Event launch: (From left) News Editor of The Straits Times, Mr. Marc Lim, President of the Singapore Cycling Federation, Mr. Jeffrey Goh, Group CEO of OCBC Bank, Mr. Samuel Tsien, CEO of Sport Singapore, Mr. Lim Teck Yin, young cyclist Ariel Ow Yong and Editor of The Business Times, Mr. Wong Wei Kong, officiate the launch of OCBC Cycle 2017 at orchardgateway.

SINGAPORE, 7 July 2017 – OCBC Cycle 2017, Singapore’s largest mass cycling event, returns on 18 and 19 November this year at the Singapore Sports Hub with the launch of a new race category for corporates. For the first time in Singapore, companies can pit themselves against one another to vie for top honours at the inaugural OCBC Cycle Speedway Corporate Championship. OCBC Cycle aims to attract 32 companies to participate in this unique race.

Two corporate races will be held on 2 and 30 September on the track of the National Stadium to pick the top six corporate teams – three teams from each day – to move on to the OCBC Cycle Speedway Corporate Championship final on Stadium Drive on 18 November. There will be three qualifying rounds of races on 2 and 30 September each, giving avid corporate cyclists lots of opportunities to race and have fun.

The new OCBC Cycle Speedway Corporate Championship race format mirrors the popular Speedway Championship races for local cycling clubs and South East Asian teams. It features a four-rider team relay where each team is split into two pairs to cycle five 400-metre laps. After the first two riders complete five laps on the 400-metre course, the second pair of riders will be tagged to power through the next five laps. The team with the fastest time recorded when the last rider crosses the finish line will emerge victorious.

Mr Samuel Tsien, Group CEO of OCBC Bank, said: “I am excited to unveil OCBC Cycle 2017, with our new race, new elements and new prizes. OCBC has been the proud sponsor of this one of a kind cycling fiesta since 2009 – an event that captures the spirit of community participation in a healthy exercise that takes us to ride on roads that are closed just for us. For this, we are grateful to have the full support of the Land Transport Authority, Singapore Police Force, Sport Singapore and other government agencies throughout the years. As Singaporeans become increasingly health and environmentally conscious, Singapore has also developed herself to become a more bicycle-friendly city. We have new cycling parks and paths, and more bicycle connections to public transport nodes. OCBC Cycle is a unique community event that brings together a growing pool of cyclists to experience the iconic motoring routes that have been made safe for them. Cycling is now a well-accepted part of our daily lives, and I am pleased that OCBC has played a part to raise the awareness of the fun of cycling.”

Together with Mr Samuel Tsien, Mr Lim Teck Yin, CEO of Sport Singapore, Mr Jeffrey Goh, President of Singapore Cycling Federation, Mr Marc Lim, News Editor of The Straits Times and Mr Wong Wei Kong, Editor of The Business Times, officiated the launch of OCBC Cycle 2017 at orchardgateway.

All the other popular ride 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 Asia and Club Championships – will continue to feature in OCBC Cycle 2017.

Popular community rides with new themes

Riding on rising trend of themed sporting events, the cycling T-shirt for The Straits Times Ride has been specially designed by The Straits Times art desk to resemble a ‘Super Hero’ outfit. Participants of The Straits Times Ride (23km) are encouraged to also deck their bikes, helmets, sunglasses or accessories in the most creative ‘Super Hero’ way. The best dressed ‘Super Hero’ cyclist, selected from selfies posted with the #ocbccycle hashtag across all social media platforms, will win a Casio EXILIM

EX-FR100 Action Cam worth $629. The winner will be notified in the week of 20 November 2017.

The theme for the Mighty Savers® Kids and Family Rides is ‘Bubbly Fun’. Participants can look forward to cycling their way through curtains of endless bubbles. Parents will now have more opportunities to take snapshots of their kids having some bubble-filled fun.

