Singapore’s largest mass-cycling event, OCBC Cycle, had its official launch today noon at the Singapore Sports Hub by OCBC Bank’s Group CEO Samuel Tsien, Deputy CEO Sport Singapore Chiang Hock Woon, Straits Times Sports Editor Lee Yulin and representatives of the event sponsors and partners.

First rider to sign up receives prizes worth S$1,498

After plenty of fanfare and an unveiling of the official event cycling kits, registrations opened at noon at the Singapore Sports Hub’s OCBC Square, with the first rider to sign up receiving a 25% discount off his registration fees, as well as attractive prizes such as a Garmin Performance GPS cycling computer and an Aleoca mountain bike worth S$1,498 in total. 

First in line had been Joseph Wong, 17, a first-year ITE film student who had been queuing up at the Sports Hub for the past 24 hours, that is, since 1pm yesterday afternoon.

Said Joseph, “I wanted to come down to bond with my friends and get the gifts as well as sign up for the event. We spend a lot of time cycling also, so we have hobbies in common.”

He added, “I had queued up last year too and I came fifth, so this year, I made sure I turned up earlier according to the first placed winner last year, so it was not a surprise to find out that I was indeed first.”

What makes his determination to come down to join the queue even more interesting, is the fact that Joseph is currently nursing a broken collarbone, which means that he isn’t be able to ride for the next two months.

In second and third place respectively, were his cycling buddies Amir Syariqul Haekal, 17 and Benjamin Ng, 34. All three had turned up around the same timing.

Said Amir, a first-year ITE engineering student, “As friends, we decided what position we wanted based on the prizes that we would be getting, as the prizes for the top three are all quite similar.”

And added Benjamin, “I was particularly attracted by the high-end GPS cycling computer. If you asked us to go and buy it, we would not spend the money, but if we can earn it, then we would take it. That was the main gift that made us choose to come down and queue.”

The next 297 received attractive gifts such as DJI action cameras, Aleoca bicycles, Cycliq safety cameras, Hydro Flask water bottles and OrchardGateway mall vouchers.

Brand new, all-women’s Speedway race category 

Taking place for the 12th time on 9 & 10 May 2020, one of the key event highlights is that the OCBC Cycle 2020 event is set to feature a brand new all-women race category involving up to five amateur competitive female cycling teams – the OCBC Cycle Speedway Women’s Championship.

Said Samuel, “OCBC Cycle has been a hallmark community cycling event in Singapore for more than a decade. This year, we are excited to unveil a new racing category for women. While cycling as a sport has been traditionally dominated by men, there has been a rise in interest amongst women. We had our first all-female club teams in the OCBC Cycle Speedway Club Championship last year. So this has encouraged us to introduce an all-women OCBC Cycle Speedway Championship category this year.”

The Speedway Championships originally launched in 2015 to cater to serious cyclists and regional cycling professionals, and in 2019, for the first time, two all-female teams had taken part.

So to encourage more female participation in competitive cycling, the new all-women’s category was introduced in addition to the OCBC Cycle Speedway South East Asia, Club and Corporate Championships with the race format being the same across all Speedway categories – each team will be grouped into two pairs and each pair will cycle five laps on a one-kilometre track. 

The first two cyclists will ride five laps before the second pair completes the remaining five laps. The winning teams get S$800 prize money, a Championship trophy and winners’ jerseys.

Said Elizabeth Hodges, who raced in the OCBC Cycle Speedway Club Championships last year as part of the all-female Fahrenheit Performance Development Team, “We are thoroughly excited to hear that OCBC Cycle is keen to support women, and women’s racing. The female riding community is growing and whilst change is slow, it cannot be doubted that there are more women riding together, more often than before.”

Participants can now choose to receive the event apparel

As well, participants of the popular Sportive Ride (40km) and Straits Times Ride (23km) can now opt not to receive the event apparel in their race packs. During registration, they can indicate in the online registration form whether they wish to ‘Go Red’ and own OCBC Cycle apparel or ‘Go Freestyle’ if they prefer to wear their own attire.

The Garmin e-Challenge

The inaugural Garmin e-Challenge will also be taking place at the OCBC Arena on both Friday and Saturday 8 – 9 May where participants compete as pairs on bicycles mounted on indoor bike trainers provided on-site. 

Each pair of cyclists must clock the longest possible combined distance in 10 minutes and the top three pairs of each day will get Hydro Flask trophies. The top three pairs overall will get Garmin Forerunner 45 GPS running watches and Garmin vouchers.

Partnership with SG Bikes

For participants who do not own their own bikes, OCBC Cycle has also partnered with SG Bikes for 200 participants, on a first-come, first-serve basis, to rent an SG Bike for S$15. Each rental also comes with a one-month SG Bike pass worth S$15.

Also, the first 50 participants who indicate that they need a bike helmet can purchase a Lazer helmet for S$34.90 during registration. They will then be able to ride an SG Bike rent-free and at the same time, will receive a one-month SG Bike pass worth S$15.

Plant-A-Tree Programme

With more than 6,800 cyclists last year, OCBC Cycle 2019 participants also helped to plant 140 trees at Dairy Farm Nature Park in the inaugural Plant-A-Tree programme, and this green initiative, which was well-received, returns in 2020, as part of the OCBC Bank’s ongoing climate action efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

But with the cost of planting a tree having increased, one tree will be planted for every 70 cyclists registered for the 2020 event, as opposed to 50 last year.

Singapore Environment Council’s Eco Event certificate

OCBC Cycle was also the first event in Singapore to earn the Singapore Environment Council’s Eco Event certificate in 2019, removing more than 40,000 single-use plastics from event packs and reducing the amount of event waste compared to previous editions of OCBC Cycle.

As a result, in total, 183kg of banana peels were composted, and more than 560kg of plastic, paper and metal cans were recycled. OCBC Cycle will continue its efforts this year.

Said Samuel, “The key to our event’s success has always been a result of support not only from the cycling community, but also from the local authorities, our partners, our sponsors and the general public. The understanding and patience of motorists on the event day has allowed the cyclists to enjoy a safe ride on closed roads. We are deeply grateful for that. We look forward to another great cycling weekend in May.”

Attractive prizes still to be won

But fret not, if you had not been able to make it down to the launch event to register for OCBC Cycle, you can still win attractive prizes if you sign up online.

This is because OCBC Cycle 2020 participants who sign up for any category from now till 23 February will qualify for the Tourism & Events Queensland early bird lucky draw to win a trip for two to Australia to take part in the Tour de Brisbane on 3 – 6 April 2020, which includes a pair of return tickets as well as a hotel stay worth S$5,000.

And as well, all registered OCBC Cycle participants qualify for the Hotel Jen OrchardGateway Singapore lucky draw where five participants stand to win a one-night stay at Hotel Jen OrchardGateway Singapore.

Registrations begin online on 8 January 

Online registrations commence on 8 January @ 10am. For more information and to sign up for the OCBC Cycle 2020, head to www.ocbccycle.com.