The event, will also welcome nine teams from Southeast Asian (SEA) countries, including Singapore, to compete in the OCBC Cycle Speedway SEA Championship on 11 May 2024 for the first time since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A new category – The Foldie Ride by Brompton (40km) – will also debut at this year’s event and caters to the expanding fan base of cyclists riding foldable bikes.
This year, OCBC Cycle 2024 also welcomes new sponsors, called ‘Friends of OCBC Cycle’, Brompton, Anywheel and Jen Singapore Orchardgateway.
OCBC Cycle 2024 expects the participation of more than 7,000 cyclists across 10 categories, with 1,000 cyclists taking part in The Foldie Ride by Brompton (40km).
The evergreen rides—The Sportive Ride (40km) and The Straits Times Ride (20km)—will feature again in this year’s event.
Competing in the much-anticipated return of the Speedway SEA Championship are teams from Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Indonesia. Philippines took the crown in the last edition back in 2019, with Malaysia and Vietnam finishing second and third respectively.
Registrations kicked off at 12.00pm on 5 March at orchardgateway by Ms Helen Wong, Group CEO of OCBC, Mr Toh Boon Yi, Deputy CEO of Sport Singapore, Mr Jaime Ho, Editor of The Straits Times and Dr Hing Siong Chen, President of Singapore Cycling Federation.
Ms Helen Wong, Group CEO of OCBC, said, “During the past 15 years, OCBC Cycle Singapore has brought in new rides and sponsors while proudly remaining Singapore’s signature mass cycling fiesta on closed roads.
“We hope to continue leveraging OCBC Cycle as a platform to galvanise people and communities.”
NEW FOLDIE RIDE CATEGORY BY BROMPTON
OCBC Cycle 2024 will welcome the introduction of The Foldie Ride by Brompton (40km) – a unique ride category for participants on foldable bicycles, regardless of the bicycle brand that they use.
They will ride on the same route as The Sportive Ride (40km) and participants will receive a special commemorative Brompton branded event tee-shirt and medal.
Brompton will be organising training rides, in the lead-up period to the event, for cyclists to be familiarised with the cycling distance and to build up their cycling proficiencies.
Happy Owl Cycle, a local bicycle retailer and authorised dealer for Brompton, will be hosting bicycle maintenance workshops to guide cyclists on how to better take care of their bicycles and to handle minor technical issues during their rides.
The two other evergreen mass rides, The Sportive Ride (40km) and The Straits Times Ride (20km), together with the rest of the ride categories are set to attract over 7,000 cyclists.
Participants can look forward to scenic routes with roads specially closed for the event on 12 May, taking them past national landmarks and iconic features like the Benjamin Sheares Bridge, Singapore Flyer, and Gardens by the Bay, before finishing inside the National Stadium at the Singapore Sports Hub.
The Mighty Savers® Kids Ride will take place on 11 May, where young cyclists between 2 and 12 years old can experience the joys of cycling with other young cyclists or their family members.
The OCBC Cycle Virtual Rides, which take place from 11 May to 10 June, continue to allow participants the freedom on how and where to complete either a leisurely 100km Virtual Ride or test their endurance with the 500km Virtual Ride over a maximum of four rides, at their own convenience.
PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES