Ride Ajman announce changes to 2017 event to attract more Emiratis to cycling

Cyclists take part in Ride Ajman 2016. Changes for the 2017 edition were announced on Monday, including an expanded course. Pawan Singh / The National

AJMAN // After a successful debut on the UAE sporting calendar last year, Ride Ajman will be back for its second season in April with an expanded 104-kilometre route, a dedicated 52km race for Emiratis and a later start for the 7km charity race.

Scheduled for April 7, Ride Ajman is expected to attract more than 800 cyclists, with the organisers’ primary focus on encouraging greater participation from nationals, both male and female, through the addition of the UAE National Development Race.

The organisers have pushed back the start time for this year’s charity race after several cyclists missed out last year due to the early morning flag-off. The proceeds of the charity ride this year will go the Al Jalila Foundation.

“After receiving feedback from all our partners, we have made a few changes for this second Ride Ajman,” said Faisal Al Nuaimi, general manager of Ajman Tourism Development Department (ATDD), at a news conference on Monday at the Fairmont Ajman hotel.

“There were two major feedbacks. The first one came from the nationals. They wanted to know what we can do for them to encourage them to participate. They said they cannot compete with the professionals, who have been cycling for 20 years so we have created a separate group approved by the UAE Cycling Federation to encourage the Emiratis.

“The second important feedback was about the charity races. So many people wanted to participate last year, but could not make it because of the morning start so now we have moved the charity race to an evening start to give everyone a chance to participate.

“We have also decided to increase the race distance from 92km to 104km, which gives an opportunity to the riders to see more of the scenery and attractions that Ajman has to offer.”

Two participants for this year’s Ride Ajman is the Team Angel Wolf father-son duo of Nick Watson and Rio, 13, who suffers from q44 Deletion De Novo Syndrome, which means he struggles to walk and has to communicate using sign language.

“I did my first triathlon with Rio two years ago,” said Nick, a former Royal Marine and fitness expert from Britain who has lived in the UAE for 20 years. He has been taking part in events to raise awareness about children with disabilities.

“I normally swim. Rio’s on a kayak and I pull him. For session one, he will be sitting in front and then I run and push him. Last year, we took part in about 35 events, so basically every weekend. This year, the target is about 40 events.

“Rio absolutely loves taking part in these events. Every kilometre we put in together, he is smiling.

“So he is a confident son.

“Hopefully, together we can inspire the community and help create more awareness and understanding about children with disabilities.”

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