Mawan (seated left), Karim (centre), Fadz Industries Sdn Bhd project director Mohd Fadzli Mat Yusof and committee members giving the thumbs up for the Tour of Sarawak. — Photo by Jeffery Mostapa
KUCHING: The Sarawak government through the Ministry of Social Development and Ministry of Tourism will collaborate with Fadz Industries Sdn Bhd and Ministry of Youth and Sports to organise the International Cycling Championship The Tour of Sarawak from Jan 13-17 next year.
Sarawak Cycling Association president Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the five-day championship, under the theme “Sports Tourism is the Next Big Thing” and covering cities and major towns, will put Sarawak on the world cycling map.
“The championship, which has a rating of 2.2 and is recognised by the UCI, will be upgraded to a rating of 2 if we organise it well and successfully next year and subsequent races,” he told reporters yesterday.
“It will become a much awaited annual event such as the Sarawak Regatta and Le Tour de Langkawi and will be organised either annually or biannually.”
Karim, also assistant minister of Youth Development and assistant minister of housing, said a positive impact is expected through the economic spillover effect towards the cycling industry directly and also towards tourism and cultural industries in Sarawak.
“We do not want to be left out as the cycling sports tourism have been launched in West Malaysia (Le Tour de Langkawi) and Sabah has their Tour of Borneo and the sports tourism product has been implemented by neighbouring countries such as Brunei (Tour of Brunei), Indonesia, the Philippines and other countries around the world,” he said.
Limited only to 20 teams, the Tour of Sarawak, which offers total prize money of Euro $400,000 will be raced over five stages.
So far, about 40 professional teams have indicated their interest in taking part.
The first stage of 201km is from Miri to Bintulu, followed by Bintulu-Sibu (217km), Sarikei-Betong (111km), Sri Aman-Serian (131km) and Sematan-Kuching (105km).
Meanwhile, Minister of Social Development Tan Sri William Mawan Ikom lauded the development, saying that the event will boost sports tourism in Sarawak.
“We are also looking at other sports such as golf and we are looking to get the South Koreans to come here and play golf when it is winter in South Korea,” he added.