The Baltic sponsored Singapore cycling team, the Barrels Riders Club,  competed in the L’Etape Malaysia race last weekend. A team of six completed the challenging 140km route.

The event was the first cycling event in Malaysia since before the pandemic. And, out of over 4500 participants, the team placed in the 250-300 range and came 13th out of all the teams.

Whilst not exclusive to shipping, the Barrels Riders club has bonded together a mix of expats and locals in Singapore. Cycling has been a precious outlet for activity in this otherwise restricted period.

From Singapore, the team drove to Desaru in Malaysia on Friday May 3 spending the evening registering and prepping for the race.

The race was 140km long across undulating palm plantations of South East Johor, Malaysia.

The team was placed in the beginning Wave Zero group to start at 715am along with thousands more to follow.

The group encountered rain at the 40km mark before overcast conditions shielded riders from the blazing sun until the final 20-30km of the race.

Competitors were regularly reaching speeds in the 40-55km p/h range. In large pelotons of hundreds at a time, the race was hectic and hazardous. Several nasty crashes were observed.

The team finished in three hours 40min – 50mins range.