SINGAPORE – As a fresh-faced 20-year-old, national cyclist Calvin Sim remembers having to take time off from studies to make his 2009 SEA Games debut in Laos.

Having traversed through the highs and lows of the sport over the last decade, the 34-year-old father of a daughter will be looking to make it a last hurrah in his fifth Games in Cambodia from May 5-17.

Sim, whose omnium gold in Kuala Lumpur 2017 remains Singapore’s only SEA Games men’s cycling title since 1997, will be retiring after the Games to join the Singapore Cycling Federation (SCF) as a national youth pathways coach.

At the Singapore Sports Hub on Friday, he was one of 10 cyclists announced for the Cambodia edition.

They will compete in four road cycling events, namely the criterium and individual mass start in both the men and women’s categories.

Mountain biker Riyadh Hakim, who in 2019 became Singapore’s first gold medallist at the Asian Cycling Championships, will also take part in the men’s cross-country events.

Sim, who started cycling competitively at 15, said: “It is definitely a bit sad thinking back to all the good times you had and how it is coming to an end. But I’m not getting any younger and I want to spend more time with my family.

“There are also a lot more up-and-coming young cyclists, so it’s time to mentor them, give back to the community and help develop the entire pathway for more talented cyclists to come through.

“The perfect swansong will be to get a medal. In cycling, you never know what is going to happen. But the minimum is that I want a medal or if anyone in our team gets a medal, I’ll be very happy.”

Luo Yiwei, 33, will also be bringing the curtain down on a career that has seen her win three silver medals at the 2017, 2019 and 2021 SEA Games. She is considering a coaching or mentoring role with the SCF’s women’s cycling academy.

The time trial event, in which she won her last two silver medals, does not feature in Cambodia but Luo, who made her Games debut in 2017, is determined to end on a high.

She said: “We have a really strong team this time. We are definitely going to go for the gold, no matter what. So we’re going to take our chances and hopefully, something good comes out of it. It will be nice to end with a medal.”

SCF president Hing Siong Chen, who will also be the Republic’s chef de mission at the Cambodia Games, declined to set a specific target for his team, who will be heading to a training camp in Chiang Mai from Sunday to May 6.

But he believes that they are competitive enough to win “a few medals”. At the Hanoi Games, Singapore’s cyclists clinched a silver and bronze.

On Sim and Luo, Dr Hing said he is proud of them and happy to see them having post-career options in cycling.

He noted: “But this is something that we’ve been working on for the past few years to make sure that there’s progression for our athletes and something for them in their post careers, whether it’s to provide them with a coaching job or to provide them with leads into the bicycle industry.”

SEA Games cycling team

Men: Calvin Sim, Thomas Tong, Darren Lim, Riyadh Hakim, Yeo Boon Kiak, Arfan Faisal

Women: Chelsie Tan, Luo Yiwei, Elizabeth Liau, Faye Foo