SINGAPORE – A new racing competition for companies, called the OCBC Cycle Speedway Corporate Championship, will make its debut at this year’s OCBC Cycle 2017.

Mirroring the format of the Speedway races for local cycling clubs and South-East Asian (SEA) teams, the championship will see four-rider teams race 10 laps on the 400m course at the Singapore Sports Hub.

Each team, however, will be split into two pairs – the first pair of riders will have to complete five laps before tagging the second pair of riders who will then complete the remaining five laps of the race.

The team with the fastest time recorded when the last rider crosses the finish line will be declared the winners and earn themselves S$400 in prize money and the champions’ jerseys.

Organisers have set a target of attracting up to 32 companies to participate in the race.

Two corporate races will be held on Sept 2 and Sept 30S on the track of the National Stadium to pick the top six corporate teams – three teams from each day – to move on to the final on Nov 18.

The official launch of this year’s OCBC Cycle was held at Orchard Gateway on Friday (July 7), with more than 100 people turning up to register for the Nov 18-19 event.

The first registrant was Filipino Anthony Lim, who stood in line for more than 16 hours to ensure his place at the front of the queue.

The 36-year-old, an avid cyclist who clocks about 60km on his bicycle every week, was given a 25 percent discount off his registration fee, and also received a gift package worth S$888.

Said Lim, a project engineer: “I started queueing up since 10pm (on Thursday)…I enjoy cycling a lot, and the OCBC Cycle is one of the biggest cycling events in Singapore.

“The route of the OCBC Cycle is very nice and scenic, it’s very well-organised, so I always have a good time at the event.”

There are a total of 11 competitive and non-competitive categories – including the Speedway Corporate Championship, the 42km Sportive Ride and the Mighty Savers Kids Ride for families and children – at this year’s OCBC Cycle.

Participants can also sign up for 12 activities in the lead-up to this year’s OCBC Cycle.

These include a Cafe Bike Crawl, a fitness boot camp, and various health and nutritional workshops conducted by the Singapore Sports Institute.

Organisers are hoping to attract around 8,000 participants to this year’s event.

Said OCBC Bank Group chief executive officier Samuel Tsien: “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.

“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.”