UAE presence strong in Dubai Tour

Dubai - The riders include seven UAE nationals, Italy (2), Morocco (2), Portugal (1), Spain (1), Ukraine (1), Albania (1) and Tunisia (2).

The SkyDive Dubai Pro Cycling Team - Al Ahli Club, sees the participation of 17 members, mainly made up of local talent.
The riders include seven UAE nationals, Italy (2), Morocco (2), Portugal (1), Spain (1), Ukraine (1), Albania (1) and Tunisia (2). The other club taking part from the local talent base is Al Nasr Club which along with Al Ahli provide the UAE national squad with the top cyclists for both the velodrome events and road time trial-based runs like the Dubai Tour.
Al Nasr Pro Cyling Team - Dubai put up a good show in the opening stage on Wednesday when Rio Olympics qualifier Yousif Al Hammadi Mirza, and Jaber Al Mansouri finished 33rd and 34th in the strong 124-rider field.
"The SkyDive Dubai Pro Cycling Team was formed in line with the vision of Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council. We are committed to developing local athletes and inspiring them to participate in the sport," said Nasser Al Neyadi, president of the Emirates Aero Sport Federation and chairman of the board of SkyDive Dubai.
Meanwhile, the presence of Team Novo Nordisk, the world's first all-diabetes professional cycling team champions the cause and campaigns for fighting the ailment worldwide.
"Team Novo Nordisk is very excited to return to the Dubai Tour for a second time. This race was very good to us last year with Martijn Verschoor (NED) earning two top 10 finishes. Martijn will be returning, along with our standout Italian sprinter Andrea Peron, and both are eager to build upon these results," said Phil Southerland, CEO and co-founder of Team Novo Nordisk. "The United Arab Emirates has one of the highest rates of diabetes in the world so our team aims to show what may be possible with the condition as well as share our mission of inspiring, educating and empowering people affected by diabetes."
moni@khaleejtimes.com