Cyclists pick up 13 medals at GCC event

Dubai: The UAE cyclists turned on the style to claim a staggering 13 medals, six of them gold, in the two-day GCC Track Cycling Championships held at the Zayed Velodrome, Sharjah last weekend.

Coming close in nearly matching the hosts at the end of the two-day competition was Qatar with four gold, five silver and three bronze to take second place overall, while Bahrain finished third with one silver and two bronze medals and Saudi Arabia was placed fourth with three bronze.

The UAE made a strong start on the opening day when Ahmad Mayoub gave them the first gold in the junior individual time trial, while compatriot Nawaf Hussain took the bronze in the same event.

Badr Ali Thani and Hassan Abdullah produced powerful pedalling in the men's and junior sprints respectively to add two more gold medals by the end of the day.

The Qatari cyclists were also in great form as Mousa Khalfan grabbed their first gold in the one-kilometre individual time trial for men.

Khalfan then led Qatar to a 1-2 finish in the men's individual pursuit ahead of teammate Ahmad Bardini. Mohammad Hassan Al Murwwi of the UAE was third.

Qatari-born Diego Gonsalves of Mexico, who had earlier taken silver in the individual time-trial, gave Qatar their third gold when he won the junior individual pursuit.

Leading the way

The UAE's Mohammad Al Mansour was second and Eisa Ayoub of Bahrain came in third. The UAE clinched three more gold medals on the second day by winning the men's team sprint, junior team sprint and junior team pursuit.

Qatar took gold in the men's team pursuit.

Shaikh Faisal Bin Humaid Al Qasimi, President, UAE Cycling Federation, expressed delight at the excellent performance of the UAE cyclists.

"What they have achieved is beyond our expectation. Though they did not have sufficient time for training, their achievement in the two-day event has been very impressive," Al Qasimi said.

He hoped that the cyclists would maintain the same performance during the Asia Cycling Championship starting April 8. "I hope they will achieve good results during the continental championships," he added.

The UAE team cycling coach Rene Schimdt from Germany was also confident of a good showing next month. "Overall the results have been good for us as I had not even targeted any medals here," Schimdt said.

The coach was full of praise for Badr Ali Thani for his brilliant display in the competition.

Results

Overall standings: 1. UAE (6 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze); 2. Qatar (4 gold, 5 silver, 2 bronze); 3. Bahrain (1 silver, 2 bronze); 4. Saudi Arabia (3 bronze).