SEA Games: Calvin Sim rides off with Singapore's first cycling gold in KL, country's first male champion in 20 years

Calvin Sim holds Singapore's flag after winning the men's omnium cycling event at the SEA Games on Aug 28, 2017. PHOTO: AFP

KUALA LUMPUR - Just when it seems like Team Singapore were going to draw a blank for gold medals on Day 10 of the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games, up stepped cyclist Calvin Sim with a stunning victory.

The 27-year-old triumphed in the men's omnium on Monday night (Aug 28) at the National Velodrome in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan.

He scored a total of 140 points to finish first in the 11-strong field, ahead of Malaysia's Sofian Nabil Omar (136) and Indonesian Nandra Eko Wahyudi (135).

Sim's team-mate Goh Choon Huat was fourth with 128 points.

The omnium is a category of track cycling involving several events in which participants are awarded points for each event and the overall winner is the rider who has garnered the highest total of points.

The four events are scratch (all riders start together and the first is awarded 40 points, second 38 and so on), tempo (riders collect points depending on their position after a certain number of laps), elimination (riders are eliminated one by one and points awarded accordingly) and the final points race (similar to the tempo segment).

This is the Republic's second piece of silverware in cycling in Malaysia. Luo Yiwei had bagged a silver medal in the women's omnium on Sunday evening.

It is also the country's first gold by a male cyclist after Bernard Wong won the point race at the 1997 Jakarta Games.

Dinah Chan was Singapore's last Games cycling champion. She won the individual time trial event at the 2013 edition in Myanmar.

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