Shibli briefing the media at Medan Hamidah as (from left) DBKU Sports Officer Norainie Karim Abdillah, Bike Connection Team leader Kenny Tham, Insp Brymen and Sgt Mjr Matali Yan of Kuching Traffic Police look on.
KUCHING: The Koperasi Al-Bait road race proposed in late May was formally presented to the media yesterday.
At a press conference at Medan Hamidah in Petra Jaya, Koperasi Al-Bait Sarawak Berhad chairman Datu Abang Mohd Shibli Abang Nailie revealed that the race will cover a distance of 120km.
As reported in The Borneo Post exclusive, the race will start at Kompleks Islam off Jalan P Ramlee. The pack will have a short neutral zone through the downtown core before the flag drops at Plaza Merdeka.
The race will then traverse through Matang’s FAC before heading to Petra Jaya, Sejingkat, Borneo Convention Centre Kuching and ends at Medan Hamidah.
An interesting aspect of the race is the ending which will see the racers complete four laps of the Medan Hamidah area.
“Each lap is nine-plus km so the competitors will be doing around 40km there. It will be a great attraction for spectators,” said Shibli.
It would appear that the race will be quite closely contested as the four laps at Medan Hamidah is a good opportunity for the chasers to catch any breakaways.
The race is organised chiefly for the local racers but it is also opened to all.
“We welcome all outside participants,” said Shibli.
They are making a serious effort to get Pontianak teams to come for the race while the hope is that peninsula-based teams like Team Giant Malaysia will also be in the race.
“We will be networking with our friends through social media to encourage those teams to come,” he added.
He notes that the objective of the race was to encourage a healthy lifestyle with cycling as a component.
“We also hope this will help revive the fire of cycling competition in Kuching,” said Shibli, who is a keen cyclist.
He pointed out that there is a lot of interest in cycling, especially in the Petra Jaya area.
The prize money is quite lucrative for a Kuching race. The top three will pocket RM1,500, RM1,300 and RM1,100 respectively.
The fourth to sixth placers will each get RM500 while RM250 awaits the seventh to tenth placers.
The top three Sarawakians will get RM500, RM400 and RM300 each with the remainder of the top ten getting RM150 each.
For a first-time organiser, Shibli and his team have certainly stepped forward to organise a race that have the makings of a great event.
They are targeting to have a field of 150 racers.
If the event is successful, there might be a future race next year.
Kuching club Bike Connection Team is being tasked with the marshalling duties, a big step forward as they have only done club races organised by grass roots outfit Kuching Road Racing.
Shibli noted that safety is the main priority with Kuching North City Commission (DBKU) and the police lending their hand to ensure everything goes smoothly.
As part of the race, there will be a cycling expo and a fun ride at Kompleks Islam.
The entry fee is RM40 and forms will be available at all leading bicycle shops here.