Myanmar, Mavericks take 2018 OCBC Cycle Speedway titles
But transition chaos mars otherwise superb event
May 7, 2018
Teams from the Specialized Roval Mavericks and the country of Myanmar walked away with the titles and some big cash prizes as the latest edition of the OCBC Cycle Speedway Championships thrilled the crowds during nine rounds of racing at the Singapore Sports Hub last Saturday.
However, while the event was as a success, its criterium-relay format – specifically the transition zone where the team handovers took place – once again threw up some problems which saw technical time penalties rather than bike racing skill and speed decide some of the major placings.
The 2018 OCBC Cycle Speedway Championships got underway before dawn as eight countries and 15 club teams gathered in a makeshift “pits” area in a car park beneath the glittering National Stadium. The national teams from Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand were competing for regional bragging rights as well as a winner’s cheque of S$6,000 in the OCBC Cycle Speedway Southeast Asia Championships.
The teams for the OCBC Cycle Speedway Club Championships were Allied World Kemp Technologies, Anza Cycling, Ascenders Team, Geylang Cycling Team, Guerciotti Racing Team, Matador Racing, Rapha Cycling Club, Roadbrothers, Specialized Roval Mavericks, Swiss Club Riders, Team Cycledelic and 30Forty Cycling Team, with the winners awarded a cheque for S$800.
Strangely only 12 clubs applied to take part, so to make up the full 15-strong field, the Mavericks, the Matadors and Rapha CC all received a second team. Each team consisted of five riders, with any four eligible to race in any one of the heats/finals.
Teams from the Specialized Roval Mavericks and the country of Myanmar walked away with the titles and some big cash prizes as the latest edition of the OCBC Cycle Speedway Championships thrilled the crowds during nine rounds of racing at the Singapore Sports Hub last Saturday.
However, while the event was as a success, its criterium-relay format – specifically the transition zone where the team handovers took place – once again threw up some problems which saw technical time penalties rather than bike racing skill and speed decide some of the major placings.
The 2018 OCBC Cycle Speedway Championships got underway before dawn as eight countries and 15 club teams gathered in a makeshift “pits” area in a car park beneath the glittering National Stadium. The national teams from Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand were competing for regional bragging rights as well as a winner’s cheque of S$6,000 in the OCBC Cycle Speedway Southeast Asia Championships.
The teams for the OCBC Cycle Speedway Club Championships were Allied World Kemp Technologies, Anza Cycling, Ascenders Team, Geylang Cycling Team, Guerciotti Racing Team, Matador Racing, Rapha Cycling Club, Roadbrothers, Specialized Roval Mavericks, Swiss Club Riders, Team Cycledelic and 30Forty Cycling Team, with the winners awarded a cheque for S$800.
Strangely only 12 clubs applied to take part, so to make up the full 15-strong field, the Mavericks, the Matadors and Rapha CC all received a second team. Each team consisted of five riders, with any four eligible to race in any one of the heats/finals.
The format for OCBC Cycle Speedway Championships is unique in combining criterium racing with a team relay. Each of the nine rounds of racing took place over 10 laps of a hotdog circuit skirting the northern edge of stadium. The roughly 1.2km loop comprised of two fast straights connected by a sweeping roundabout turn at the far end of the circuit, and a much tighter U-turn at the near side.
The clubs/countries fielded four riders in each heat, with the first five laps raced by two riders before they handed over to the second pair for the final five laps. The results in all the rounds of racing (qualifying, semi-finals and finals) were derived from the time recorded for the fourth rider across the line for each team.
Those handovers played a big part in the proceedings. The first pairs of riders had to stop and get completely off their bikes before crossing a clearly marked “dismount line” and handing over their snap-on wrist “batons”. Similarly, the second pairs of riders couldn’t get on their bikes until they had fully crossed another clearly marked “mount line”. Any transition infractions incurred a 10-second penalty. At the end of the day, five of the nine rounds of racing were affected by such time penalties, including the finals of both the Club Championships and the Southeast Asia Championships.
