The UAE missed out on a medal after Yousif Mirza finished fourth in the seniors road race at the Arab Cycling Championships in Annaba, Algeria, yesterday.
Hosts Algeria added to their medal tally by sealing gold and bronze, while Iraq grabbed silver.
Algeria now have six gold, four silver and two bronze to show for their efforts. In the 140km ride, Mirza cycled a tough race and had to deal with cycling uphill and the flat course against a strong field and couldn’t add to the silver he had won in the Team Time Trial.
With Mirza’s fourth place finish, UAE technical team manager Abd-ullah Suwaidan described the result as “disappointing”.
He said: “It was a bit disappointing for Yousif to finish in fourth position.
“It was a hard race that involved a lot of mountain climbs and flat roads and there were some countries playing tactics during the race.
“The Moroccans and Algerians are very strong and we knew that before the championships started. Yousif had the ability to win bec-ause he’s a very good cyclist, but the Algerians were good on the day and that was the difference.”
He added: “The Algerians had some advantage with them cycling on their own roads and this showed through.
“It’s very difficult to get used to conditions in a different country when you are competing in a big championship, but it’s all part of the learning experience for Yousif.”
The UAE will now have three days to recover before taking part in the track events that begin on this Sunday.
“We will now have three days to rest and prepare for the next stage of the championships,” said Suwaidan.
He added: “It will be good because it’s a long championship and it’s always good to have enough rest. It will help the riders recover and refresh their minds.
“We now want to end the championships on a high and win as many medals as we can.
“It will be hard with the strong competition, but anything is possible.”
Mirza helped the UAE clinch their first medal of the championships when he won silver in the Time Team Trial last Saturday in the company of Ahmed Al Mansouri, Majed Al Balooshi and his brother Badr. And the UAE didn’t have to wait long for their first gold when Saeed Suwaidan triumphed in the under-16 road race on Tuesday.
It was a dominant ride by the 16 year old in the 36km race, which also happened to be an historic achievement as it was the first time an Emirati had won an event in the under-16 category.
A total of 330 cyclists from 12 countries are taking part in the Arab Cycling Championships, which will conclude in Algeria next Wednesday.
