For the WorldTeams flocking to the capital this weekend, the Abu Dhabi Tour is their season-finale, capping a tremendous year of cycling for their riders.
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But for the continental outfits like the UAE’s Skydive Dubai, this event is their first since May and is the start of a gruelling stretch of racing, which will see them compete in several tours in China and Malaysia before flying back to participate in the Tour of Sharjah.
Headlined by Spanish veteran Francisco Mancebo, a fourth-place finisher at the 2005 Tour de France, Skydive Dubai are hoping they can shake off their race-rustiness to have a good showing in Abu Dhabi.
“This race is very important. The strongest teams and riders from Europe will be there. For us, hopefully we can do a very good race but it’s our first race since May and it will be very difficult because while we have been training hard, we haven’t been racing. It’ll be difficult to be in the front but we’ll try,” the 39-year-old Mancebo told Sport360.
A seasoned climber, Mancebo has his eyes on the third stage of the Abu Dhabi Tour which will take riders up to Jebel Hafeet. The Spaniard’s main goal is to finish in the top 10 in the general classification.
Mancebo has been a mentor for his team-mates, especially the Arab riders like Tunisian Rafaa Chtioui – a former junior Worlds silver medallist – Moroccan Soufiane Haddi and Emirati Mohammed Al Murawwi.
“Rafaa is the strongest guy on the team. He’s strong on the flat stages and he climbs very well. He just needs to climb a bit better and he can be in the top. Al Murawwi is in a good level for flat stages. The mountains are bit tough for him. Soufiane Haddi is the best for this race. He’s in good form,” explains Mancebo.
Haddi crashed out on a descent during the third stage of the Dubai Tour last February which means he has extra motivation to do well in Abu Dhabi.
The 24-year-old, who is the reigning Moroccan national road race champion, is wary of the desert heat but is optimistic about his chances in the UAE capital. He feels the Skydive Dubai team has helped him develop as a rider.
The challenge begins soon! #SkydiveDubai pro cycling team is taking on the Abu Dhabi tour http://t.co/LZESJgfreq #RideToAbuDhabi
— Skydive Dubai (@skydivedubai) October 6, 2015
“The main factor for me is that it is an Arab team. It’s the first professional continental team from the Arab world, all the management are Arabs and even many of my team-mates are Arabs so that helps in communication, team spirit and everything else,” says Haddi.
Al Murawwi says the introduction of events like the Abu Dhabi Tour and Dubai Tour has pushed local riders to take up the sport professionally.
“These tours are helping local cyclists realise that they can take the sport more seriously.
“Ibrahim Al Ali, the cyclist who won the amateur category at the Nad Al Sheba race last Ramadan, he recently signed up for Al Ahli. He’s fallen in love with cycling and he wants to train harder and be part of a professional team. So that’s one example of the kind of development happening in UAE cycling,” said the 27-year-old.
Skydive Dubai athletes manager, Hamad Al Marzooqi, says the focus of the team has shifted since its inception from foreign riders to concentrating on local talent.
“We want to give a chance to our Emirati riders to represent the country,” says Al Marzooqi. “Obviously they need to have some experience before competing in the big races but we need to give them a chance to compete and improve.
“Experience essentially comes with racing. It’s a big blow for us that three of my riders are serving in the military, fighting in Yemen at the moment. It’s a big obstacle for us.”
