Oman’s beauty awaits participants of Haute Route cycling event

MUSCAT: Entry registration is now open for the new and challenging Haute Route Oman road cycling event, which is already being hailed as a ‘must-do’ experience. With pre-interest high for the March 1-3, 2019 event, the race is now on to secure a place in the peloton for what is going to be one of the most challenging tests for amateur road racers in one of the most unique settings on the entire Haute Route calendar.

The world renowned Haute Route events offer a ‘professional’ road cycling experience for keen amateur cyclists of all abilities, providing high-end hospitality, rider services and expert event management in a setting that exactly mirrors the culture of the professional road racing circuit.

“True to its DNA, Haute Route Oman will definitively be one of the most challenging, but the views are worth every single minute of effort,” said Ade Hill of Alpcycles, an Haute Route regular who took part in the Oman test event in March. “This is the best cycling I have done in a very long time. Having the opportunity to escape the winter to ride my bike in such incredible scenery is a truly amazing experience.”

Designed to highlight Oman’s natural beauty, Haute Route Oman will take riders approximately 370kms with over 6,500 metres of vertical gain on a course that will test stamina and skill with long, high-altitude mountain climbs and sweeping descents. The event will include two classic mass start stages and an individual time trial.

The centrepiece of the Haute Route Oman experience is the magnificent Al Hajar mountain range and the iconic Jabal Akhdar (the Green Mountain), one of the country’s most spectacular locations. The Hajar mountains offer severe and scenic climbs which are every bit the equal of anything in the Alps, Pyrenees, Rockies or Dolomites. Conditions in March will offer ideal mid to low 20°C temperatures.

The Sultanate has been described as a beacon of tranquillity and was ranked the fourth safest country in the world by the World Economic Forum in 2017 with the country and its capital Muscat named ‘must-see’ destinations by both National Geographic and Lonely Planet.

Full story @ timesofoman.com/sports