The podium winners in the Team Trial event at the 19th GCC Road Cycling Championship pose for a picture with officials at the Losail International Circuit. Picture: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula
UAE riders stole limelight on the opening day of the 19th GCC Road Cycling Championship as they reigned supreme in all the three Team Trial events at the Losail International Circuit.
The event kicked off with an impressive opening ceremony, while the riders competed in Cadet and Junior classes along with the Elite competition which was dubbed as the feature race on the inaugural day.
The UAE team comprising Badr Mirza Al Hamadi, Muhammad Hasan Al Marwi, Jabir Al Mansuri and Ahmed Al Mansuri prevailed over their opponents to win the 46km Elite class competition in a time of 58 minutes and 46 seconds as they accelerated with a speed of 47.21km per hour.
Bahrain team including Syed Ahmed Khalil Ibrahim, Mansur Muhammad Mansur, Ali Hasan Jawad and Saad Talal Saad finished runners-up after completing the stretch in 1 hour, 1 minute and 23 seconds with a speed of 45.23km per hour. Kuwait finished the event on third spot followed by hosts Qatar.
Earlier, UAE earned their first title of the day when Umar Abdurrazzaq, Umar Salim, Rashid Ahmed and Khalil Essa partnered to win the 23km Cadet class race.
They took 33 minutes 49 seconds with a speed of 41.20km per hour to reach the milestone. The Saudi Arabian team featuring Abdur Rehman, Al Hasan Al Momin, Nasir Al Ahmad and Mehdi Al Safaar finished second with a time of 34 minutes and 40 seconds. Oman and Bahrain finished on third and fourth positions respectively.
The 34.5km Junior class triumph was lent to the UAE by Rashid Abdullah, Abdullah Abdul Karim, Mohammad Farooq and Hamd Abdullah who took 46 minutes 12 second to finish the job. The Saudi team comprising Yusuf Al Yusuf, Hasan Ibrahim, Hasan Al Habib and Ahmed Al Hasan secured second position with a time of 48 minutes and 58 seconds. Bahrain and Oman completed the race in third and fourth positions respectively.
Today’s events include Individual Time Trial in all three classes while the road competition will be held tomorrow, again in all the three classes.
Friday is reserved for the biggest contest of the event - when the Elite Class will compete against each other.
