KUALA LUMPUR: National rider Nur Aiman Rosli came agonisingly close to finishing on the podium in the men's elite road race at the Asian Road Cycling Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan today.
Aiman was pipped to third place by Kazakhstan's Yevgeniy Fedorov in the bunch sprint finish with mere centimetres separating the duo.
South Korea's Kim Euro won the 151km race in a time of three hours, 21 minutes and 46 seconds. China's Lyu Xianjing claimed the silver.
It was a bittersweet result for Aiman who was supported by his teammates Nur Aiman Zariff, Nur Amirull Fakhruddin Mazuki, Zawawi Azman and Akmal Hakim Zakaria during the race.
"I am grateful to finish fourth as this was my first time competing in this event (road race) at the Asian Championships," said Aiman after the race.
"But I cannot be content, I will continue to work hard and aim to do better in this race next season. Hopefully I can finish on the podium next time.
"I want to thank all Malaysians who have supported me as well as my team, Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG)."
Aiman had earlier this week placed ninth (+4:32s) in the men's individual time trial (40km) in Almaty.
Fedorov took the gold on 49:46s while his teammate Dmitry Gruzdev came in second (+35s). Japan's Yukiya Arashiro (+2:00s) completed the podium.