Friends of OCBC Cycle

17 Friends of OCBC Cycle from last year’s event, and a returning Friend of OCBC Cycle from 2015, continue to support the event, including:

• Casio – sponsoring action cameras and G-shock watches for the OCBC Cycle 2017 event launch gifts, and the camera prize for the best dressed ‘Super Hero’ cyclist of The Straits Times Ride.
• Great Eastern – providing free basic insurance coverage for every participant.
• Hotel Jen Orchardgateway Singapore (a returning Friend of OCBC Cycle from 2015) – providing the accommodation for the South East Asia cyclists participating in the OCBC Cycle Speedway South East Asia Championship.
• Polar – sponsoring vouchers and sports towels for the OCBC Cycle 2017 launch gift bag, and conducting a fitness bootcamp as a lead-up activity.
• Volvo – bringing participants on a food excursion to local and unusual food stops in a brand new Volvo Makan Trail, introducing participants to popular locations where cyclists can rest and enjoy great hawker food. All Friends of OCBC Cycle 2017 (refer to full list in Annex D) will give participants great experiences and deals, from exclusive promotions for OCBC Cycle participants, to prizes that the public can stand to win, to workshops and activities that participants can take part in for a small donation of $6 to charity (refer to Annex B for full list of lead-up workshops and activities). Over the years, OCBC Cycle has been giving back to the community by encouraging participants to support the underprivileged while engaging in their favourite leisure activity. This year, OCBC Cycle is partnering these four organisations:

#OCBCCares for the community through cycling

• NUHS Fund Limited
• SportCares Foundation
• The Business Times Budding Artists Fund
• TODAY Enable Fund

The Business Times Cycle of Hope Corporate Bike Ride has been popular among companies as it not only gives their employees the chance to bond over cycling as an activity but also channels a significant portion of the registration fees to the charity causes supported by OCBC Cycle. The company with the largest donation will be given the OCBC Cycle 2017 Largest Donor Award.

Companies that are keen to involve employees in The Business Times Cycle of Hope Corporate Bike Ride can choose to ride in either The Straits Times Ride or The Sportive Ride categories. The company whose participants clock the most mileage – adding up the total achieved mileage from both community rides – will win the OCBC Cycle 2017 Longest Distance Award.

Another new component of OCBC Cycle is the #OCBCCares Charity Bazaar sale, featuring a treasure trove of trinkets and other craftwork made by the beneficiaries and staff of the above organisations. Besides making their appearance at the event launch today, the items will also be available at the main event on 18 and 19 November. All proceeds will go directly to the beneficiaries of these causes.

OCBC Cycle participants are also invited to volunteer to teach underprivileged children cycling as a life skill at the ‘Teach A Child To Cycle’ programme.

Rewarding Loyalty

OCBC Cycle is introducing a Loyalty Cyclist Discount for past participants for the first time. Participants who rode in the non-competitive rides of OCBC Cycle 2015 or 2016 will enjoy the Loyal Cyclist Discount of S$3 off the registration fee when they sign up online for any OCBC Cycle 2017 non-competitive rides. For example, those who participated in The Straits Times Ride previously, and would now like to cycle in The Sportive Ride and The Mighty Savers® Family Ride with a child, will get a total discount of $6. In addition, a further 10% discount will be applied if payment is made with an OCBC credit or debit card.

Loyalty Medal

The OCBC Cycle 2017 participation medal has been designed to look like an abstract bicycle gear. Cyclists who participate in the next three editions of OCBC Cycle – OCBC Cycle 2017, 2018 and 2019 – will collect three medals to form a complete gear. Every three consecutive years, the OCBC Cycle medals can be combined to form something new, fun and meaningful.

Registration

The first cyclist who registered at the event launch at orchardgateway received a gift bag worth $888.90, which included a Casio EXILIM EX-FR100 Action Cam worth $629, orchardgateway shopping vouchers worth $200, Polar vouchers worth $50 and a Polar sports towel worth $9.90. The next 299 cyclists to register will receive registration fee discounts of up to 25% and get gift bags containing items like Polar sports towels and vouchers. (Refer to Annex A and C).

Online registration starts on 10 July at 10.00am. Visit www.ocbccycle.com for more information.