Mr Samuel Tsien (second from left), Group CEO of OCBC Bank, Mr Lim Teck Yin (third from left), CEO of Sport Singapore, and Mr Jeffrey Goh (extreme right), President of Singapore Cycling Federation, officiating the launch of OCBC Cycle 2016 at orchardgateway. (Photo Credit: OCBC Cycle 2016)

SINGAPORE, 15 April 2016 – THE nation’s largest cycling event – OCBC Cycle – returns for its second edition on 1 and 2 October this year. OCBC Cycle 2016 promises more exciting experiences, more interesting activities and more great deals for participants, their families and friends. At the launch of the 24-hour on-site registration for OCBC Cycle 2016 held at orchardgateway from 12.00pm on 15 April to 12.00pm on 16 April, new additions to the annual event were announced. These include the involvement of six new sponsors (known as Friends of OCBC Cycle), two new charity partners and three new additions to the suite of lead-up workshops and activities.

OCBC Cycle is designed to be an event of many things. There are 13 pre-event workshops and activities for participants to sign up for, starting with a Singapore Sports Institute Learn to Cook Healthily workshop on 14 May, to the Volvo Route Familiarisation Trip on 10 September, before culminating in the finale ride on 1 and 2 October at the Singapore Sports Hub.

For the first time, to commemorate today’s launch event, four teams of riders formed by Friends of OCBC Cycle and invited guests will cycle for 24 hours from 12.00pm on 15 April to 12.00pm on 16 April. They will challenge the current Singapore Book of Records award for the "Longest Distance Covered on a Stationary Bike in 6 Hours (Men/Women)." The record-breaking attempt will take place in two 6-hour time periods between 12.00pm on 15 April and 12.00am on 16 April. The current records are 142.4km (men’s record) and 123km (women’s record).

Additionally, the four teams will be engaged in a separate team challenge to clock the furthest mileage on a stationary bike within 24 hours. The winner of the team challenge will receive a champion trophy.

Many lead-up workshops and activities

Participants can sign up for 13 lead-up activities prior to OCBC Cycle 2016. From 14 May, for a small donation of S$6 to charity, participants can sign up to learn how to prepare healthy meals in a cooking workshop at the Singapore Sports Institute, reach out to less privileged children by teaching them how to cycle, or join a café bike crawl in the North-East region of Singapore. Participants will enjoy a complete physical, mental and social experience in the months leading up to the finale event on 1 and 2 October.

The new lead-up activities in 2016 include:

• A heart-pumping fitness boot camp conducted by Polar
• A strength-and-conditioning cycling workshop at Singapore Sports Institute’s new training facility
• An OCBC Cycle 2016 family carnival organised by the National University Hospital Sports Centre

Many Friends of OCBC Cycle 2016

There are six new Friends of OCBC Cycle this year:

• Polar, a leading brand with a comprehensive range of heart rate monitors and sports watches
• Millennium Hotels and Resorts
• 2XU, a leading brand in athletic performance wear
• Borsch Med, a multi-award winning Singapore brand specialising in TCM and health supplements
• Loue Bicycles, a local brand that provides professional bike fitting services
• Wattbike, an indoor British cycling trainer solution to high performance cycling

All 21 Friends of OCBC Cycle 2016 will give participants great experiences and deals, from exclusive promotions for OCBC Cycle participants to prizes that the public can stand to win.

Supporting New Charity Partners

OCBC Cycle supports the underprivileged through The Business Times Cycle of Hope Programme - which aims to create awareness of, and raise funds to support, selected charity partners. The Business Times Cycle of Hope Corporate Ride is a key component of this charity programme, with a significant portion of the registration fee for this ride category going to charity.

This year, the organisations that OCBC Cycle will support are:

• Dyslexia Association of Singapore (new)
• NUHS Fund Limited (new)
• The Business Times Budding Artists Fund
• SportCares Foundation

Besides fundraising, OCBC Cycle participants are also invited to volunteer to teach underprivileged children cycling as a life skill. This year, a Friend of OCBC Cycle, Millennium Hotels and Resorts, will partner OCBC Cycle to support the ‘Teach A Child To Cycle’ programme, with its hotel staff serving as mentors for one session of the programme. OCBC Cycle participants can volunteer for a separate session.

Targeting 8,000 cyclists, OCBC Cycle 2016 will see cyclists riding out from the iconic Singapore Sports Hub and onto a city route that boasts an amazing city skyline view.

Mr Samuel Tsien, Group CEO of OCBC Bank, said: "Today, we are pleased to launch the second edition of OCBC Cycle in Singapore. Last year’s event was very successful, with strong support from the cycling community, the authorities, Friends of OCBC Cycle and – most importantly – from over 7,000 participants. That support has encouraged us to create the even more exciting OCBC Cycle 2016. There will be new highlights like a fitness boot camp, a strength-and-conditioning workshop and a family carnival specially organised by NUH Sports Centre. Our goal is to build OCBC Cycle into the gold standard for cycling events here. We will work hard to give participants many exciting experiences, many healthy activities and many great deals. So during the weekend of 1 and 2 October, do join us at the

Singapore Sports Hub for the safe and enjoyable activities we have specifically arranged for all cyclists to enjoy with family and friends."

OCBC Cycle 2016 will retain its four main event categories – The Sportive Ride (42km), The Straits Times Ride (23km), Mighty Savers® Kids Rides for families and children, and the OCBC Cycle Speedway South-East Asian and Club Championships.

The OCBC Cycle Speedway Club Championship is the final road cycling event in Singapore for riders looking to accumulate points in a first-ever structured ranking and points system, announced by the Singapore Cycling Federation in February this year.

Companies that are keen to involve employees in OCBC Cycle 2016 can sign up for The Business Times Cycle of Hope Corporate Bike Ride or The Corporate Bike Ride. Both rides open for registration on 18 April. Participants who register for the corporate rides can choose to ride in either The Straits Times Ride or The Sportive Ride event categories. The company whose participants clock the most mileage – adding up the total achieved mileage from both corporate rides – will win the OCBC Cycle 2016 Longest Distance Award.

The Expo @ OCBC Cycle, which brings together some of the biggest names in the cycling industry across the region under one roof, will take place at OCBC Arena from 30 September to 2 October, offering participants and the public great deals and promotions on cycling gear.

The first 300 cyclists to register at the event launch will receive discounts on their registration fees and a special goodie bag.

Online registration starts on 18 April at 10.00am. Visit www.ocbccycle.com for more information.