Covid-19 Updates

Updated on 9 Apr 2020

Dear cyclists,

Thank you for your patience during this time. As I am sure you can appreciate, we are currently in unchartered territory with the Covid-19 situation evolving daily. For this reason, the Tour de Bintan is currently postponed indefinitely.

Like everyone else, the new regulations we live and work by are affecting us and restricting what we can achieve. Added to that, the lack of predictability of the future months in terms of governments’ sign-offs on mass-participation events and lifting of travel bans is making the task of fixing a new date a complicated one. We believe there is no point announcing now a date that we are not confident about. Please bear with us.

We have received your individual requests for alternate arrangements, however there are a multitude of other financial and contractual factors to consider. Whilst we are taking your requests into consideration, we are not currently in a position to advise or discuss these at the moment. We will provide further updates when we confirm the new event date.

Please stay safe and healthy as we navigate through this challenging period.

Updated on 13 Mar 2020

The Tour de Bintan is postponed

Dear cyclists, 

It’s with a heavy heart that I inform you that the event, initially scheduled to take place on 27-29 March 2020, will be postponed due to the recent developments relating to Covid-19, and as per the advice we received from the relevant authorities this morning.

We understand your disappointment, that you’ve done many hours of training in preparation, and that you want to race.  Our team has been working tirelessly, determined to deliver a memorable and safe event for you. In light of the situation, we will now direct our focus towards rescheduling the event.

We are looking at a new date later this year which we will share once confirmed. To do this we must first consult with the UCI, relevant authorities, stakeholders and official hotels, so please bear with us as our priority was to inform you of the postponement. During this period, we kindly ask for your patience.

The following bookings will be carried forward automatically to the new event date:

• Race entries
• Ferry tickets
• Hotel bookings with hotel partners
• Day-trip packages

Should you not be able to make the new date, we will allow a transfer to next year’s event or will look into a suitable alternative with you.

Thank you for your understanding, stay safe and healthy, and keep training.

Nathalie Marquet

CEO

MetaSport

First of all, many thanks to all of you who wish to see the event happen and have been supporting our decision to proceed.

We are confirming that, under the current situation, the event is proceeding.

We hope that this message will address your questions and uncertainties in relation to the covid-19 situation and will give you a good understanding of our position and your options as far as your entry into the Tour de Bintan is concerned.

The health and well-being of our participants, spectators and volunteers, and ensuring the safe delivery of the event are our upmost priorities. We are constantly monitoring the situation and following the recommendations of the World Health Organisation and Singapore’s and Indonesia’s Ministries of Health. We are also closely monitoring the evolution of international travel restrictions issued by governments – you may refer to this page for detailed information on this.

1/ Should you not feel comfortable joining the event and decide to withdraw (due to personal, family or corporate reasons), please note that MetaSport’s standard cancellation policy applies. As far as your hotel and ferry booking is concerned, please check directly with your hotel and ferry company.

2/ If you are registered for the event and you are a resident of China, considering the current travel restrictions / quarantine measures imposed by the Singapore and Indonesia governments on travellers from China, MetaSport will issue a credit to the value of your race entry. We will contact you individually shortly.

As far as your hotel and ferry booking is concerned, please check directly with your hotel and ferry company.

3/ If you are registered or are planning to register, and you are coming from a country whose government subsequently, at any time prior to the event, imposes travel restrictions (or quarantine) on travellers from Singapore or Indonesia (or vice versa: the Singapore or Indonesia government imposes travel restrictions / quarantine on the country you are coming from), MetaSport will issue a credit for your race entry. The hotel partners and the ferry companies (Bintan Resort Ferry and Mozaic Ferry Lines) will refund 100% of your booking.

4/ Should new travel restrictions or quarantine measures suddenly be imposed by the Singapore government regarding the entry of travellers from Indonesia (or by the Indonesia government  regarding the entry of travellers from Singapore), the event will be postponed and your race entry will be transferred to the new date. Our Hotel Partners and the ferry companies (Bintan Resort Ferry and Mozaic Ferry Lines) will also allow you to transfer your booking to the new date at no extra cost.

*Metasport “Credit” refers to a credit corresponding to your paid full race entry fee, to be used before the 31^st of December 2020 for entry into any of the MetaSport events including the Tour de Bintan 2021, which will be launched in the 3^rd quarter of 2020.

As we get closer to the event, we will communicate with you about the extra precautionary measures we will take at the event.

Considering the Covid-19 situation as of now, the event is scheduled to proceed as planned.

The health and well-being of our participants, spectators and volunteers, and ensuring the safe delivery of the event are our upmost priorities. We will keep monitoring the situation and following the recommendations of the World Health Organisation and Singapore’s and Indonesia’s Ministries of Health.

For now, we would like to share with you the measures, implemented by the Bintan authorities, that are currently in place:

1. Temperature check of all visitors at the BBT Ferry Terminal
2. Temperature check at Post 1 (Simpang Lagoi) of all passengers’ on-board buses
3. Quarantine staff have been deployed at the above two mentioned entry points to perform the required interview and screening test
4. Designated temporary isolation rooms/tents have also been setup at BBT and Post 1.
5. All hotels within Bintan Resorts must provide an isolation room to temporarily hold any suspected case(s)
6. All frontline staff within Bintan Resorts and at hotels that regularly have contact or close exposure with guests must carry out daily temperature checks prior to commencing work and at the end of their shift, whichis recorded.
7. All frontline staff within Bintan Resorts and at the hotels must wear a suitable protective surgical mask.

Any additional precautionary measures specific to the event will be communicated to you closer to the race weekend.

We will update you should there be any new developments.

In the meantime, keep training, and stay outdoors!

On this note, keep in mind that according to health scientists, viruses such as the Covid-19 don’t persist very well under hot and humid conditions and that “in an open space, you won’t catch the virus from a passing person”. More reading here:  https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/time-turn-aircon-not-abandon-pets-singapore-experts-answer-questions-wuhan-coronavirus