Abu Dhabi: The third edition of the ADCO Liwa Cycling Challenge, to be held on Friday, will see over 500 cyclists in different age-groups taking part in the event. The Tour will begin and end at the picturesque Moreeb Dune in Liwa.
The 100kms Elite, Master and Veteran race will be flagged off at 8 am followed by the 40kms Beginner race at 8.30 am, while the final 8km race for juniors gets underway at 8.45am. The registration for the challenge will be open till Friday 7.30 am.
“As of now we have got 460 riders registered with us across the three categories, and we are expecting riders from the GCC countries. It will reach 600 (riders),” said Mohammad Mehrab, board member of the UAE Cycling Federation.
The Elite category in the 100km race consists of cyclists aged 18-34, while the Master will have those between 35 years to 44 and the veteran forming the final group from 44 and above. The 40kms race will have cyclist in two divisions. Beginners aged between 12-15 years will race alongside adult cyclists who are 16 and above. While the final 8kms junior race is designed for children aged between 6 and 11 years.
Saif Juma Al Hosani, Public Relations Manager, ADCO was of the view that the event will a smash hit. “The number of participants has increased from the earlier editions. In the first and the second edition there were around 300 cyclists, this year we have reached 500 plus. This is almost double and hopefully in future it will be big,” said Hosani, adding: “We have a lot of participants from Europe and a huge number also from GCC countries and the event is also a way to attract tourists to the western region and support the community over there.”