Sheikh Abdulla Al Thani of Rasen Sports
The country's first 24-hour mountain bike desert challenge will kick off on March 17, organisers said yesterday.
The one-day marathon - Umm Jarn XC Race - is open to amateur and pro riders with races scheduled in four classes, Sheikh Abdulla Al Thani of Rasen Sports said yesterday.
"The cyclists can come in the morning and register. The 24-hour race starts at 1:00pm. The one with the most number of laps in 24 hours will be declared the winner," Sheikh Abdulla said.
"Each rider must complete a minimum of three (3) laps during the event," he said.
"It will be different from the other (mountain bike) races you see. The riders will actually go between date palm trees. They will also get to see old houses as they ride along side housing communities. There will be water puddles to overcome and dunes to climb," he added.
"Every rider will have to calculate his or her own tactics during the race - how many hours of rest he or she needs and when," he said.
"We will have catering, free snacks, hot and cold beverages and toilets installed along the 11-km course," Sheikh Abdulla said.
"We have been sponsoring mountain bike events for a few years but we wanted to add something different to our calendar and that is the 24-hour competition," he said.
"I don't want to say its the only race in the region. I came to know that there was another event of this kind. After searching online, I found out that there was an event scheduled in Dubai but it was cancelled.
"I don't know why it was cancelled but ours will be the first one of its kind in Qatar. We will do something similar next year in road cycling as well," Sheikh Abdulla informed.
Sheikh Abdulla said similar races have been held in England.
"After some research online, I found there was a race held in England - that was also an 11-km circuit," Sheikh Abdulla said. "I think the winner did 140kms in 23 hours. However, the strong riders say that want to complete 100 kms. My goal is to complete 80 kms. And yes, I will participate in the event," the avid rider added.
Sheikh Abdulla said the event guarantees fun times for the family besides presenting a sneak preview into life in the desert.
"We want the event to be family-oriented. It's not just a race. There is camping. People will get to experience the farmhouse life and they will get to connect with nature," Sheikh Abdulla said.
"It is different from what you normally see in the desert. I am sure most participants wouldn't have seen the farmhouse life that I am talking about. I often get reactions from people where they ask me "is this really Qatar?".
"The reason we have this event in March is because we sought suggestions from our family of riders. We saw into their requests. The other date that we could have gone for was in the month of January. Our races are scheduled well in advance, even going back to a year. We have to work with sponsors also.
"It was very tight for us looking at our annual calendar. We had a race scheduled for March 10. We cancelled that to have this event on March 17," he said.
Sheikh Abdulla said the sport of cycling - whether flat-surface events or off-road contests - was picking up in Qatar.
"We have put together the efforts of major cycling clubs in the country. Qatar Chain Reaction and Qatar Cyclists are two such clubs. They take part in various activities like volunteering. They don't have the support to hand out cash prizes though they do offer medals and trophies to the winners," Sheikh Abdulla said.
"So we stepped up to provide support for two-wheel events, but this race is different from other mountain-bike contests. We are getting support from cycling clubs and the Qatar Cycling Federation (QCF), but the cash prizes for this event are from Rasen Sports."
When asked about live television coverage, Sheikh Abdulla said: "Most of the cycling events miss out on extensive TV coverage. Usually the events staged by QCF get the appropriate amount of TV coverage. However, we will have video cameras and drones but that's all done from our side."
He added: "We didn't get the time to advertise this event but we know the word is out there through the riders who have already registered."
