Yew Meng gets his ride
13/1/2009, NST

FORMER mountain biker Lim Yew Meng is set to debut in Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) on Feb 9-15 as a replacement for the troubled Sayuti Zahit in Le Tua Cycling Team.

The team cited private matters as the reason behind the replacement of Sayuti, who had been unable to train for the past month, thus opening the door to Yew Meng, who had previously also served the team as mechanic.

Le Tua coach Johari Nayan said Sayuti's absence was a loss, but under the circumstances Yew Meng serves as a better option.

"Sayuti needs time to sort out his personal matters and studies, so we decided to give him some time off to take care of that. There is no use pushing him as mentally, he can't be prepared," said Johari.

Sayuti could not be contacted for comment.

The inclusion of 24-year-old Yew Meng will leave Le Tua with just two sprinters -- Razif Salleh and Indonesian Samai Amari -- which would work to the advantage of their climber Ng Yong Li.

Yong Li now has a support role to two-time LTdL Asian riders' classification winner Tonton Susanto of Indonesia, New Zealander Jeremy Yates and Yew Meng.

But Yong Li has had his own preparations hampered by a tragedy that struck his younger sister in Sabah recently, but has promised not to allow the incident to affect him.

"Yong Li's form is getting along very well and he's gelled well into the team although he only joined us in November, I believe he has enough mental strength to overcome the setback," said Johari.

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