Multiple Tour De France stage winner, Erik Dekker took victory in the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) MTB Elite Race at the second edition of the Al Adaid Desert Challenge in Qatar this weekend.
Dekker took victory in the Qatar Cyclist Centre organised event, in 1h11m39s over the new 38.6km course that includes six testing sand dunes.
New Zealand’s Roman Van Uden and French national MTB marathon champion Frederic Gombert came in second and third positions respectively in the UCI elite race, in times of 1h14m53 and 1h22m59.
“I love the race, I love the challenge. I broke from the pack already 3 km after the start near the 1st dune. I waited for Van Uden since it is long way to ride alone for 30 km, but then realised I was much faster on the dunes," said Dekker after the win.
“It is really nice to come to Qatar from Europe at this time of year. Qatar has great weather, city and beautiful desert… it’s great to combine your visit of the country with the event. I would recommend it to everyone,” added Dekker, who visited Qatar with his wife. Meanwhile, the women’s event was won by Qatar resident, Pia Sundstedt in a time of 1h30m03s.
The Finish mountain bike star, who won multiple UCI MTB World Cup’s during her career beat Australia’s Julie Melville respectively.
“As a rider's experience it was perfect… the atmosphere is amazing. The new finish was nice, especially the last sand dune, from where you could see the water and the finish line. Riding down the dune was real fun. I had a support from my husband and son. We all enjoyed in the event.”
In addition to the elite’s, the race also saw over 240 amateur riders register and 200 compete on the day. Riders competed in mountain bike, fat bike.
The rapid growth of cycling in Qatar, was reflected by the 30 Qatari nationals, who took to the start line of this epic desert challenge.
The battle for the title of top Qatari rider was very tight, with victory decided on the last sand dune of the race.
The first three riders came to finish line in the gap of 20 second with Mubarak Alajji taking victory from Saleh Almuhannadi and Ahamd Alsubaey. The Qatari ladies event was won by Tala Abujbara.
The race organizers spiced up the event with race inside the race on the 800 meters long sandy patch. The “Garmin Sinking Sand” section was won by Dekker who managed to get out the most of his special sand bike.
Omar Al Jaber, Director of Shared Services at Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA), the principle partner of the event commented: “The Al Adaid Desert Challenge’s ability to draw participants from 15 countries and 39 different nationalities to a hidden gem in the Qatari desert, is testament to the power of sport in bringing people together to share unique challenges and experiences.
QTA is delighted to be supporting a sporting event which promises to contribute to the growing sports tourism sub-sector in Qatar.”
He added, “We are particularly proud of the Al Adaid Challenge as a Qatari-owned and founded initiative, which has steadily grown over the years.”
