More than 100 top-class cyclists representing 13 different teams from 20 different nationalities took part in the 3rd edition of the Tour of Al Zubarah in Qatar from the 16th – 19th December 2015. Organized by the Qatar Cycling Federation (QCF) under Presidency of Sheikh Khalid bin Ali Al Thani, this event is also a second category race in the UCI Asia Tour calendar and becoming stronger in organizational and competition sense year after year.
The four-day event covering approximately 400km, initiated with an eye on providing home-grown talent with more opportunities to race at high profile events, is dedicated in honour of Al Zubarah, which was promoted to a UNESCO World Heritage Site on June 2013.
The riders had to tackle first a 3.3km short individual time trial, which was held in the amazing Aspire Zone – Qatar’s centre of great world sporting events. A very interesting and technical course and from the start you could see how well the riders prepared for the race in terms of skills and fitness levels. Jacob Tripper, from Team Giant RBS, surprised himself with the Prologue win. It was his first time cycling and visiting Qatar, and had his eyes finishing in the Top 10 of the race. With this win he also received the yellow jersey as overall leader of the race. The Aspire Zone offered undoubtedly a great experience for the riders as well as fans.
On the second day riders started from Al Thakhira Youth Centre, about 45min outside Doha, and finished at Madinat ash Shamal, which is in the northernmost part of the country. The total racing distance for the day was 129.9km and riders finished the day with three laps of 13.5km each. This of course meant that there was a bit of change in the wind direction toward the end of the race, which caused some good attraction as race tactics had to change fast. Maher Hasnaoui, of Team Skydive Dubai, recorded his maiden win as he clinched the first place on the second day of the event. He clocked a time of 3 hours 10 minutes and 52 seconds with Jacob Tripper, finishing 12 seconds adrift of the stage winner but still managed to hold on to his yellow jersey as leader of the event.
The third day kicked off at the Camel Race Track and finished in front of Dukhan Mosque and was marked as the toughest stage of the event. A total of 119.8km was covered and riders had to complete two, 25km laps around Dukhan, with wind and some hills. German rider, Michael Schweizer of Team Rose NRW won the second stage with an impressive time of 3 hours 15 minutes and 1 second. Although Jacob Tripper finished 5th on the day, he still retained his overall leaders jersey. Most people said that this stage was probably the deciding one for the general classification of the event.
The last day, the riders departed from Simaisma Youth Center to their final destination in Al Zubarah. There was a mild drag to the finish and a strong head wind presented hard work for all the riders to get to the finish line. Eugen Wacker of KCP Kuwait Cycling Project finished the 119.86km in 2 hours 45 min and 8 seconds and won the stage.
The general classification was in fact not sealed as a done deal after Stage Two of the race as most people thought, when Tunisian rider, Meher Hasnaoui of Team Skydive Dubai, emerged as overall winner of the Tour of Al Zubarah. With the help of his team they achieved a great result and said that they will be back next year to defend the title!
The champion’s ceremony was held in front of the Al Zubarah Fort and Andrea Palini, from Team Skydive Dubai, took the Red Jersey as overall points classification winner with Mohammad Esmaeil Chaichi Raghimi from Team PKY Pishgaman Giant, that won the Light Blue Jersey as Best Young Rider Overall.
The organizers pride themselves in creating the challenging, beautiful Tour of Al Zubarah routes that attract an interesting set up of international riders and showcase the state’s scenery. From the modern metropolitan city to small traditional coastal towns and places of historic importance, this is a fantastic race to show the world what Qatar has to offer for international racing.
Words by: Eulogy van Dyk
Photos by: QCF/Tour of Al Zubarah
