The velvety golden sand dunes, undulated terrain and the generosity of the event organisers attracted 40 female competitive riders to the Empty Quarter for the Third Edition of the ADCO Liwa Cycling Challenge.
A total of 378 cyclists travelled up to 400km to the Western Region for this annual opportunity offering a scenery of spectacular, yet challenging dunes of the Liwa area by Tel Moreeb, one of the highest sand dunes in the world.
Event organiser, ADCO, had everything covered for the participating cyclists; and with their invitation to make use of a dedicated camp site including camp fires, catering, entertainment and music; a large number of riders arrived the day before and enjoyed some special time with family, friends as well as team members.
For the first time ever in competitive amateur cycling in the UAE, the demographics and rider numbers were recognised and categories created accordingly to increase competition across the field. For the 100km course, age groups were split in three: Elite, Masters and Veteran for both male and female riders. With a generous prize pot in addition, we were all excited to experience the race on fair terms, so special thanks must go to ADCO and the UAE Cycling Federation for recognizing and implementing this initiative.
The female field was largely represented by the teams of the Urban-Ultra Cycling League and not only did we compete for the podium places and prizes in our respective age groups, but also for individual and team points in the overall league ranking. Every female rider and team had a purpose to ride strong and smart and for some it even became a matter of completing the event.
A 100km course of never-ending dunes including just less than 1,200m of elevation, presented a challenge which isn’t for the fainthearted. Already 1km into the race, we reached the first dune with a max gradient of 12%; something which requires stamina, power and good positioning in the field to overcome well. As expected we saw the first split in the women’s field on this very first dune. Six riders at the front powered over the top and disappeared down the other side. Another split formed a second peloton of seven riders, which embarked on a chase. The remaining riders formed smaller groups, pairs or solo riders. Feedback from some of these riders revealed that lack of preparation resulted in a long and tough ride behind the main two pelotons.
The leading group, made up of Aimee Wright (The Cycle Hub), Jill Mair (Abu Dhabi), Natasha Leask, Roisin Thomas and Yvonne van Hattum (Wolfi’s Contessas) and myself (BeSport), managed to hold the lead right through to the end. Right from the outset of the breakaway, we agreed to work together to maintain our lead. Although as we hit the last 20km and the final 12 dune climbs, it was each rider’s own responsibility to keep up with the group. We witnessed some incredible descending skills from Aimee Wright, who four times lost the group on the climbs, but using her formidable mental strength and determination powered herself back to the leading group. Five of these six riders reached the final 2km loop by Tel Moreeb and the race culminated in a sprint between Aimee Wright and myself, where Aimee with half a bike length’s lead started her sprint a little too early, allowing me to overtake before the finish. The top three spots in the total women’s field were taken by: 1) Helle Bachofen von Echt (BeSport), 2) Aimee Wright (The Cycle Hub) and 3) Roisin Thomas (Wolfi’s Contessas).
The second peloton contained Aimee Davidson (The Cycle Hub), Dee Boys (Liv), Clare Mullenger (Urban-Ultra), Anne Heiland (Velo Vixens), Bianca Bea, Lisa Hancox and Najla Al-Jeraiwi, Kuwait (BeSport) and an individual guest rider from the United States, Janet Howard. Some of these riders had attempted to hang on to the lead group, but had dropped back shortly after passing the first dune. This group worked together, with Dee, Lisa and Anne putting in some strong efforts at the front. Once again, the final 20km of undulated terrain resulted in this group separating and riders finished in sprint finishes of twos and threes.
Behind the second peloton, the remaining riders dropped into solo or in small groups, with some female riders finishing outside the 4 hours cut off time, failing to receive a finishing time.
The ADCO Liwa Cycling Challenge offers one of the toughest terrains in the UAE for the locally based riders used to doing their cycling training around the dedicated flat cycling tracks in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. This kind of profile not only separates the riders according to their physical abilities, but also their mental stamina, as the desert terrain forces each rider to dig deep and to tackle dune after dune after dune. On a profile like this, with almost all female riders consisting of locally based amateurs, we witnessed a split between the more experienced competitive participants, aspiring competition riders and those new to competitive cycling.
Aimee Davidson (The Cycle Hub) riding in the second peloton, shares: “This is an annual opportunity to push your limits. The epic scenery should be enough to keep you going! This race always teaches me a lot; this time, although I trained hard and improved a lot, I clearly didn’t train enough. Competition in the female field is of a wide range of abilities and it’s always nice to aspire to be one of those on the podium. Some female riders might be put off by being blown out the back of a 3-4 hour race during the first five minutes! On the other hand, the scenery, options to camp and offerings are perhaps enough to encourage some of them to give it a go – it’s more of a personal challenge”.
Louise Adamson (Urban Ultra) agrees with Aimee Davidson’s final point. “The course is such a complete contrast to what we are used to regularly riding that even that first hill is a shock to the system and responsible for shattering the field after just 2km. It was fantastic to see so many female riders participating in such a challenging event. By establishing the Urban-Ultra Women’s Cycle League many women have been inspired to train harder and feel more involved in the women’s cycling community,” she said.
Claire Mullenger (Urban-Ultra), new to cycling and finishing with the second group, explains, “As a new cyclist I love the camaraderie of cycling with other women. It is tough and very competitive but at the same time a much more supportive and safe environment than cycling with men. I have also been given advice and support from the other female competitors. The Liwa race was tough yet thoroughly enjoyable, as I actually love hills! I learned so much from this race”.
Anne Heiland (Velo Vixens) originally a mountain biker, agrees that the profile of the Liwa Cycling Challenge is great and opens good possibilities for smaller groups to successfully form breakaways. “This is what makes road races interesting, both for participants as well as those watching”.
Some feedback from riders not able to complete the course within 4 hours revealed that they had underestimated the course and the need for preparation. Maral Oughourlian (TREK Tigresses) admits: “I had practised parts of the route in an indoor environment, but along with the fog, the heat and the nerves, it was the hardest challenge I ever had in my life and I was fighting not to give up every minute of the last 20km. We continue to raise the benchmark the stronger we get and the competition in the female field motivates me to become better”.
From a personal point of view, as a competitive rider, I believe that events like the ADCO Liwa Cycling Challenge are exactly what we need in the UAE to raise the level of female competitive cycling. On this type of challenging profile, every rider is confronted with both physical and mental challenges; for some it is a wake-up call to discover what it takes to be among the strongest female riders in the UAE. Hopefully experiences like these will inspire females who are interested in competing, both to learn the technical aspects of racing and also to increase their strength abilities. The more competitive female riders we can develop, the higher we can raise bar for the female cycling in the Middle East.
Results:
Elite Women 18-34
1st – Aimee Wright (The Cycle Hub) – 03:20:55
2nd – Roisin Thomas (Wolfi’s Contessas) – 03:20:55
3rd – Jill Mair – 03:20:57
Masters Women 35-44
1st – Helle Bachofen von Echt (BeSport) – 03:20:54
2nd – Yvonne van Hattum (Wolfi’a Contessas) – 03:20:58
3rd – Natasha Leask (Wolfi’s Contessas) – 03:25:16
Veteran Women 45+
1st – Dee Boys (Liv) – 03:34:43
2nd – Janet Howard – 03:38:58
3rd – Ruth Hatton (High5) – 03:52:43
Words by: Helle Bachofen von Echt
Photos by: Usman Oluwaseyi
