at the track today.
Despite the challenges, Sarawak Cycling Powerhouse is entering riders across several events, including downhill, cross-country eliminator (XCE), cross-country Olympic (XCO), and cross-country short track (XCC).
Participation in the cross-country relay (XCR) is also under consideration, although the team is short on master riders.
Most of the squad is made up of athletes from the Malaysia Games (SUKMA) programme and Sarawak’s development pipeline, with SIMBC serving as both an international test and vital preparation for SUKMA 2026.
“For SIMBC, we are targeting at least three podiums. But since this is our homeground, we are hopeful we can achieve more than that,” Ariana added.
This year’s edition of SIMBC is expected to be highly competitive, with riders from Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, Japan, Thailand and Indonesia joining Malaysia’s best at the Siol MTB Track.
Widely regarded as one of the premier mountain biking events, the 10th edition of SIMBC is set to showcase world-class racing while highlighting Sarawak’s growing presence in the sport.