The Club Championships kicked the action off, with the teams split into three qualifying rounds. The first two teams in each heat plus the two fastest losers would move forward to the semi-finals.
Heat 1 saw the Specialized Roval Mavericks 1 and Geylang Cycling Team take the automatic spots, the Specialized Roval Mavericks 2 and Matador Racing 1 moved through from Heat 2, and Allied World Kemp Technologies and Matador Racing 2 claimed the honours in Heat 3. Joining them as “lucky losers” were Anza Cycling and Rapha CC 2.
The clubs/countries fielded four riders in each heat, with the first five laps raced by two riders before they handed over to the second pair for the final five laps. The results in all the rounds of racing (qualifying, semi-finals and finals) were derived from the time recorded for the fourth rider across the line for each team.
Those handovers played a big part in the proceedings. The first pairs of riders had to stop and get completely off their bikes before crossing a clearly marked “dismount line” and handing over their snap-on wrist “batons”. Similarly, the second pairs of riders couldn’t get on their bikes until they had fully crossed another clearly marked “mount line”. Any transition infractions incurred a 10-second penalty. At the end of the day, five of the nine rounds of racing were affected by such time penalties, including the finals of both the Club Championships and the Southeast Asia Championships.
The Club Championships kicked the action off, with the teams split into three qualifying rounds. The first two teams in each heat plus the two fastest losers would move forward to the semi-finals.
Heat 1 saw the Specialized Roval Mavericks 1 and Geylang Cycling Team take the automatic spots, the Specialized Roval Mavericks 2 and Matador Racing 1 moved through from Heat 2, and Allied World Kemp Technologies and Matador Racing 2 claimed the honours in Heat 3. Joining them as “lucky losers” were Anza Cycling and Rapha CC 2.
Interestingly, only one time penalty for a transition infraction occurred in those three qualifying rounds and it didn’t prove to be decisive in the results. Maybe the stress levels weren’t so bad early in the day.
Similarly, in the two qualifying rounds for the OCBC Cycle Speedway SEA Championships, where the first two countries from each heat plus one fastest loser moved into the semis, the handovers were all clean.
Thailand won Heat 1 with ease, while the Philippines outmaneuvered Cambodia late in the race to take the second spot. Heat 2 saw the home heroes Singapore facing two-time winners and hot favourites Malaysia, as well as Laos and Myanmar.
Team Singapore has perhaps underperformed in past editions of the OCBC Cycle Speedway SEA Challenge, but this year they had high hopes of victory as they fielded a strong five-man squad, consisting of current road cycling national champion Goh Choon Huat of the pro Terengganu Cycling Team, 2017 SEA Games gold medalist Calvin Sim, 2017 SEA Games silver medalist Mohamed Elyas, and national team riders Gabriel Tan and Luqmanul Hakim. The squad also had Firoz Loh as a non-riding reserve.
The presence of Loh and Hakim in the Singapore national squad explained the absence of defending OCBC Cycle Speedway Club Championships winners TWC Racing, as Loh and Hakim are the main riders from TWC. A case of country before club …
To the racing, and the star-studded Team Singapore had no problems moving into the semi-finals, as they won Heat 2 comfortably from Myanmar. The main talking point from Heat 2, however, was the elimination of Malaysia, after one of their riders crashed at one of the turns. While he remounted and finished, over such a short total race distance of 12k, a crash was always likely to prove fatal for any team unlucky enough to suffer from one.
The lucky loser from the two qualifying heats was Laos.
Similarly, in the two qualifying rounds for the OCBC Cycle Speedway SEA Championships, where the first two countries from each heat plus one fastest loser moved into the semis, the handovers were all clean.
Thailand won Heat 1 with ease, while the Philippines outmaneuvered Cambodia late in the race to take the second spot. Heat 2 saw the home heroes Singapore facing two-time winners and hot favourites Malaysia, as well as Laos and Myanmar.
