THE Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) plans to further strengthen the high-performance sport of cycling by introducing the “Le Tour de IPT 2023” road race.

The ministry’s sports planning and policy research division deputy director Dr Pekan Ramli said the race was synonymous with other cycling tours in the country such as Le Tour de Langkawi, Le Tour de Peninsular and Jelajah Malaysia.

The race to be held next year will involve several states in the Peninsula, with starting and ending points located in selected institutions of higher learning (IPT).

“Upon the success of organising the Varsity Cycling Challenge (VCC) 2022 which is entering its sixth year, I believe MOHE, in collaboration with Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) as the ministry’s cycling-focussed sports centre, and all related agencies, has the ability to make Le Tour de IPT 2023 a success,” he said.

Pekan said the VCC 2022, which attracted 458 participants among IPT students and the general public, was considered to be among the catalysts for the IPT Sports Development Policy’s goal to produce the “Thinking Athlete(s)”.

Earlier, he attended the closing and prize presentation ceremony of the VCC at Dewan Seri Medan, here, which was attended by Higher Education Minister Dr Noraini Ahmad, who launched the race.

At the tournament, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) won the IPT Male Students’ Team category while UTeM topped the female category. – Bernama, March 26, 2022.