3,000 cyclists keep green mission in high gear at KL race

The Star

7 days ago

Tan (right) and Naquib (second from right) at the flag-off in Kuala Lumpur.
A RECORD 3,000 cyclists converged in the capital city for the eighth edition of OCBC Cycle Kuala Lumpur.
Spanning 25km of closed roads, the event had the longest non-overlapping stretch since the series began.
The race with the theme 'Let's Go Cycle', was flagged off at 6.45am by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) Culture, Arts, Tourism and Sports Department director Naquib Hamdan.
Alongside him were OCBC Bank chief executive officer Tan Chor Sen and Multigreen Events chief executive officer Nezzam Malek.
OCBC Al-Amin Bank chief executive officer Syed Abdull Aziz Syed Kechik joined 400 of his OCBC colleagues in the 50km category.
Featuring participants from Malaysia and 30 other countries, the race saw the more serious cyclists riding through two 25km loops.
The leisure cyclists opted for a single 25km loop, children took part on their own push bikes while team cyclists took on The KL Mayor's Ride.
Syed Abdull Aziz (in white) raring to take on the 50km challenge.
This year's route had new twists and turns that included stretches along Jalan Conlay and Jalan Kia Peng.
Tan said it was gratifying to see families, including children enjoying themselves in the push bike category.
He thanked the authorities, including police and DBKL for their support.
'It is no mean feat to pull off something like this as it involves fully closed roads in the city centre.
'As part of our quest to become more sustainable in our endeavours, OCBC Cycle KL 2025 sought to be even more environmentally friendly,' he said, adding that limited or no plastic packaging or paper flyers were used for the event.
Instead, event information was displayed on large boards as well as the OCBC Cycle KL website.
Also absent was the usual bubble wrap for medals, which were instead placed around the winners' necks or handed to them unwrapped.
Recycling bins could be seen at strategic locations for collection of banana peel that were sent for composting.
Nezzam said this year's level of participation was the highest to date.
The race featured prizes for three adult bicycle types – mountain, road and folding bikes – for both men and women.
All participants received a medal and digital certificate each, along with event sponsor goodies.