ENTERING its fourth edition, the Kencana-SIC Bikeathon promises to be explosive with the participation of some of the best local and foreign cyclists doing battle at the Sepang Circuit.
Last year's event attracted more than 600 cyclists, including the likes of Anuar Manan, Nor Effandy Rosli and Hariff Salleh, along with top motor racing names like Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah, Muhammad Zamri Baba and Eric Yeo.
This year's event will take place on Feb 19 and incorporates a series of circuit races around the challenging 5.543 km track.
Seven categories are opened for the public -- the Men's Open (19 to 39-years old), Women's Open, Men's Masters (40 years and above), Juniors (11 to 15 years and 16 to 18 years old), Kids race (5 to 8 years and 9 to 12 years old) plus two new events for folding bikes and the increasingly popular fixed gear bikes.
Altogether there will be nine races with the kids races run separately for the ages of 5 to 8 and 9 to 12 and the juniors category divided into 2, from 11 to 15 years and 16 to 18 years old.
Entry fees range from free for the kids race events, RM40 for folding and fixed gear bikes, while the juniors, men's Open, men's Masters and women's Open will be priced at RM50.
SIC chairman Datuk Mokhzani Mahathir revealed that the organisation of the Bikeathon was in line with the circuit's new image which is to promote SIC as being more than just a motor racing facility.
"We always get a good response for cycling events, especially with national cyclists among the competitors and we expect to attract an even bigger crowd with the introduction of the new categories this year," said Mokhzani, who is also the group chief executive officer of Kencana Petroleum Berhad.
"To further improve and facilitate the growth of cycling, we need to create more quality events. The Kencana-SIC Bikeathon is our contribution to the cycling fraternity," said Mokhzani, adding that the event would be offering cash prizes of over RM20,000.
The event has also attracted riders from Japan, Iran, Indonesia and Germany.
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