SINGAPORE, 7 January 2020 – OCBC Cycle, Singapore’s largest mass cycling fiesta, will be back for its 12^th edition on 9 and 10 May 2020 at the Singapore Sports Hub. A brand-new all-women race category involving up to five amateur competitive female cycling teams has been created – the OCBC Cycle Speedway Women’s Championship.

OCBC Cycle 2020 was launched today by OCBC Bank’s Group CEO, Mr Samuel Tsien, Deputy CEO of Sport Singapore, Dr Chiang Hock Woon, The Straits Times Sports Editor, Ms Lee Yulin, and representatives of the event’s sponsors and partners. Registration opened at noon at the Singapore Sports Hub’s OCBC Square. The first to sign up, 17 year-old Joseph Wong, took home a Garmin Performance GPS cycling computer and an Aleoca mountain bicycle worth $1,498 in total. The next 299 ‘early birds’ who registered for the event onsite today received sign-up gifts like Herschel merchandise, DJI action cameras, Aleoca bicycles, Cycliq safety cameras, Hydro Flask water bottles and vouchers, Timbuk2 bags and orchardgateway vouchers.

OCBC Cycle Speedway Women’s Championship

In 2019, for the first time since the OCBC Cycle Speedway Championships were launched in 2015 to cater to more serious cyclists and regional cycling professionals, two all-female cycling teams took part. To encourage female participation in competitive cycling, a category just for women has been introduced this year in addition to the OCBC Cycle Speedway Southeast Asia, Club and Corporate Championships.

Teams of four will compete in the all-women’s event and the relay format is the same as the other OCBC Cycle Speedway races. Each team is 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 team will receive S$800 in prize money, a championship trophy and winners’ jerseys. The teams that finish second and third will get S$600 and S$400 respectively.

Local all-female cycling club, Not My Boyfriend’s Team, will field a team for the inaugural OCBC Cycle Speedway Women’s Championship. Ms Elizabeth Hodges, who raced in the OCBC Cycle Speedway Club Championship last year as part of the all-female Fahrenheit Performance Development Team club, said: “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!”

In the always-exciting professional-level relay race, the OCBC Cycle Speedway Southeast Asia (SEA) Championship, defending champions the Philippines will return seeking a repeat triumph. Last year’s runners-up and second runners-up, Malaysia and Vietnam, have also confirmed their participation.

The OCBC Cycle Speedway Club and Corporate Championships will continue to feature in OCBC Cycle 2020.

OCBC Bank’s Group CEO, Mr Samuel Tsien, said: “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 and to welcome new partners and sponsors.

“Year after year, we have been glad since 2009 to be able to offer cyclists a unique cycling experience – riding on closed expressways and roads while appreciating Singapore’s city landmarks. OCBC Cycle has evolved to keep up with cyclists’ interests and passions. While cycling as a sport has traditionally been dominated by men, there has been a rise in interest in cycling among women. We had our first all-female club teams in the OCBC Cycle Speedway Club Championship last year. This has encouraged us to introduce an all-women OCBC Cycle Speedway Championship category this year.

“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.”

Choose a style – ‘Go Red’ or ‘Go Freestyle’

Participants of OCBC Cycle’s popular ride categories – The Sportive Ride (42km) and The Straits Times Ride (23km) – can now opt not to receive the event apparel in their event packs. During registration, they can indicate in the online registration form whether they wish to ‘Go Red’ – to own OCBC Cycle event apparel – or ‘Go Freestyle’ if they prefer to wear their own attire.

All participants of the Mighty Savers Kids and Family Ride will receive an event T-shirt.

Garmin e-Challenge activity

OCBC Cycle has partnered Garmin to launch the inaugural Garmin e-Challenge. Held at the OCBC Arena on Friday and Saturday, 8 and 9 May, participants compete as pairs on bicycles mounted on indoor bike trainers provided on-site.

Each pair of cyclists seeks to clock the longest possible combined distance in 10 minutes.

The top three pairs each day will each receive Hydro Flask trophies. The top three pairs over both days will collect Garmin Forerunner 45 GPS running smartwatches (each worth $299) and Garmin vouchers.

OCBC Cycle’s new Friends

OCBC Cycle 2020 has the support of 23 ‘Friends of OCBC Cycle’ – companies and brands that support OCBC Cycle’s mission to encourage the local cycling community, friends and families to bond through cycling.

Six new Friends of OCBC Cycle have come on board this year, and 17 Friends continue their support for the event. (Refer to Annexe A for full list of Friends of OCBC Cycle 2020)

The six new Friends of OCBC Cycle are:

1. DJI – a global drone and action camera manufacturer that provides high-quality cameras.
2. Garmin – a renowned technology company that specialises in wearable accessories for fitness tracking.
3. Herschel – a design-driven global accessories brand that produces quality products with a fine regard for detail.
4. Lazer – the oldest brand of sport helmets in the world.
5. SG Bike – Singapore’s first and largest dockless bicycle-sharing platform.
6. Tourism and Events Queensland – a statutory body of the Queensland Government and its lead marketing, destination and experience development and major events agency.

Rent an SG Bike

Participants who need a bicycle need not worry if they face issues bringing bicycles to the venue on the event day, or if they do not own a bicycle. With SG Bike on board as a Friend of OCBC Cycle, and on a first-come-first-serve basis, 200 participants can rent an SG Bike for S$15. Each rental comes with a one-month SG Bike pass worth $15.

Separately, the first 50 participants who indicate they require a bike helmet can purchase a Lazer helmet for $34.90 during registration. This will be able to ride an SG Bike rent-free and receive a one-month SG Bike pass worth $15.

OCBC Cycle continues to plant trees to fight climate change

Last year, 100 OCBC Cycle participants helped to plant 140 trees at Dairy Farm Nature Park in the inaugural Plant-A-Tree programme. This green initiative which was very well-received will continue into 2020 as part of OCBC Bank’s ongoing climate-action efforts to reduce carbon emissions. With the cost of planting a tree having increased, one tree will be planted for every 70 cyclists registered this year compared to 50 cyclists last year.

OCBC Cycle was the first event in Singapore to earn the Singapore’s Environment Council’s Eco Event certification in 2019. Last year, more than 6,800 cyclists and 50 companies took part in the event, which removed more than 40,000 single-use plastics from event packs and reduced the amount of event waste compared to previous editions of the event.

In total, 183kg of banana peels were composted, and more than 560kg of plastic, paper and metal cans were recycled. This year, OCBC Cycle will continue in its efforts to recycle and reduce waste.

Registration discounts and lucky draws

Participants who register at the launch event get up to 25% off registration fees, and gift bags worth up to S$1,498. (Refer to Annexe B for full list of event launch gifts). In addition, the first 500 participants to pay using OCBC Pay Anyone will earn S$10 cashback.

 OCBC Cycle 2020 participants who sign up for any OCBC Cycle ride category during the early bird period (till 23 February), will qualify for the Tourism and 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 and a hotel stay worth S$5,000.

 All OCBC Cycle participants qualify for the Hotel Jen Orchardgateway Singapore lucky draw. Five participants stand a chance to win a one-night stay at Hotel Jen Orchardgateway Singapore.

 Online registration for OCBC Cycle 2020 starts on 8 January, at 10.00 am.

For more information on OCBC Cycle 2020, please visit www.ocbccycle.com

Friends of OCBC Cycle 2020