Team Singapore has perhaps underperformed in past editions of the OCBC Cycle Speedway SEA Challenge, but this year they had high hopes of victory as they fielded a strong five-man squad, consisting of current road cycling national champion Goh Choon Huat of the pro Terengganu Cycling Team, 2017 SEA Games gold medalist Calvin Sim, 2017 SEA Games silver medalist Mohamed Elyas, and national team riders Gabriel Tan and Luqmanul Hakim. The squad also had Firoz Loh as a non-riding reserve.
The presence of Loh and Hakim in the Singapore national squad explained the absence of defending OCBC Cycle Speedway Club Championships winners TWC Racing, as Loh and Hakim are the main riders from TWC. A case of country before club …
To the racing, and the star-studded Team Singapore had no problems moving into the semi-finals, as they won Heat 2 comfortably from Myanmar. The main talking point from Heat 2, however, was the elimination of Malaysia, after one of their riders crashed at one of the turns. While he remounted and finished, over such a short total race distance of 12k, a crash was always likely to prove fatal for any team unlucky enough to suffer from one.
The lucky loser from the two qualifying heats was Laos.
Before that national teams semi-final, it was back to the OCBC Cycle Speedway Club Championships and its two semis. The first two teams from each race would move into the final, plus one fastest loser.
Semi-final #1 saw both the Specialized Roval Mavericks squads pitted against Allied World Kemp and Rapha CC. In what proved to be the fastest race of the entire morning, the Mavericks 1 team opened up an early lead, which they maintained throughout and helped them take a comfortable 6-second victory in a time of 17 minutes and 42 seconds. Behind, though, the battle for second place and that automatic ticket to the final was closely fought, with Mavericks 2 just pipping Allied World by a tenth of a second.
However, Allied World didn’t have to wait too long to find out if they would qualify for the final as the fastest loser, because it soon became apparent that Semi-final #2 involving Matador 1, Matador 2, Anza and Geylang was unfolding as a tactical affair rather than an all-out speedfest.
Perhaps the close proximity of the teams as the eight riders approached the transition zone played a part in the scenes of chaos that occurred during the handovers; at least one bike was left on the wrong side of the dismount line and some riders were sprawled on the ground.
The racing continued for the final five laps, with the crowd and the teams unsure of exactly what infractions had occurred and the resultant penalties.
It came down to a sprint, and it was Geylang who crossed the line first ahead of Matador 2, Matador 1 and Anza. However, when the dust had settled it transpired that Geylang had committed two rules violations costing them 20 seconds, and with Matador 1 also being given 10-second penalty, it was Matador 2 and Anza who took the two tickets to the final.
Semi-final #1 saw both the Specialized Roval Mavericks squads pitted against Allied World Kemp and Rapha CC. In what proved to be the fastest race of the entire morning, the Mavericks 1 team opened up an early lead, which they maintained throughout and helped them take a comfortable 6-second victory in a time of 17 minutes and 42 seconds. Behind, though, the battle for second place and that automatic ticket to the final was closely fought, with Mavericks 2 just pipping Allied World by a tenth of a second.
However, Allied World didn’t have to wait too long to find out if they would qualify for the final as the fastest loser, because it soon became apparent that Semi-final #2 involving Matador 1, Matador 2, Anza and Geylang was unfolding as a tactical affair rather than an all-out speedfest.
Perhaps the close proximity of the teams as the eight riders approached the transition zone played a part in the scenes of chaos that occurred during the handovers; at least one bike was left on the wrong side of the dismount line and some riders were sprawled on the ground.
The racing continued for the final five laps, with the crowd and the teams unsure of exactly what infractions had occurred and the resultant penalties.
