Riders in action during the third road race of the season.
Doha: A record number of 155 riders took to the start line of the Qatar Cycling Federation’s third road race in a season where COVID-19 has increased the public appetite for outdoor sport.There has been such growth in cycling that organisers added an additional novice classification to this event to accommodate the new riders joining the sport for the first time.
This Al Ghuwayriyah course is a favourite among racers for its rural setting and interesting triangular multi-lap course which offers sections of just five to six kilometres apiece of headwind, cross-wind and tail wind, each of which contribute to the tactics of bunch racing.
With the first section into the head wind, Khaleel Abduljanan (Team Doha Cycling) and Abdulla Al Khater attacked from the gun, taking a gamble that nobody would waste energy giving chase.
This pair built a good lead of 1m 30s while behind them the Team Al Jassra combination of Lee Jones and Chris Murrin were putting in repeated surges which fractured the race.
By the time the catch was made at 30km, six riders had already been dropped and, with the wind strength increasing, the remaining riders would now split in half again.
The final six of the ninety kilometers were wind-assisted, which strips away some of the advantage to the sheltered riders drafting off those in front.
Team Doha Cycling launched a long-range attack at 60 kph and again it was Team Al Jassrachasing them down. This time Lee Jones did all the work to save Chris Murrin’s legs for the sprint to the line, but to no avail.
Abdullah Aljaaidi (Team Doha Cycling) has shown strong form both on and off-road this season and it was he who snatched victory over Murrin and team-mate MouhcineRhaili with Hamad Al Jaaidi (Team Doha Cycling) and Fadhel AlKhater (Rasen Adventure Shop) edged out from the podium.
This was to be Abdullah Al Jaaidi’s third road podium of the season and his first time on the top step. With no other Qatari riders challenging him this year, he is now a strong favourite for the National Championships at the end of the month.
