OCBC Cycle will once again feature in-person rides on closed roads, after it adopted a virtual format for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The two in-person rides – the OCBC Cycle Speedway Championships and a new 20km City Ride – will take place on 7 and 8 May 2022 at the Singapore Sports Hub.

The virtual rides will take place from 7 May to 6 June 2022. There is a new category, the Team Challenge Virtual Ride, where teams of four comprising family members, friends or colleagues can compete for the honour of riding the longest distance. Each team member can ride up to four times and the teams’ combined distances are used to determine the winner. The top three teams will be awarded shopping vouchers worth $800, $600 and $400 respectively.

The popular 100km and 200km virtual rides, meanwhile, are back again. The Straits Times Virtual Ride has been lengthened from 23km to 60km based on feedback. The Mighty Savers® Kids Virtual Ride remains at 5km. 

A new indoor rhythmic cycling category – Spin Ride by CRU – has also been rolled out in partnership with homegrown fitness group CRU to cater to the growing spin community. Participants of this category will get to attend three 50-minute-long spin classes at CRU studios from 7 May to 6 June.

Bringing Back In-Person Cycling on Closed Roads Safely

Safe management measures will be put in place to safeguard the health and safety of all participants of the Speedway Championships and the 20km City Ride on 7 and 8 May.

Only participants are allowed into the event venue over the two days. They must either be fully vaccinated, certified to be medically ineligible for vaccination or have recovered from Covid-19 within the last 180 days from the day of the ride.

There will be limited slots in both rides.

For the Speedway Championships, only 28 teams, 4 fewer than the last edition in 2019, are expected to compete across the three categories – Club, Corporate and Women.

The 20km City Ride, which ends inside the National Stadium, will be capped at 2,000 participants. They are split equally into two groups that will be flagged off in waves of 100, with five cyclists moving off every five seconds.

Online registration for OCBC Cycle 2022 commences on 14 March, 9am and will end on 25 April, or when all slots are taken up. Participants who sign up for the event between 14 March and 10 April will stand a chance to win a Birdy R20 foldable bicycle worth $4,549.  

All participants will receive a complimentary 30-day access (usual subscription fee: $49) to CRU’s suite of workout videos via its CRU TV app. The videos feature various workouts including cycling, boxing, HIIT, yoga and meditation.

Ms Koh Ching Ching, Head of Group Brand and Communications at OCBC Bank, said: “We are excited to bring OCBC Cycle back to the Singapore Sports Hub after a 2-year hiatus. The 2,000-participant cap for the in-person 20km City Ride is a good start and we look forward to increasing participation limits in future editions of OCBC Cycle. Virtual formats, which had to be introduced during the pandemic, gave us fresh perspectives on how mass sporting events can be held. We could be a lot more creative and rides with much longer distances of 100km and 200km as well as the Team Challenge were developed as a result. Hybrid sporting events are here to stay and we will be able to support and energise many more people by organising in-person as well as virtual rides.”

Dr Hing Siong Chen, President of Singapore Cycling Federation, said: “Having seen how much the cycling community has grown so much over the last decade, events like the OCBC Cycle certainly played a significant role in encouraging people to pick up cycling. Bringing back a mass in-person event after a two-year pandemic-imposed hiatus will bring joy and a much-needed celebratory outlet to the cycling community. Moreover, aside from the mass ride, restarting the Speedway Championships will spell an exciting development for competitive cyclists, where cyclists can pit their skills against others in a safe but challenging course. I am sure that this category will be met with enthusiasm by all those itching for more racing opportunities.”

Mr Calvin Ding, Co-founder and Managing Director of CRU, said: “This is a very exciting opportunity for us to be partnering with Singapore’s largest cycling event. The popularity of cycling and spin has exploded in recent years, especially over the pandemic, and we love being able to continuously offer our community more ways to experience two highs with us: That workout high plus the euphoric high you get at a music festival or rave party. Under the energy-filled guidance of CRU’s instructors, each spin session motivates participants to ride as one pack, whether you’re with friends, family or even strangers. We are certain that Spin Ride by CRU participants – both seasoned and new indoor cyclists – will enjoy it.”

Annex A        -           List of categories and registration details

Annex B         -           How to complete the virtual rides  

Annex C         -           How Speedway Championships work

ANNEX A

List of categories and registration details

Registration for all event categories starts on 14 March 2022 at 9am and ends on 25 April 2022 at 11.59pm or when all slots are taken up.

*For participants of the 20km City Ride, the registration fee of $59 will come with the event apparel and tote bag.

ANNEX B

How to Complete the Virtual Ride

Individual

a. Cycle the distance required over a maximum of four rides, anywhere (indoor/outdoor) from 7 May to 6 June 2022

b. Take pictures of the following:

• Ride details – date, distance and duration – recorded by a fitness tracker/ workout app that you use during your ride(s).
• A picture of you and your bicycle from one of your rides; this can be taken at any point of the ride.

 c. In one attempt, submit these pictures via ocbccycle.com by 6 June 2022 to indicate the completion of the virtual ride.

 d. Once completed, the event medal will be delivered to you by Monday, 27 June 2022.

Team

a. Cycle as many kilometres as you can over a maximum of four rides per cyclist, anywhere (indoor/outdoor) from 7 May to 6 June 2022.

b. The team with the highest mileage submitted by 6 June 2022 will be declared the overall winner. There will be 3 winning teams.

c. Take pictures of the following:

• Ride details – date, distance and duration – recorded by a fitness tracker/ workout app that you use during your ride(s).
• A picture of you and your bicycle from one of your rides; this can be taken at any point of the ride.

d. In one attempt, submit these pictures via ocbccycle.com by 6 June 2022 to indicate the completion of the virtual ride. We will compute the total distance cycled by your team.

e. Once completed, the event medal will be delivered to you by Monday, 27 June 2022. 

ANNEX C

How the Speedway Championships work

a. Sign up as a team of 5 (including 1 reserve rider) in your preferred category (Club, Corporate, Women)

b. A pre-race briefing for all participants will be conducted prior to the event day

c. On race day, each team is required to complete 10 laps of the 1km course – first five laps by the first pair of riders and last five laps by the next pair of riders in each team.

d. There will be 3 rounds – qualifying rounds, semi-finals and finals. Depending on the category, different number of teams will proceed to the semi-finals and finals.

e. Ranking of the teams in each round is based on the time taken to complete the course.

f. The time taken by a team to complete the race is deemed to be the average of the times taken by the third and fourth rider to cross the finishing line from the flag-off of the race.