More than 2,700 cyclists, the highest number of participants to-date, thronged the cityscape of Kuala Lumpur on Sunday morning for the seventh edition of OCBC Cycle KL 2024. Participants from all walks of life – from 23 different countries – were flagged off by guest of honour YBrs. Tuan Ismadi Bin Sakirin, Executive Director (Social and Economic Development), DBKL and Ms Chong Lee Ying, Chief Operating Officer of OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad (OCBC Bank) at 6.45am at the Dataran Merdeka starting line. Nearby, children aged 3 to 7 participated excitedly as well for the first time in a new Kids Push Bike category.

Mr Tan Chor Sen, CEO of OCBC Bank (left) and Tuan Syed Abdull Aziz Syed Kechik, CEO of OCBC Al-Amin on their bikes ahead of the start of the 7th edition of OCBC Cycle KL

Riding for title sponsor OCBC Bank were its CEO Mr Tan Chor Sen and CEO of OCBC Al-Amin Bank Berhad Tuan Syed Abdull Aziz, who joined 400 of their OCBC colleagues, including several from the OCBC Singapore head office, along the 21 km circuit.

The cyclists all set to hit the streets of Kuala Lumpur for the 7th edition of OCBC Cycle KL

Also present, among others, was a special delegation from Majlis Bandaraya Johor Bahru (MBJB). OCBC Bank was recently unveiled as main sponsor of the Johor Bahru Car-Free Morning.

The OCBC Cycle KL 2024 rides were designed to complement the 7-kilometre distance that many are used to participating in at the weekly OCBC Bank-sponsored OCBC KL Car Free Morning. Of the 2,700 participants, the more serious cyclists rode through the more gruelling 42-kilometre route while the leisure cyclists opted for the 21-kilometre ride. The children participated in their own area on their push bikes, while teams of 10 each participated in the team event, The KL Mayor’s Ride.  

Participants cycled along the closed roads of Jalan Raja, Jalan Raja Laut, Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Tun Perak (passing though title sponsor OCBC Bank’s headquarters, Menara OCBC), Jalan Leboh Ampang, Jalan Mushi Abdullah, Jalan Jalan Dang Wangi, Jalan Sultan Ismail, Jalan Perak, Jalan P Ramlee, Jalan Kuching, Lebuhraya Sultan Iskandar, Jalan Parlimen, Persiaran Sultan Salahuddin, Jalan Sultan Salahuddin, Jalan Kinabalu, Jalan Lembah and Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin before returning to Dataran Merdeka.

According to Mr Tan Chor Sen, OCBC Cycle KL 2024 has proven itself once again to be a fitting and complementary event to KL Car Free Morning, which is also title-sponsored by OCBC Bank.

Strutting their stuff on the push bike category - kids aged 3 to 7 participated for the first time in the all-new Kids Push Bike Category

“It is heartening to see children and families gathered together for a healthy morning in the closed roads of KL to be part of our largest gathering to-date of more than 2,700 participants this morning. We are happy to have provided this safe cycling platform for the seventh time through the OCBC Cycle KL series. We are grateful for the support from the Ministry of Youth & Sports, the Royal Malaysia Police and KL City Hall. The event was made all the merrier with the presence of the Mayor of Johor Bahru riding alongside us as well. We would like to put on record our appreciation to Yang Berhormat and his team for honouring us by making the trip up to ride with us this year.

“We are also excited about the conscious move to make OCBC Cycle KL 2024 even more environmentally friendly and sustainable. This means there was less use of plastics and greater respect for the preservation of our surroundings. This is an ongoing part of OCBC Bank’s agenda not just for OCBC Cycle KL 2024 but everything we do,” he said.

Among other things, this year again saw very limited or no use of plastic packaging for the event packs. Instead, participant bibs, tags and apparel were packaged in recyclable paper rolls or envelopes. There were no paper flyers in the event packs as well.  They were instead replaced by large information boards at the event as well as information on the OCBC Cycle KL website. There were no bubble wrap for medals; instead, they were packed in tracing paper that is compostable. And there were also recycling bins at strategic locations for collection of banana peels, which were then sent off for composting.

The route saw a few new stretches being included, such as Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Tun Perak, Leboh Ampang and Jalan Munshi Abdullah. With this, cyclists passed iconic landmarks of the city centre such as Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad, the Petronas Twin Towers, Tugu Negara and the National Mosque.

En Nezzam Malek, CEO of Multigreen Events, which organises OCBC Cycle KL, said he was particularly pleased with the level of participation this year, the highest to-date.

“It is pleasing to see such a huge turnout, including participants from 23 different nationalities. I trust they all had a great time. As part of our commitment to safe cycling, we are grateful to DBKL and PDRM for helping us ensure a smooth ride for all,” he said.

OCBC Cycle KL 2024 featured prizes for 18 winners in the Individual category for the 42km ride, the top 3 teams for The KL Mayor’s Ride, and those who finished first to sixth in the Kid’s Push Bike category.

Apart from OCBC Cycle KL title sponsor OCBC Bank, sponsors include Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur as venue host, Decathlon, Great Eastern, Thule, Check Hup, KPJ, 100 Plus, N8, World Vision, Gin Huat, Squirt, Cosmo Hotel, Warisan Ad, Sports World Malaysia and Beacon’s Chicken Delight.

The event also brought together various players in the region involved in cycling, cycle-related supplies, bicycles, bicycle equipment and tools and so forth who participated in a Bike Mart. 

 Visit www.ocbccyclekl.com for more information.