SLAF cycle tour from North to South

Anuradha Abeysekara

The 12th annual cycle tour organized by the Sri Lanka Air Force which is also named as the ‘Guwan Hamuda Papedi Savariya’ is to be held on grand scale this year to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the SLAF from January 19 to 22.

This was revealed to the media by the Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonetileke at a press briefing held in Colombo.

Addressing further he said this event has been a great one for the cyclists as it gives them a fine platform to reach required standards in the rankings of the Cycling Federation for their national level elite class.

Air Force Commander Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonetileke had a brief countdown on the evolution of SLAF since its inception. He praised the Airmen of all Ranks who sacrificed their lives and served in protecting mother Lanka.

As another part of its celebrations for the anniversary the SLAF has planned an exhibition to show the general public its strength and skills in their respective fields which is to be held at the Ratmalana Air Base from March 2 to 10.

He said that the organizers have sent invitations to our neighboring countries’ Air Force cyclists to participate in this annual event and still the negotiations are on. He added that he is hopeful that few cyclists to make the trip in time for the event.

Earlier the event was run for three days and this year the organizing committee decided to make it as a four day event for the 60th anniversary celebrations. This event also will help the Air Force to show their might to the masses when it is run for four days covering almost three quarter of the country.

The races conducted in the past have been very successful and the Air Force Cycling Committee headed by Air Vice Marshal Gagan Bulathsinhala has made elaborate arrangements to run this years race with the participation of riders from all parts of the country.

With the main idea of giving the cyclists of North and East an opportunity to get into the main stream of cycling, the organizers have planned to have a standard cycle race for them.

This event confined only to riders from these areas will ride from Vavuniya to Anuradhapura.

The winners in class two will be handsomely awarded with trophies and cash awards.

Sri Lanka Cycling Federation Secretary Group Captain Sujeewa Senaratne explaining the race schedule said that event for elite riders registered with the Federation are eligible to compete in this mega event and expect around 150 riders to take the starter’s orders on the opening day from Vavuniya.

The race which starts its journey from Vavuniya on the first day will ride to Kaduruwela via A’pura, Horowpatana and Habarana to cover a distance of 145 km.

On the second day the cyclists will commence their run from Hingurakgoda will finish in Kandy passing through Habarana, Dambulla and Matale. Third stage will see the riders take off in Kandy and end this stage in Colombo covering nearly 120 km to reach the finish.

On their way to Colombo the riders will come down the Kadugannawa, Kegalle and Nittambuwa to end the day opposite Air Force Headquarters.

The final stage is set to get off the mark from Colombo and the cyclists will reach Koggala where the overall winner will be decided from all four stages.

This year also will see the highest prize money on offer for the overall winner receiving Rs 200,000. There will be many more cash awards on offer for stage winners and sprint winners.

Senior Vice President of the Cycling Federation of Sri Lanka Nishantha Piyasena addressing the media said that in addition to the main event the race run for the North East riders will be considered as a talent search event to tap the hidden talents from these areas.

He thanked the Sri Lanka Air Force for making arrangements to run this new event which will be of great help for the Federation to grab the resources from these areas.

The new talents that will be found during this event will be provided with all necessary training to develop them to be national level cyclists in the future to represent the country.

He said the Federation is ready to undertake this venture on a big way to improve the standard of cycling in the country.

He further said that during the main event there will be few sprint rides to take place and for which the winners will be decided on a point basis to receive the awards.

Piyasena also said that this event will be considered as a fine opportunity given for the cyclists who are to prepare for the forthcoming Asian Cycling Championship to be held in February.

Entries are accepted by the Secretary CFSL, Group Captain Sujeeva Senaratne till January 10. General Manager LG Abans Ltd Channa Pathirana said that his company has sponsored the event four consecutive years and had gained lot of prominence.

This prompted us to continue with it and thanked the Sri Lanka Air Force for giving this great opportunity.

Sri Lanka Rupavahini and Hiru FM will give the live coverage being the media sponsors and will be on air during all four days.