The Next BIG THING

August 13, 2015

LET’S HAVE IT: Mawan (seated front row left) Abdul Karim (front row, centre) and project director Mohd Fadzil Mat Yusof (front row, right) pose and thumbs up during the press conference at the Meeting Room, Level 3, Baitulmakmur building yesterday.

Tour of Sarawak to be held Jan 13 to 17, 2016

KUCHING: Sarawak to host its first Tour of Sarawak International Cycling Championship (TOS 2016) held from January 13 to 17 next year.

Themed ‘Sports Tourism is the Next Big Thing’ is expected to bring about an impact which will place Sarawak on the world map, especially among the world cycling community.

The five-day championship - or better known as a continental race and sanctioned by the Union Cycling Internationale (UCI) - will feature a distance of 765 Km and start from the city of Miri, ending in the city of Kuching and will race across major towns of Bintulu, Sibu, Sarikei, Betong,Sri Aman, Serian and Sematan.

Four categories will be contested namely Overall Rider, King of Mountain, Best Sprinter and Best Malaysian Rider (Chief Minister Cup).

Assistant Minister of Youth Development (Urban), Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said in a press conference at the Meeting Room, Level 3, Baitulmakmur building, here, yesterday a total of 20 teams, both local and international, will battle for the overall prize of RM200,000 which will be paid in Euro.

Local teams include TSG (Terengganu), MSN, Malaysia Team and Sarawak Semi Pro team while the other 16 teams are foreign teams.

He added that a positive impact is expected through an economic spillover effect towards the cycling industry and also towards the tourism and cultural industries in the state. 

It is also a cost effective platform in comprehensive promotion of tourist locations and local cultures.

Furthermore, the timing of the TOS2016 is a spot-on as Sarawak is not being left out in launching a cycling sports tourism product which has already been implemented by neighbouring countries.

TOS2016 will be officially included in the UCI official tour calendar, making the championship on par with other similar cycling championships.

The event thus puts Sarawak as a sports tourism product in the world professional cycling communities, cycling itself being a popular activity here in Sarawak.

Undoubtedly, the championship will promise to be an exciting event to place TOS2016 among the great cycling championships in the nation as well as in Asia.

Meanwhile, the event is organised by Fadz Industries Sdn Bhd in collaborations with the Ministry of Social Development of Sarawak, Ministry of Sports and Youth Malaysia.

Also present at the press conference was Minister of Social Development, Tan Sri William Mawan.