T-Cup: Coast to coast cycling event set for April

Tuesday, 31 January 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

From left: UCI International Commissaire N. Karunaratne, Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara, Sri Lanka Cycling Federation President Dr. Amal Harsha De Silva, Lanka Sportreizen Chairman P.T. Weerasinghe and Sri Lanka Police, Officer in Charge Traffic Headquarters, Chief inspector Thilakarathna

Lanka Sportreizen, the travel agency whose support has played a major role in the growth of the Colombo Marathon, has given its backing to cycling in Sri Lanka as it announced the Sri Lanka T-Cup, which will take place this April over the course of three days.

The race, which is set to begin on 7 April, will start on the East Coast in Passikudah and span the breadth of the country finishing on the West Coast in Negombo on 9 April.

“Professionals who are keen on racing cycling can take part and in the process enjoy the beauty of Sri Lanka, experience the challenging terrain and get to know the lesser known areas of the country,” stated LSR in a press release. The ’T-Cup’ moniker was used as tea is what Sri Lanka is best known for, the release added, noting that the goal of the event was to “unearth the talent of Sri Lankans by providing an opportunity to ride alongside international riders,” and “boost the image of Sri Lanka as a safe and secure tourist destination” while also promoting it “as an ideal destination for recreational activities including cycling.”

LSR hopes that the success of the event will lead to, in the next few years, recognition from the Asian Cycling Confederation and registration with the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) as an annual event in its official cycling calendar. LSR have previously authored events such as the LSR Colombo Marathon, the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ Mountain Biking Challenge, Vittel Amazon Adventure Challenge, ‘Sri Lankan Pro Surf WQS’ International Surfing Event, etc.

The T-Cup will be adjudicated by a panel of reputed UCI accredited international commissaires with the blessings of the Ministry of Sports and the support of the Cycling Federation of Sri Lanka. The race will commerce from the Marina Hotel in the National Holiday Resort in Passikudah and will run through Mahiyangana and Kandy to the city of Negombo. Registration for the event will be held at the Catamaran Beach Hotel Negombo on 5 April, while the riders will travel from Negombo to Passikudah for the start of the race on 6 April. The event will be open to all national and club teams and it is expected to limit the participation to 100 riders out of which a little over half the allocation will be reserved for foreign riders. LSR expects to offer Rs. 3 million ($ 20,000) as total prize money, with those placed from 1st to 20th being awarded. It is anticipated that a total expenditure of approximately Rs. 18.5 million will be required to conduct the event, and being the inaugural year, Lanka Sportreizen will host all the participants providing them with accommodation and transport while SriLankan Airlines will assist them with concessionary airfare rates.

Pic by Ruwan Walpola