It came down to a sprint, and it was Geylang who crossed the line first ahead of Matador 2, Matador 1 and Anza. However, when the dust had settled it transpired that Geylang had committed two rules violations costing them 20 seconds, and with Matador 1 also being given 10-second penalty, it was Matador 2 and Anza who took the two tickets to the final.
Next up was the OCBC Cycle Speedway SEA Championships semi-final, which involved just one round of racing, with four of the five teams moving forward to the final. Come on organisers, surely better to have had two semi-finals of three teams, with two from each qualifying.
The contest turned into a bit of procession after Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand separated themselves from Myanmar and Laos early in the race. Those three countries soon realised they didn’t have to risk racing each other to move into the final, but behind it was do or die between Myanmar and Laos. It came down to the wire, with Myanmar edging it in the sprint.
And so to the finals, with the OCBC Cycle Speedway Club Championships first on the road.
Having two teams in the final five made the Specialized Roval Mavericks favourites, but they had been in the same position in 2015 yet finished third and fourth, so nothing could be taken for granted.
Sending men off the front early in the races had proved a successful tactic in some of the earlier rounds, but this proved more difficult in the final as all 10 opening riders stuck fairly close in what was a fast opening five laps. Heading into the changeovers, three of the Mavericks riders had opened a small gap on the rest, but the hectic dynamic of the transition zone saw some skidding, confusion and rumour of penalties as almost the whole field jammed back together as the riders hit the circuit for the last five laps; one man had escaped the handover melee, though, Jon Curry of Mavericks 1.
As he set out on a solo charge around the circuit from which he was never caught, the battle behind was both fast and tactical as none of the teams wanted to play their hands too early. This resulted in all nine remaining riders still bunched together as they hit the crucial final lap.
A mass sprint duly unfolded out of the final roundabout turn that was headed and won by Allied World rider Adam Nelson. The next man across the line was Jonathan Hooper (Mavericks 2), followed by Rick Dumpleton (Mavericks 1) and Trent Illife (Mavericks 2), and with final Allied World rider Sofiane Behraoui finishing close behind, the unofficial finishing order was Mavericks 1, Mavericks 2, Allied World.
The contest turned into a bit of procession after Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand separated themselves from Myanmar and Laos early in the race. Those three countries soon realised they didn’t have to risk racing each other to move into the final, but behind it was do or die between Myanmar and Laos. It came down to the wire, with Myanmar edging it in the sprint.
And so to the finals, with the OCBC Cycle Speedway Club Championships first on the road.
Having two teams in the final five made the Specialized Roval Mavericks favourites, but they had been in the same position in 2015 yet finished third and fourth, so nothing could be taken for granted.
Sending men off the front early in the races had proved a successful tactic in some of the earlier rounds, but this proved more difficult in the final as all 10 opening riders stuck fairly close in what was a fast opening five laps. Heading into the changeovers, three of the Mavericks riders had opened a small gap on the rest, but the hectic dynamic of the transition zone saw some skidding, confusion and rumour of penalties as almost the whole field jammed back together as the riders hit the circuit for the last five laps; one man had escaped the handover melee, though, Jon Curry of Mavericks 1.
As he set out on a solo charge around the circuit from which he was never caught, the battle behind was both fast and tactical as none of the teams wanted to play their hands too early. This resulted in all nine remaining riders still bunched together as they hit the crucial final lap.
A mass sprint duly unfolded out of the final roundabout turn that was headed and won by Allied World rider Adam Nelson. The next man across the line was Jonathan Hooper (Mavericks 2), followed by Rick Dumpleton (Mavericks 1) and Trent Illife (Mavericks 2), and with final Allied World rider Sofiane Behraoui finishing close behind, the unofficial finishing order was Mavericks 1, Mavericks 2, Allied World.
But the transition zones judges still had to be consulted and while Mavericks 1 had performed a clean handover, Mavericks 2 had infringed the rules twice and so a 20-second penalty saw them relegated from the podium positions. Allied World moved into the runners-up position, with Matadors 2 taking third place.
