Qatar Tribune
Qatar’s premier off-road endurance event, the Al Adaid Desert Challenge - topped last year’s record participation with 615 athletes from 51 different nationalities taking part in mountain bike and desert running races across Khor Al Adaid.
More than 300 competitors who travelled from countries like Great Britain, France, Australia, Ireland, Croatia, and the USA, took part in the cycling events.
The Al Adaid Desert Challenge was organised by Qatar Cyclists in cooperation with the Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC) and the support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports and the Qatar Cycling and Triathlon Federation. Sponsors which included gold sponsors Doha Insurance Group, Doha Takaful and Ooredoo, and official supporters Chevrolet Qatar, Rasen Sports, Al Rayyan Water, Doha Bus, Garmin Lingawi, Mawater Qatar, Royal Riviera Hotel Doha, Qatar Red Crescent, Dama Sports Wear, offered big support to the event.
Frederic Gombert of France completed his hat-trick of Elite class wins this year. His light build proved a definite advantage over that of larger, stronger riders on the soft sand over the extended course of 40.5 km which included the tough task of crossing ten sand dunes on the way to the finish line.
Gombert’s time of 1:42:17 was eight minutes slower than last year’s despite favourable weather conditions. Gregor Sikosek (Slovenia) came closest to challenging the Frenchman and finished some four minutes off the winner. Eight minutes later, Szymon Wasiak (Poland) crossed the line for third place.
Gombert commented: “The race was harder this year, but I adapted well and the experience I have gained over the past years made the difference today. I am always keen on taking part in this challenge to enjoy the good weather in Qatar during this time of the year compared to Europe.
“I am getting ready for some tough races in France this season and I like to explore different countries while taking part in races around the world. Khor Al Adaid is an area with a unique nature. I also like the fact that race allows me to compete against cyclists from many different nationalities, plus of course the prize money this year, which was good,” he added.
One of the most notable performances of the day was from two-time Olympian Pia Sundstedt. Although this was her fifth win, it is surely ranked among the best with her overall fourth finish being just 30 seconds off stealing a podium position from the men.
Pia describes herself as a sand specialist, “I just let the bike find its way and I find that balance being able to stay on the bike even when you think you will fall. It’s a special technique that I learned already as a child.” Sophie Giovane, travelling from southern France also found an improvement in form this year, holding off Isora Sosa (Spain) for the silver medal.
The event incorporates the Qatar National Mountain Bike Championship. This year the riders occupying all three podium spots had stepped up to the UCI Elite category. A new generation of riders racing at this level being a positive indication of the development of elite cycling in Qatar.
Abdulla al Khater pulled on National Champion Jersey after two hours and 9 minutes of riding. He beat the titleholder, Marwan al Jalham, who had found himself losing the lead group after some problems at the start. Fadhel al Khater took bronze.
In all, 168 Qatari nationals completed the challenge this year. An increase on last year and a reflection of the strong and developing interest in cycling and endurance sport. Endurance didn’t come much greater than the effort of Ahmed Shahrani, last placed in 7:05:22. Ahmed becomes the first wheelchair athlete to complete the challenge.
In his first year of bike racing, the 18-year-old Axel Dopfer (Germany) decisively led the Open classification with a performance that would have placed him fifth UCI Elite. By his own admission, Dopfer went into the race with some trepidation as the sand is not his natural territory. He said, “I knew it was going to be a tough day in the saddle as I usually stick to the road bike. While it was indeed tough, I can say with confidence that it was one of the most enjoyable and rewarding races I have ever done”.
Mouchcine Rhaili (Morocco), who has dominated much of the road racing this year, settled for third place on this occasion, 90 seconds further back. Spaniard, Carla Pregigueiro was the winner with 2:53:20 among the ladies, beating Sondra Hope and Charlotte Wohlwend (Switzerland).
The North Africans again dominated the desert run. Abderrahim Ghayour taking the win for the second year in a row, impressively adding only a minute to his time over the longer course. Countryman Houssine Lahdou was third but the Moroccans didn’t have the entire podium to themselves – Mohcine Zaytouni, representing Qatar, occupied the silver spot. Back to Morocco for the Women’s champion though with Zineb Karam beating two Brits; Daisy Baker and Sophie Clarke.
New for 2020’s Al Adaid was the additional challenge of an 8km run immediately following the bike in the duathlon category. Elite off-road triathlon specialist Mehdi Mersni put in a bike performance which would have placed him highly in the MTB competition and continued with a blistering run, only to find he had been misdirected. In two of the most impressive displays of sportsmanship of the event, Mersni proceeded to chase back to within 90 seconds of Jan Woutters (Netherlands) who conceded the win in recognition of a performance which he felt deserved first place.
The three leaders of the Women’s duathlon were all in the veteran class: Andrea Stadler (Ecuador), Daniela Sposi (GBR) and Govida Dellomas (Philippines) all beating their younger rivals.