KARACHI: Ali Ilyas put Pakistan on top of the podium in Almaty on Saturday and immediately set his sights on harnessing the country’s future talents.

The national elite champion won the men’s master time trial at the Asian Road Cycling Championships in Kazakhstan, securing Pakistan’s first gold at the continental showpiece, but with age catching up with him, he hopes his feat inspired Pakistan’s next generation.

“I’ve taken Pakistan to the very top of the podium ... the farthest I could,” the 37-year-old Ali told Dawn from Almaty. “Now, my mission is to help the next generation to go beyond what I’ve done and perhaps go on and win the elite title.”

Despite Ali competing on the domestic circuit on the elite level, the Pakistan Cycling Federation decided to put him in the masters’ category in the Asian Championship, for competitors aged 30 and above, to help boost the country’s medal chances.

Ali obliged, covering the 21km distance in 27 minutes and 18.142 seconds for a personal best — his time being the best across three age groups: 30-34, 35-39 and 40-44 — that saw him finish over a minute ahead of nearest rival Kritsana Keawjun of Thaliand.

But he understands this sort of dominance wouldn’t stay for long.

“The hard part starts now,” said Ali, who is guiding Pakistan’s next crop at the Sui Southern Gas Company cycling team. One of his proteges, Ismail Anwer competed in the Under-23 time trial on Saturday.

“From the very first day, Ismail’s aim has been to beat me,” added Ali. “And that’s why I don’t hide all my data, training statistics and all, so that these budding youngsters can get inspired and learn from it.”

Cycling was, however, not Ali’s first sporting passion. A former badminton player, who won a gold medal at the National Games for the Sindh team, he only turned to cycling after suffering a shoulder injury.

“I got good at it,” he remembered. “And then once I took up competitive cycling, I began winning.”

But the national champion knows his time at the top is short. “I’ll be retiring soon so I have to pass the baton to the next generation,” he said. “That generation I’m nurturing at SSGC and I hope that they will go beyond me in terms of achievements.”

For that, however, he stressed that Pakistan’s cyclists need government support.

“Today, Ismail was the highest-ranked finisher from South Asia,” he informed. “So the talent is there and we just need to harness it.”

He also hoped for a u-turn on part of the government and the Pakistan Olympic Association, which is refusing to hold cycling events at the South Asian Games it hosts next year.

“It’s unthinkable that a sport in which we dominate the region isn’t on the roster,” he said. “But there is still time and I hope our achievements here force a rethink.”

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2024