Event to bring the cycling fraternity together
A host of former greats are expected to take part at the inaugural Cycling Festival organised by the Veterans’ Cycling Association
By Naushad Amit
(VCA) which will be held around the Vihara Maha Devi Park in Colombo today. The event, aimed at the bringing the cycling fraternity of Sri Lanka together after a long lapse, through an occasion that could strengthen the camaraderie of all cyclists, who took different factions in the recent past.
“This is a point where all those who took different views and factions in the past have left those thoughts aside with a single motive. My view is that an event like this with the leadership of the VCA is an essential and long overdue one. This will be a great opportunity to bring all former cycling stars and even the present-day cyclists together,” stated former DIG of Police K.P.P. Pathirana who is also the current president of Sri Lanka Cycling Federation (SLCF).
Six events are being lined-up for the day targeting different age categories and a competitor will be permitted to take part only in one category. The events are Over-40 Men’s Standard, Over-50 Men’s Racing, Over-60 Men’s Racing, an Open Mountain Bike event for young boys and girls for those over 18 years of age, an Open Women’s Race and an Open Race for elite cyclists.
The Over-40 and Over-50 events will consist of 15 laps around the Vihara Maha Devi Park course which is approximately 2.3 kilometers. The Over-60 event will do ten rounds while the Open Mountain Bike and the Open Women’s races will have five laps each. The Elite Open race which will be team event with five cyclists being permitted to compete will have up to 25 laps, depending on its progress.
According to the secretary of VCA, Anthony Simmons, who himself is a former champion cyclist, almost eight former stars presently domiciled overseas have confirmed participation in addition to some of the expatriates living in Sri Lanka.
The winner of the two main events of the day – the Over-50 and Over-60 events – will receive the respective challenge trophies named after SLCF president and the VCA president. Winners of each race will receive Rs. 7500 in cash with the next two finishers set to collect Rs. 5000 and Rs. 3000 respectively with trophies. The fourth and fifth places are guaranteed with cash awards of Rs. 2000 and Rs. 1000 at each race. The top ten finishers will be presented with a useful gift pack that contains cycling gears by the event sponsor Wroom.