OCBC PRO CYCLING: ONE TEAM TWO BATTLES!
(Riders competing in Stage 2 of Tour de Korea 2013 as they race their way to the finishing line in6 Muju, Korea)
TOUR DE SINGKARAK & TOUR DE KOREA
It’s shaping up to be a hectic period for the OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team, as it splits its forces into two squads to take on the upcoming Tour de Singkarak and Tour de Korea, which kick off 7TH and 8th June respectively.
The contingent heading to Indonesia’s Tour de Singkarak comprise local riders Goh Choon Huat, Ho Jun Rong, Ang Kee Meng, Calvin Sim, Lemuel Lee, Malaysian Ahmad Haidar Anuwar, and Australian Mitchell Mulhern.
The Tour de Singkarak will see South-East Asian riders take on international teams such as Australia’s Avanti Racing Team and the Skydive Dubai Pro Cycling Team, over nine stages of action.
Heading north will be the OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team riders who raced at the recently concluded Tour of Japan. They will be racing in the only international cycling competition in South Korea – The Tour de Korea, rated by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.2 category race. The team consists of Singaporean Low Ji Wen, Hong Kong’s Ronald Yeung, Australians Eric Sheppard and Cameron Bayly, Dutchman Thomas Rabou and local favourite Jang ChanJae from South Korea.
The Tour De Korea will last for eight days, ending on June 15. The route spans a distance of 1,259-kilometres, and will cover Muju in North Jeolla Province, Gurye in South Jeolla Province, Gumi and Yeongju in North Gyeongsang Province, and Pyeongchang and Yangyang in Gangwon Province.
(Past OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team rider Low Sea Keong (middle) celebrates as he captures Stage four of Tour de Singkarak 2013 in West Sumatra, Indonesia)
(OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team rider Eric Sheppard competes in Stage 1 of Tour de Korea 2013 in Chungju, Korea)
STAGE 1 TOUR DE SINGKARAK (7 JUNE 2014)
THE young squad representing the OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team successfully completed Stage 1 of Tour de Singkarak which ended at Gandoriah Beach.
OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team rider Mitchell Mulhern lead the team in Stage 1 and crossed the finishing line in 2:12:12 , 21-seconds behind Stage Winner Uchima Kohei from the Japan Cycling Federation. Goh Choon Huat (98th), Ang Kee Meng (101th), Calvin Sim (103rd) and Lemuel Lee (108th), finished within the same peloton as Mulhern and were all credited with the same timing.
The remaining OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team Riders Ahmad Anuawar (2:12:54) and Ho Jung Rong (2:13:04) finished the stage in 117th and 118th place, respectively.
(OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team rider Goh Choon Huat competes in Stage 1 of Le Tour de Langkawi 2014 in Langkawi, Malaysia)
STAGE 1 TOUR DE KOREA AND STAGE 2 TOUR DE SINGKARAK (8 JUNE 2014)
South Korean Rider Jang Chang Jae got off to a sizzling start in stage one of Tour de Korea by breaking into the top-10 placings of the day. But at the other end of the spectrum, four OCBC riders failed to make it through stage two of Indonesia's Tour de Kumano.
At the Tour de Korea, hometown favourite Jang led the team across the finish line with a timing of 3:08:47, capturing 8th place. Grega Bole of the Vini Fantini Nippo Cycling Team won the stage and was credited with the same timing as Jang. Also finishing within the lead peloton were OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team riders Eric Sheppard (32nd), Thomas Rabou (42nd), Cameron Bayly (44th) and Ronald Yeung (51st).
Over in Indonesia, a hilly course proved to be the undoing for a young OCBC squad, as four of the riders of the initial team of seven did not finish the stage.
The three OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team riders who managed to survive the treacherous stage were Goh Choon Huat (44th) , who lead the team across the finish line in 3:16:18, Calvin Sim (100th) and Lemuel Lee (102th) who both finished with a timing of 3:30:39.
Ho Jun Rong, Ahmad Anuwar, Ang Kee Meng, and Mitchel Mulhern did not finish the race.
(OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team rider Jang Chan Jae competes in Stage four of Tour of Japan 2014 in Mout Fuji, Japan)
STAGE 2 TOUR DE KOREA AND STAGE 3 TOUR DE SINGKARAK (9 JUNE 2014)
Local favourite Jang Chan Jae has proven that he is motivated to win on home turf as he managed to secure yet another top-10 finish in Stage two of Tour de Korea.
The 25-year-old finished the 197.2-kilometre stage from Chungju to Muju with a timing of 4:5322, 35-seconds behind stage winner Richard Handley from the Rapha Condor JLT team. Jang finished in 7th place.
In the meantime, teammates Goh Choon Huat and Lemuel Lee were the only OCBC survivors in stage three of the Tour de Singkarak.
Goh was the first Singaporean to cross the finishing line with a timing of 2:38:46, 5:52 behind stage winner Ramin Mehrbaniazar from the Pishgaman Yazd Cycling Team from Iran. Goh finished in 46th place.
Lee finished the 100-kilometre course from 50 Kota to Simpang Ampat City – Pasaman Barat, in 98th place, with a timing of 2:47:34.
Calvin Sim did not meet the cut-off timing for stage 3, which leaves just Goh and Lee to continue the journey for OCBC in Indonesia for the next six stages.
(OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team Jang Chan Jae competes in Stage 5 of Tour of Japan 2014 in Izu, Japan)
All photos by OCBC Pro Cycling Team