UAE: Thrills and spills at Dubai's 5th Al Salam Cycling Championship

Organised under the directives and patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the first race of the 5th Al Salam Cycling Championship, which carries a prize purse of more than AED3 million, was held at Seih Al-Salam on Monday.

The race, a 127km challenge for Emirati amateurs, saw 71 riders challenge for a piece of the total prize purse of AED 1 million. Rashid Al Balushi of Trek M7 topped the charts with a time of 3:09:30, followed by Dubai Police’s Yasser Al Balushi (3:09:33) and Harb Ibrahim of Trek M7 (3:13:41).

Trek M7 won the team honours with an aggregate time of 9:37:00 for their top three riders.

The second race of the 5th Al Salam Cycling Championship, which will be a mountain bike race, will take place on December 22, while the third race, taking place on January 11, will see Emirati female amateurs challenge female riders from other GCC countries for the top honours across a distance of 30km.

The 127km fourth race of the 5th Al Salam Cycling Championship will take place on January 12, and it will feature 80 elite professionals.

A cylclist receives a bottle of water during the local Al-Silm cycling race.

Cyclists compete in the local Al-Silm cycling race in the desert.

The fifth and final race of the Championship is scheduled for January 25.