The 28 athletes competing in the 2010 ANZ Royal Wheelie Grand Prix hit the roads this week as training began in earnest at the 5 racing clubs based around the country. Now enjoying its 4^th consecutive year of exclusive sponsorship by ANZ Royal Bank, the 2010 ANZ Royal Wheelie Grand Prix is already shaping up to be the most competitive ever. 

Phnom Penh Racing Team: 7 Athletes - Based: CNVLD HQ

Newly appointed Coach, Reigning National Male Champion and Paralympic candidate Van Vun has stepped up the pace of the Phnom Penh team by bringing in 3 new young athletes to join the well-established crew of Sin Sopha, Souen Vanna, Mok Samkhan.

Battambang Women’s Racing Team: 5 athletes - Based: ICRC Battambang

Coach Sieng Sokchan aims to continue her teams’ domination of the Women category in 2010 after Krouen Vannon blasted to consecutive victories in 2009 with Tor Chanta close behind. Former Champion Yob Nom who took maternity leave in 2009 hopes to make a comeback later in 2010.

Kompong Speu Racing Team: 6 athletes - Based: ICRC Kompong Speu

Coach Ek Leng will be missing his star female athlete and 2008 Champion Loet Ngait for the early part of 2010 as she takes maternity leave. The CNVLD wishes her the best of health for her new-born!

Kien Khleang Racing Team: 5 athletes - Based: Kien Khleang National Rehabilitation Centre

Coach Pov Sophal, increasingly acknowledged as the most successful coach in Cambodian wheelchair racing history, will be pushing his top athletes Eng Laihourn and Yim Sophal even harder this year to challenge his former protégés Van Vun and Soeun Vanna who have dominated the podium positions since 2008. With a crack 5-man team and a strict training regime expect the KK Racing Team to feature in the top times in 2010.

Kompong Chnnang: 5 athletes

Coach Cheom Sophanna, once the youngest coach in CNVLD history, is now regarded as a seasoned veteran and continues to impress with consistent finishes. Sophanna is determined to break the stranglehold of the Phnom Penh based male athletes to become the first provincial male podium finisher during the 2010 season. 2007 Female Champion Um Sophat made her return after maternity leave in 2008 in the last race of the year in 2009 and is expected to mount a spirited challenge in 2010 against the domination of the Battambang team in the women’s category.

With months of hard training ahead before the 1^st Round competition in Phnom Penh, the teams are now eating up the kilometres to get in the best shape possible.

2010 will also see the continuation and expansion of the CNVLD Volunteer programme with the ANZ Royal Wheelie Grand Prix being managed and staffed entirely by Cambodians in line with the CNVLD’s objective of complete localisation by 2012. ANZ Royal Bank staff continue to stand up as leaders in local corporate social responsibility by volunteering in great numbers to ensure the event is remains at the cutting edge of Cambodian sports event management.

Watch this space for more updates on the 2010 ANZ Royal Wheelie Grand Prix – Cambodia’s fastest sports programme staying on the move!