Cycling: T-Cup 2018 set for May

• First-ever UCI-sanctioned race in South Asia
• Rs. 37 m in prize money to be handed out
• Race will go from coast to coast, starting in Passikudah and ending in Negombo

Sri Lanka’s premier cycling event, the T-Cup, is set to take place from 4-6 May, it has been announced. Following the success of the inaugural T-Cup last year, this year’s race will now be the first in South Asia to be sanctioned by the world cycling governing body UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale).

“The inaugural event was such a success that the UCI had no hesitation in recognising it as a Class 2.2 Race, making it the only International Cycling Race in South Asia, which has been ratified by the UCI,” event organisers Lanka Sportreizen (LSR) said in a media release.

Fourteen teams have thus far confirmed their participation in the race, which will commence on 4 May at the Passi Villa Hotel in Passikudah, where riders will cycle to Mahiyangana. Day 2 will see competitors make their way to Kandy, before setting off to Negombo on the final leg of the race.

LSR expects to offer Rs. 37 million in total prize money to be split across the best 20 riders, as well as daily winners. Approximately Rs. 18 million is expected to be spent in conducting this event.

LSR hopes, through this, to “boost further the image of Sri Lanka as a safe and secure tourist destination where people live in harmony; “to promote Sri Lanka as an ideal destination for recreational activities including cycling, which is very popular in European as well as Asian countries”; “within the next few years, to consolidate the recognition received from the UCI as an Annual Cycling Event in Sri Lanka, with the blessings of the Cycling Federation of Sri Lanka (CFSL) and the Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC)”; “to unearth the talent of Sri Lankans by providing an opportunity to ride alongside international riders.”

Pix by Sameera Wijesinghe