SINGAPORE – Navigating tough terrain while braving the elements is all in a day’s work for mountain biker Riyadh Hakim.
Life off-trail can also be as challenging. Since turning full time in 2020, the 24-year-old has had to weather financial uncertainty to keep going, but he has been buoyed by his recent performances.
The 2023 season has been particularly confidence-boosting for him. Last Sunday, he won a bronze in the cross-country eliminator (XCE) at the Asian Mountain Bike Championships in Kerala, India. China’s Lyu Xianjing and Yuan Jinwei claimed the gold and silver respectively.
“The performance in India is the really important one this year,” said Riyadh, who won the event in 2019.
“To get a podium at the Asian level is one of the goals that we have every single year.
“To get a podium among a stacked field where the strong guys are China, Kazakhstan, previous winners Indonesia, Thailand. To get that four years after I got the Asian champion is such a great feeling.”
His medal comes after he finished ninth out of 17 riders at the recent Asian Games in the cross-country Olympic (XCO), which is different from his favoured XCE. While he did not finish on the podium, he beat most of his South-east Asian rivals.
The XCO is the only cross-country discipline in the Olympic programme – athletes are required to complete multiple laps around a circuit of four to 10km within about 90 minutes for elite classes.
In comparison, the XCE is a sprint race that consists of four riders racing against one another on the course, with the top two advancing to the next round. Each race has a maximum duration of 60 seconds.
After topping the podium in 2019, Riyadh decided to turn full time the following year to pursue his dream of becoming a world champion – even if that meant giving up the chance to earn a steady income.
He has made progress on the biking trail since, claiming a podium spot at the UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup in Barcelona, a first for a Singaporean rider on that stage.
While he does get some financial support from the Singapore Cycling Federation and Sport Singapore, Riyadh relies mainly on his savings to fund his sporting career. Thrift is key and he tries to avoid eating out to keep expenses low.
He said: “Without any stable income, relying on savings saved before I took the plunge into full-time athlete life, you could imagine that it’s not sustainable in the long run. (I’m trying to) keep things at a minimum, not spending time and money for leisure and hanging out with friends.”
His application for the spexScholarship, which offers support to athletes deemed to have the potential to excel on the Asian and world stage, has not been successful, so Riyadh is constantly on the lookout for sponsors.
But that has not dampened his ambitions. He is looking to build on the positive results from the last few months and do well at the UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Championships in Palangkaraya, Indonesia, on Nov 12.
He said: “In XCE, it’s unpredictable to the point where you race your best. The chances are there and I’ve shown that in the past two years. I’ve been on the World Cup podium twice already fighting with the best.
“I feel like it is not impossible (to win)... I feel stronger now because of all the preparation that we’ve done for Asian Games and Asian championships.
“The results just show that I’m there to fight for the top spots and I know how the riders race there, so we just have to race smart and do our best.”