The action then concluded with the OCBC Cycle Speedway SEA Championships final, which pitted Singapore against Thailand, the Philippines and Myanmar. The opening five laps of racing saw a breakaway escape containing solo riders from Singapore, Thailand and the Philippine, with a Myanmar man stuck in no-man’s land between the leaders and the closely-bunched four riders from each of the teams behind.
The gap between the breakaway and the trailing riders remained large after the changeovers, which were again rumoured to have potential problems for some teams post-race. On the road, the leaders were tearing round the course, while the back burners were engaged in a slow battle of wits as the final result would be decided among them, not the front runners. Indeed, they were almost lapped by the leaders as they hit the bell lap only metres before the first four riders crossed the finish line.
The pace finally kicked up a gear as the small group approached the roundabout turn, and it looked great for the home crowd when renowned sprinter Elyas hit the front with 100 metres to go. But maybe the Singapore man started his sprint too early as his rival from the Philippines overhauled him on the line. Still, second place for Singapore, with Thailand in third was a great result for the home team … or so they thought.
Incredibly, all three of the 1, 2, 3 teams had committed transition infractions, with Singapore guilty of two! Myanmar’s handovers were clean and so the foursome from that country moved up into the champions’ position, with the Philippines in second and Thailand third.
Myanmar coach Aung Myo Naing spoke for his delighted young team post-race.
The action then concluded with the OCBC Cycle Speedway SEA Championships final, which pitted Singapore against Thailand, the Philippines and Myanmar. The opening five laps of racing saw a breakaway escape containing solo riders from Singapore, Thailand and the Philippine, with a Myanmar man stuck in no-man’s land between the leaders and the closely-bunched four riders from each of the teams behind.
The gap between the breakaway and the trailing riders remained large after the changeovers, which were again rumoured to have potential problems for some teams post-race. On the road, the leaders were tearing round the course, while the back burners were engaged in a slow battle of wits as the final result would be decided among them, not the front runners. Indeed, they were almost lapped by the leaders as they hit the bell lap only metres before the first four riders crossed the finish line.
The pace finally kicked up a gear as the small group approached the roundabout turn, and it looked great for the home crowd when renowned sprinter Elyas hit the front with 100 metres to go. But maybe the Singapore man started his sprint too early as his rival from the Philippines overhauled him on the line. Still, second place for Singapore, with Thailand in third was a great result for the home team … or so they thought.
Incredibly, all three of the 1, 2, 3 teams had committed transition infractions, with Singapore guilty of two! Myanmar’s handovers were clean and so the foursome from that country moved up into the champions’ position, with the Philippines in second and Thailand third.
Myanmar coach Aung Myo Naing spoke for his delighted young team post-race.
"It is an amazing feeling to have won our first title. We did not expect to win today as the other teams have better sprinters than us, but thankfully we had a clean changeover in the transit area. Every year we try to get better, and we have been training for three months for this. Our previous best result was a 4th place finish in 2015,” Aung said. “This is good preparation for us as we train for SEA Games 2019. Our whole team is currently under 23 years old, and this event is good exposure for them.”
The Specialized Roval Mavericks were equally happy with their win in the OCBC Cycle Speedway Club Championships.
“It feels terrific to win this year’s OCBC Cycle Speedway Club Championships, especially having trained intensively for the event. We’ve been training on the course in the weeks leading up to today’s race and had two Mavericks teams in the finals, which put the club in a great position,” said Mavericks rider Bastian Dohling. “Despite coming in first, we did make some mistakes in our transitions this time around, so we have more improvements to work on. We hope to finish even stronger next year!”
The Mavericks 2 team was of course not the only team to make those mistakes in transitions, which inexplicably kept coming despite the rules being crystal clear, with all the competitors fully briefed and aware of the potential pitfalls. Only the racers themselves can know the pressures they were under when they hit the unfamiliar transition zone in a hypoxic state, so let’s not be too hard on them. But it’s a shame that the results of both finals and one of the semi-finals were affected by what was just centimetres of error.
