Dubai: After the success of the Dubai Tour over the first three years, Saeed Hareb, Chairman of the event and Secretary General of Dubai Sports Council has not ruled out the possibility of hosting the Ladies Tour along with the men in the coming years.
Qatar is already hosting a Ladies’ Tour along with the men and it is learnt that an approach has been made. However, Hareb was of the view that UAE is in no hurry to rush for the Ladies Tour as Dubai Tour is still in its infancy.
“The Tour is just three-years-old but already we can see that there is a lot of interest being created and that has paved the way to develop the sport further and even look at a Ladies Tour along with the men as addition. However, we don’t want to go for it immediately but will certainly consider it in the near future,” revealed Hareb, who felt that cycling has managed to strike a chord with the people of UAE and there is more awareness and acceptance for the sport.
“We have come a long way from the first year and now people in Dubai know there is a quality sport like cycling happening. I can see people getting out of their cars and clicking pictures - which was missing. They now want to be a part of it and that can open doors for many more things,” said Hareb, who also hailed the performance of the local teams - SkyDive Dubai and the newly formed Al Nasr.
“Skydive and Al Nasr are doing well and I was impressed with the way Al Nasr performed despite being a first-time entrant. Winning two sprints was exceptional. SkyDive Dubai held on to the Young Rider’s jersey for three days, so that was special. In a couple of years, we will have someone of our own wearing the main jersey,” added Hareb, who also went on to reveal they will be looking to include new stages and visiting different parts of UAE in the coming years to make it more interesting.
“It is important to link all the areas of the Emirates. In the first year also, we linked few areas of Sharjah, Ajman and this year we brought in Fujairah. For us, it is very important and we wanted the race to run from Dubai Marina to another coast. Fujairah was ideal this time around because it made the stage a bit testing with mountains and straights.”
