HolyCrit bicycle race gets green light to make comeback on Saturday

When night falls this Saturday, a quiet 320m stretch of road in Kallang will transform into a street circuit for around 70 avid cyclists.

The HolyCrit race has received the green light from the authorities to stage its comeback on Saturday at a location near Stadium Drive, its organiser Zulkifli Awab has told The Straits Times.

The night-time race, which involves the use of fixed-gear bicycles with one gear and no brakes, was stopped more than two years ago, after its organisers were prosecuted by the police for organising the event illegally.

Now, with the help of the Singapore Cycling Federation (SCF), the race has received the required permits and approvals from the relevant authorities, such as the Land Transport Authority and Traffic Police.

Mr Zulkifli, 40, a freelance project manager, said the race marks a "fresh start" for him and his co-organiser, bicycle business owner Eric Khoo Shui Yan, 30.

"We want the fixed-gear community to be alive and kicking, and get more people interested in cycling. Hopefully, this will be the first of many more races to come," he said.

Last month, Mr Zulkifli and Mr Khoo were each jailed for seven days and fined $5,000 for organising and promoting eight editions of the race without permits.

They have since served their sentence.

SCF president Jeffrey Goh said: "We feel that fixed-gear cycling is also part of cycling. How it contributes, whether or not there's a medal doesn't matter; it's still cycling and the SCF would like to support them and organise a legal race."

Friends Sim Jia Fu and Jason A. Dennis, both 18-year-old students, have been gearing up for their first HolyCrit race by cycling almost every week from Woodlands to Marina Bay.

They hope to complete the race as a tribute to one of their friends, who was involved in a bicycle crash in 2014 and later died from his injuries.

"I am not expecting to win.

"I just hope to gain more experience and finish the race as a way to remember him," said Mr Sim, who studies at Republic Polytechnic and started fixed-gear cycling about four years ago.

The race will feature a new category for mountain bicycles, which are typically used for off-road cycling.

All participants have to pay $10 to enter the race, but unlike the past, those without an existing SCF insurance have to pay an additional $15.

To enhance safety, the race route will be lined with water barricades and flood lights.

Participants will be guided by about 20 marshals, said Mr Zulkifli.

There will also be about six medics.

The route, which is normally open to traffic, will be kept a secret to participants for now, as the organisers do not want riders to train there for safety reasons.

nghuiwen@sph.com.sg

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