In hindsight, it’s easy to say that the riders shouldn’t have left their breaking at the dismounting line so late, or jumped on their bikes before the mount line, but in addition to the stresses caused by adrenalin, we’re talking about racing cyclists here, not triathletes, and they will only be subjected to these dismount/mount lines once a year in the unique OCBC Cycle Speedway Championship.
It’s a great format, and of course there has to be a system with rules for the handovers as there would have been even more chaos without regulations, but perhaps the officiating didn’t have to be so strict. This isn’t a criticism of the race commissaries, they were just doing their jobs. But perhaps for future editions of the OCBC Cycle Speedway Championships, the organisers can instruct the commissaries to apply a bit of leeway, and only punish blatant infractions, rather than a skidding tyre stopping 1cm over a line being decisive. Or maybe the time penalties could be halved to 5 seconds.
Another idea mooted post-race on Saturday is to at least inform the second pairs of riders still racing on the circuit that they have incurred a penalty, which would give them a fighting chance to try and make up for the penalty by attacking. As it was, many of the teams on Saturday had no idea they had a time fine pending until after the racing had concluded.
Despite the transition calamities, the OCBC Cycle Speedway Championships is a superb event and let’s hope it’s back again in 2019. Greater publicity would perhaps draw a bigger crowd of spectators, and surely a women’s category can be included in future, even if it’s just a straight final.
Quotes and photographs supplied by OCBC Cycle.
The Specialized Roval Mavericks were equally happy with their win in the OCBC Cycle Speedway Club Championships.
“It feels terrific to win this year’s OCBC Cycle Speedway Club Championships, especially having trained intensively for the event. We’ve been training on the course in the weeks leading up to today’s race and had two Mavericks teams in the finals, which put the club in a great position,” said Mavericks rider Bastian Dohling. “Despite coming in first, we did make some mistakes in our transitions this time around, so we have more improvements to work on. We hope to finish even stronger next year!”
The Mavericks 2 team was of course not the only team to make those mistakes in transitions, which inexplicably kept coming despite the rules being crystal clear, with all the competitors fully briefed and aware of the potential pitfalls. Only the racers themselves can know the pressures they were under when they hit the unfamiliar transition zone in a hypoxic state, so let’s not be too hard on them. But it’s a shame that the results of both finals and one of the semi-finals were affected by what was just centimetres of error.
In hindsight, it’s easy to say that the riders shouldn’t have left their breaking at the dismounting line so late, or jumped on their bikes before the mount line, but in addition to the stresses caused by adrenalin, we’re talking about racing cyclists here, not triathletes, and they will only be subjected to these dismount/mount lines once a year in the unique OCBC Cycle Speedway Championship.
It’s a great format, and of course there has to be a system with rules for the handovers as there would have been even more chaos without regulations, but perhaps the officiating didn’t have to be so strict. This isn’t a criticism of the race commissaries, they were just doing their jobs. But perhaps for future editions of the OCBC Cycle Speedway Championships, the organisers can instruct the commissaries to apply a bit of leeway, and only punish blatant infractions, rather than a skidding tyre stopping 1cm over a line being decisive. Or maybe the time penalties could be halved to 5 seconds.
Another idea mooted post-race on Saturday is to at least inform the second pairs of riders still racing on the circuit that they have incurred a penalty, which would give them a fighting chance to try and make up for the penalty by attacking. As it was, many of the teams on Saturday had no idea they had a time fine pending until after the racing had concluded.
Despite the transition calamities, the OCBC Cycle Speedway Championships is a superb event and let’s hope it’s back again in 2019. Greater publicity would perhaps draw a bigger crowd of spectators, and surely a women’s category can be included in future, even if it’s just a straight final.
Quotes and photographs supplied by OCBC Cycle.