OCBC Cycle Singapore 2014 kickstarted on Friday 28th March with the Masters’, Women’s Open and Men’s Open Criterium events. Benjamin Paul Arnott from the United Kingdom won the Masters’ Criterium. Sarah Jeanne Fraser won the Women’s Open Criterium. Tjarco Cuppens won the Men’s Open Criterium.
In addition, Team Osteo Health was crowned champion of the Corporate Category and Team Ben-Pete-Nick-Bevan was crowned champion of the Open Category of The Berocca Challenge after an exhilarating Final, and each team earned a trip to the Gold Coast Festival of Cycling in Australia in October. Team Ben-Pete-Nick-Bevan received help from Professional Criterium guest rider Bernard Sulzberger of Drapac Professional Cycling Team.
OCBC Cycle Singapore continued with The Parade of Hope, a 20-minute ride around the F1 Pit Building aimed at raising awareness and funds for the official charities of OCBC Cycle Singapore 2014: Dover Park Hospice, Singapore Children’s Society, SingHealth Transplant TRUEfund and the SportCares Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Singapore Sports Council. The Parade of Hope was open for public registration for the first time this year, and also joining the ride were Professional Criterium riders Ed Clancy (Rapha Condor-JLT), Aidis Kruopis (ORICA-GreenEDGE), Rico Rogers (OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team) and Shem Rodger (New Zealand national team), as well as Team Singapore cyclists Ho Jun Rong, Benedict Lee, Noel Teh and Travis Woodford and Team Singapore sprinter Gary Yeo.
The OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team’s Rico Rogers came within a split-second of giving the roaring home fans a victory to remember, as Drapac Professional Cycling Team’s Wouter Wippert edged Rogers by a fraction of a bicycle length to win the OCBC Cycle Singapore Professional Criterium on Friday at the F1 Pit Building.
Still, the second-place finish was the OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team’s best-ever result at its home race. Cameron Bayly gave Singapore’s only professional cycling outfit further reason to cheer by capturing the Cycle Asia King of the Sprints crown, the second year in a row the team has captured the accolade. Rapha Condor-JLT’s Graeme Briggs, the 2011 British national road race champion, finished in third place.
Ho Jun Rong, the only Singaporean in the field, finished in 26th place, 18 seconds behind Wippert, to become the first local rider since 2010 to complete the challenging Professional Criterium. Terengganu Cycling Team’s Mohammad Saufi Mat Senan earned the Best Asian Rider title by crossing the line in 21st place.
* Information and details above Courtesy of OCBC Singapore and Black Dot Pte Ltd *
It was good to be back covering OCBC Cycle Singapore cycling event, Day 1 action is over, now for Day 2 – 29th March and Day 3 – 30th March for more fun and community cycling events! This is my third time covering OCBC Cycle Singapore and I covered OCBC Cycle Singapore 2011 and OCBC Cycle Singapore 2012! If you are participating and cycling, have fun and enjoy yourselves! Do come down to OCBC Cycle Singapore village for Attractions Off The Track and check out the Sports and Lifestyle Expo, there will also be fun and activities for the children!
The Parade of Hope cycling event, an earlier event before the Professional Criterium race, showed the fun and community side of cycling, recreation and fun, from the different kind of bicycles to the little children pushing their bicycles instead of riding their bicycles, cycling along side with their parents. With such fun and interesting cyclists in action, the community rides on Sunday is going to gather more interesting cyclists, wondering how they will come to OCBC Cycle Singapore dressed up as? Maybe fictional cartoon characters like Spiderman, Captain Marvel or somebody else? Check out my photography coverage of OCBC Cycle Singapore 2014 here on Flickr!
Here are the key social media links and events information for OCBC Cycle Singapore
– OCBC Cycle Singapore website
– OCBC Cycle Singapore Instagram
– OCBC Cycle Singapore Facebook Page
– OCBC Cycle Singapore Twitter
Today, 29th March is Fun Time for the Kids and Family with the Tricycle Ride, Mighty Savers Kids Ride and The Junior Challenge, do drop by OCBC Cycle Singapore at F1 Pit Stop Building and catch the action! Have a fun sporting and cycling weekend at OCBC Cycle Singapore 2014 and see you there!
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.