Dubai: Over the course of the past two weeks, residents of the UAE have been encouraged to get out on their bikes and enjoy the winter weather by participating in a cycling challenge set by the UAE Team Emirates cycling team.
Using the Inphota platform, over five hundred UAE residents, of all ages, backgrounds and abilities, logged their cycling activities and tested themselves against Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar’s impressive 36.2km time-trial.
For riders over the age of 12, the challenge was to ride at least 36.2km in a single ride as fast as they could while riders under the age of 12 were challenged to complete the same distance over multiple rides of a shorter distance.
Pogacar’s performance in Stage 20 of this year’s Tour de France was the most dramatic late-race comeback in the past 30 years. The Slovenian turned a 57-second deficit into a 59-second margin of victory against compatriot Primoz Roglic to win the yellow jersey in his first ever Tour and has been the inspiration for many in the UAE to start riding.
Pogacar said: “It’s been great to see so many people riding in the UAE and enter the challenge. Ever since I joined the team, the number has been increasing every year. I’m very proud to be involved in such an exciting project with the UAE Team Emirates team - the results have been amazing and it’s been fantastic to see the smiles on so many children’s faces who are enjoying riding their bikes.”
UAE Team Emirates continue to demonstrate their support for cycling in the UAE, with the Tour de France victory giving the team a huge boost in popularity and the Youth Academy proving to be more and more successful.
Launched in 2018 exclusively for school children living in the UAE, the initiative has already engaged over 2500 children across 40 schools and contributes to the team’s goal of inspiring a healthier lifestyle in the UAE.
