NEWS: A WEEKEND THAT TRULY CELEBRATES STREET RIDING
URBAN WHEELS 2018 – THE CITY CHALLENGE 2 BRINGS LOCAL BIKERS TOGETHER OVER AN ADRENALINE CHARGED WEEKEND THAT IS ALSO EMOTIONALLY LOADED
What a way to start 2018! The race weekend was an absolute blast. And the aftermath was just pure meltdown. This is Urban Wheels 2018 – the City Challenge 2. If you missed this one, you should make a new year's resolution never to miss another one. That was how much fun the racers had. We pieced together some memorable moments – for those who wish to recap on that day's action and those who wish to play catch-up. Check out these videos and photos.
THE URBAN WHEELS THIRD STRIKE
The 3rd installment of Urban Wheels happened on 20 and 21 January 2018 at SCAPE Orchard. Organized by Mediacorp OOH Media, it is without surprises that the event was treated with much mass media publicity. Along with its social media effort and lead-up events, there were a great deal of anticipation for the race weekend itself. And the said weekend didn't disappoint. There were a total of 7 race categories for the mall race and in addition, a Strider push-bike course for toddler riders. 200 riders took part in the weekend's race and activities.
As with all Urban Wheels events, it was graced by Mediacorp Celebrities, and featured performances with various performer groups. This year, the stage shows featured local talents from the *SCAPE Confessions programme – another Urban Wheels and SCAPE effort to showcase young talents. The KTM Motorcycle performance interludes throughout the weekend provided some extra inspiration to all visitors and racers, hinting on the options of what's beyond cycling. The crowd loved the KTMs! The ambient at SCAPE Orchard, albeit some afternoon rain, was really festive. Everybody looked and felt hyped.
Race Results are here.
Here are 3 awesome edits from the 2 days at SCAPE Orchard.
Video by Seth Tan
Video by Brandon Chen and Seth Tan
Video by Brandon Chen and Seth Tan
COMING OF AGE AND DISCOVERING NEW TALENTS
A short race course this may be, but it has its challenges. While we do not feel entertained over our fellow riders getting bruised and busted, we can't help but notice the "collateral damage" from the race. (NB: We know this is an inevitable part of every race.) What we are drawing at is that, even as a short course, it does requires the riders to stay really focused and give it their all. Just like any other races.
With this urban race format, we also notice that the young riders we used to meet at night rides and at trail heads have all grown and matured. Many have developed good prowess over the years and are racers worth rooting for now. And Urban Wheels gave them this chance to validate their performances.
With a mall race setting and some city backdrop, Urban Wheels seem to have the right formula to attract this segment of riders, at the same time encourage others to try out street and mountain biking.
EMOTION FLOWS
The race came and went rapidly, but lots of emotions lingers in the aftermath. Rarely do we see so many riders posting appreciation notes about their races. The few days after the race weekend saw some riders pouring out their emotions about the sports. What could have evoked this social media spike? The Urban Wheels mall race, the beautiful city scape, the closely-knitted community acting on a generation of riders who are more expressive could all adds up to this. Whatever it is, we love what we saw. It shows the community's deep love for this sport, the coming of age of a new group of riders and the right ingredients that made Urban Wheels memorable.
PREPARING THE YOUNG ONES
And true to the mention of Urban Wheels having the right "ingredients", our leaders of tomorrow were given their own "race" course on Strider Bikes. The turnout was great with many families making the Strider push-bike course their weekend retreat. We saw some kids with good potential there. And here's wishing these kids get the best encouragements and join the big boys when they are older.
A BRAND NAME HAS RISEN
We know we have repeated this to bits! And no! Mediacorp OOH Media didn't instruct us to say this. This is what we sincerely feel. We want more Urban Wheels! It had become a home-grown brand name where the youth bikers can identify with. And we wish to see Urban Wheels grow with this group of young talents. We also hope that more sponsors would join our sports. Till the next Urban Wheels, RIDE!
Photos are stored at Bikezilla Bikers Singapore Group page spanning 10 albums. Take your time to browse througth.
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Photos by Bikezilla: Brendon Ong, Jerome Tan, Nick Ho, Nicholas Lin and Shoun Tan
Video by GoPro: Seth Tan and Bikezilla: Brandon Chen
All event information by Urban Wheels 2018, Mediacorp OOH Media
