Dubai
“There’s no where else in the world that you could have such freedom on the bike and not worry about cars or anything dangerous while riding.” This is what South African racing cyclist Jay Robert Thomson feels about Dubai’s cycling tracks.
He got the first taste of Dubai’s tracks on Monday and was very impressed. He told Gulf News: “What Dubai is doing for the city and the people - it’s incredible.”
The 31-year-old is riding alongside Mark Cavendish and the Team Dimension Data squad in the fifth season of Dubai Tour.
The team has been practising hard ahead of the tour. Thomson said: “We train for about 25-35 hours a week, depending on how hard the race in the morning will be and also where you are, in the season.”
To prepare for the Dubai Tour, Thomson added:” We spent a lot of time on the bikes, about five to six hours every day getting the body ready.”
However, it’s more than practice, that makes them perfect cyclists. Diet is of utmost importance. “We start the day with a general breakfast. We try to stay away from the more fatty foods like bacon. We can have bread, wheat, oats, eggs. We don’t eat sugary cereal.”
He says it is essential for cyclists to keep away from sugar: “Sugar on the bike is great for energy. But off the bike, it is not ideal, since you are just storing them as fats.”
This is also his advice for people who are non-cyclists: “As a cyclist you want to be super skinny, however, for a regular person, watching sugar intake is important. Something that a lot of people can make a mistake of, is to include too much sugar in their diet. If you are not doing lots of exercise this is just stored in the wrong way, as fat, not energy.”
He says cycling is one of the healthiest things to do. “It has no weight bearing problems for joints.”
And what’s the most important thing to remember when you cycle? “Have fun! ...get out there have fun, don’t take it to seriously just enjoy it.”
