Abu Dhabi, the capital of the Arabian Gulf state of the United Arab Emirates, will this November play host to the US $1million Cycling Race of Champions - a cycling challenge pitting the individual winners and teams of the sport’s three most prestigious European tour events into direct competition for the first time in the Middle East.
An initiative of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), the Abu Dhabi Cycling Race of Champions - a 204 kilometre three stage event – will see cycling’s elite battle through a challenging mountain stage up Jebel Hafeet, the emirate’s highest point at nearly 4,000 feet which backdrops the garden city of Al Ain, flanked by two flat stages through the capital’s main highways.
The Abu Dhabi Cycling Race of Champions will be staged annually in the UAE capital for the next five years.
“This challenging event represents yet another significant coup for Abu Dhabi as we move forward with our ambition of the UAE capital becoming a sporting destination of international renown,” said His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman, ADTA, which is sponsoring the event.
“This race delivers a dual-pronged strategy of taking Abu Dhabi’s name to the world via extensive television and media coverage, and, bringing the world to Abu Dhabi with an international line-up of competitors and regional and local spectators.
“This is a unique opportunity for the public to view a World Title cycling event and to participate in part of the professional route that will be created for the event. With this public race, we are initiating a drive to develop the country’s cycling cadre. This is in-line with the directives of our rulers Their Highnesses Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President and Abu Dhabi Ruler, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, to encourage the sporting human capital of our youth and of the nation.”
The Abu Dhabi Cycling Race of Champions is sanctioned by UCI ProTour - run by cycling’s governing body Union Cycliste Internationale – which operates the golden triumvirate of Europe’s leading races: Spain’s La Vuelta, Italy’s Giro d’Italia, and the Tour de France.
Competing in the Abu Dhabi Cycling Race of Champions will be individual winners of Europe’s three ‘grand slam’ cycling events, while the three winning teams from each will enter full teams of eight to ten cyclists, and six support personnel. Also competing will be one invitational team representing the UAE, and four wildcard entrants selected closer to the event.
Tarek S El-Kays, Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi-based Kenzay, which is organising the Abu Dhabi Cycling Race of Champions alongside management company Unipublic – which has 17 years experience organising the Spanish La Vuelta - said the event will quickly move up the international cycling agenda.
“While the Tour de France, La Vuelta and Giro d’Italia may be more presently high-profile, the Abu Dhabi Cycling Race of Champions will rapidly evolve into the established glamour event on the global cycling calendar, bringing together the world’s best for a one-off race of the sport’s greatest names,” said El-Kays.
The opening stage of the Abu Dhabi Cycling Race of Champions will follow a 100 kilometre route that starts and ends at the prestigious seven star Emirates Palace Hotel overlooking the Arabian Gulf from Abu Dhabi’s signature Corniche. It will loop around Abu Dhabi island, and several times around the downtown city centre to showcase the capital’s key sightseeing attractions.
Stage two – the mountain race – encompasses an 82 kilometre route starting in the heart of Al Ain city circling the downtown area, passing Al Ain Zoo and then climbing up Jebel Hafeet.
The final 22 kilometre stage is a showcase of Abu Dhabi Corniche starting and ending at Emirates Palace Hotel.
The globally televised Abu Dhabi Cycling Race of Champions will kick-off with a celebratory Pro-Am - again along the Corniche - which will create a community, carnival style event with professional cyclists, amateurs, families and their children.
“We anticipate six hours of live or delayed broadcast being taken up on a Pan-European basis, with heavy take-up in Germany, Italy, Spain and France – some of Abu Dhabi’s key tourism target markets,” said Jorge de Sebastian Perez-Manglano, Commercial Manager, Unipublic.
About Abu Dhabi:
Spread over 87,340 square kilometres, Abu Dhabi is the largest of the seven emirates which make up the United Arab Emirates and accounts for more than 85% of the country's total landmass. The UAE is one of the six members of the Arabian Gulf Co-operation Council.
Abu Dhabi city, built on the largest of almost 200 natural offshore islands in the emirate, is the capital both of the emirate and of the UAE. It is the federal seat of government and home to most ministries and institutions, embassies, state broadcasting facilities and oil companies.
Abu Dhabi's population is currently around 1.6 million and is expected to grow by 6.8 per cent per annum over the next decade to a projected 3.4 million by 2015.
Abu Dhabi has an estimated 9.2% of the world's proven oil reserves and 4% of its total proven natural gas reserves. The emirate has a per capita income of approximately US $30,000. Realising the challenges posed by the country's heavy economic reliance on finite carbon resources, the emirate's leadership is actively pursuing economic diversification.
About Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority:
The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) was created in 2004 by Executive Decree of the Abu Dhabi Government to assist the economic diversification of the United Arab Emirates through supporting and expanding the emirate's tourism industry.
Key ADTA responsibilities include the development of an overall tourism strategy for Abu Dhabi - the largest of the seven emirates which form the UAE Federation - directing the implementation of activities needed to achieve strategic objectives and creating the physical infrastructure required by tourism operators and their clientele.
Abu Dhabi is planning to add 17,000 hotel rooms in a bid to increase tourism to the emirate from almost a million in 2004, to more than three million by 2015. ADTA has approved investment packages for 4,000 new rooms to be added in the next three years.
About Kenzay
Abu Dhabi-based Kenzay, was established in 2002 and in a short time has built a reputation as one of the top event management services providers in the capital.
A first-class client base and impressive portfolio - containing some of the most successful conferences held in the capital – has been built on the foundations of credability and accountability. The portfolio includes:
The First GCC e-Commerce Conference
Privatization of Infrastructure Facilities 2005- Investment & Financial Markets
Privatization of Infrastructure Facilities 2006- Challenges and Opportunities
Breakthrough Leadership Conference 2006- Excellence in a Dynamic World
Kenzay offers a wide range of services which provide professional strategic solutions in conference & event management, executive education, training, business consulting, and creative art & media.
