Elite Singapore road cyclists receive one-year sponsorship

Contributed by Lorna Campbell

December 17, 2008, Singapore – OCBC Bank, the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) and the Singapore Amateur Cycling Association (SACA) announced a one-year partnership yesterday to train and develop a pool of talented cyclists who will represent Singapore at major Games. The team will be sponsored by OCBC Bank and trained by the SSC and SACA.

The first two members of the OCBC Singapore Cycling Team were introduced today with the aim of recruiting a team of eight cyclists by the first quarter of 2009.

This significant partnership is the first structured talent identification and development programme involving a corporate organisation, the SSC, and the national sports association for cycling (SACA) in Singapore. This follows on the heels of the launch of OCBC Cycle Singapore a month ago as well as the recent announcement of the inclusion of road cycling in the programme for the 25th SEA Games in Vientiane, Laos next year.

The programme will help cycling enthusiasts fulfil their dreams and have a taste of competing among elite cyclists in regional competitions and to ensure that there is a steady pool of talented cyclists that SACA can work with and nurture for future events.

CEO of OCBC Bank, Mr David Conner had this to say about the historic partnership: “We hope that with our sponsorship of these aspiring road cyclists, coupled with the Singapore Sports Council's structured talent identification and development programme which utilizes the latest sports science and technology, we will very soon see the Singapore flag flying high in international elite cycling competitions. It is also our hope that OCBC Cycle Singapore, the largest cycling event in Singapore with an Elite Criterium component launched on 18 November 2008, will become an effective platform for our elite cyclists to compete and hone their skills on home ground."

"The selection process is a departure from previous selection methods and natural talent and body fit for the sport will be a key criteria. While the team may not necessarily triumph at their initial few events, we hope this will be the first step in a revival that will lead to future representation of Singapore at cycling events in major games," said Mr John Limna, Deputy Director (Sports Science), Sports Medicine & Sports Science Division, SSC.

In addition to the two initial members of the OCBC Singapore Cycling Team, the SSC is looking to recruit six other cyclists to be a part of the team with recruitment starting today. Through this programme, interested parties will be required to go on training rides with Team Manager, Daniel Plews, as a first assessment of participants' potential.

Plews, an exercise physiologist with the Singapore Sports Council, has commendable sporting credentials having won the British National Junior and Youth Triathlon Championship and the British Triathlon Grand Prix Championship. He also has extensive experience of racing at a high level. He will assess participants' riding capabilities during the initial rides and proceed to conduct stringent tests that will gauge the natural capabilities of the cyclists.

The initial two members of the OCBC Singapore Cycling Team, Ho Jun Rong and Daniel Loy, have been racing competitively for the past few years. Jun Rong has won the junior sections of the gruelling Tour of Egat multi-stage cycling race held in Thailand.

"Road cycling is included in the SEA Games in 2009 and this is good preparation ahead of our selection of the national team next year. Our cyclists will require as much practice and competitive experience as possible. This programme will unearth more talents and with the right training, the team will hopefully go on to achieve great things at various competitions in the future," said Mr Victor Yew, President of SACA.

Cyclists who would like to join the OCBC Singapore Cycling Team can do so by registering online at www.singaporesports.sg/ocbccycling. Registration is open to Singapore citizens only and will close on December 31st, 2008.