Dubai
The next year will be crucial for UAE cyclists as they pursue their joint goal of earning more than one qualifying spot at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Yousuf Mirza, who became the first UAE cyclist to qualify for an Olympics when he made the grade at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, has insisted that 2018 will be vital in chasing down their dreams. “As a team we have been all over the world since the start of the season [in January]. Now we have a few more races and after that we move into the rest period,” Mirza told Gulf News.
“It’s been a rather long season and all of us are quite eager to find some family time after all this is over. Once this season is over then we need to focus on the year ahead,” he added.
After the Fifth Asian Indoor Games in Ashgabat later this month, Mirza and a couple of cyclists will participate in the Asia Cup in Thailand (October 6-7) and New Delhi, India (October 10-11). Then from October 20 will be the start of the Tour of China as a member of the UAE Team Emirates.
“So by the end of October all of us will get some free time before the new season in early 2018,” Mirza related.
“2018 will be a crucial year for all of us. We need to start collecting the points for an automatic qualifying spot at Tokyo 2020. We need to realise that we can all back each other and make it happen for the UAE. This is going to be a true team effort for UAE cycling,” he reiterated.
