Bin Huraiz hopes to see a top UAE cyclist soon
Dubai Tour director happy with the community engagement with the sport
Huraiz Bin Huraiz, race director of the Dubai Tour, hopes to see a top rider emerging from the UAE one day and winning races at the international level.
“That would be an ideal scenario, and it is very much possible for a country like the UAE that has witnessed the growth or boom in cycling over the past four years,” Bin Huraiz told Gulf News.
“This process of having a champion emerge has already begun. The foundation stone was laid when we decided to have the Dubai Tour four years ago as one of the ideas hosting this event was to give youngsters a platform for inspiration so that one day they too may aspire and be cyclists at the top level,” he added.
With the initial spadework done, it is now time for engagement from the community. “On the one hand, I would like to see more of the community gets involved with the building up of the sporting process in the UAE. As a person who is passionate about sport, I would love to see a strong UAE team competing and winning internationally in cycling in the near future,” Bin Huraiz reiterated.
Proper planning
The dream, he said, was to encourage, guide and push youngsters to a sport like cycling that has several advantages. “Yes, part of the dream would be to one day have a youngster from the UAE and win the Dubai Tour. But for that we’ve got to look at a gradual process wherein we first work together as one team with a single goal before us,” the Race Director said.
“I am convinced that we can one day have a talented local rider who will be able to compete with the best cyclists in the world. One can never predict a deadline to achieve such a goal, but in like all other sports, talent can emerge overnight,” he said.
“On our part as officials, we need to be ready to identify this talent and help him grow towards international greatness. Of course, at the end of the day it will be up to the athlete to prove himself. But we need to have our plans ready and everyone has to work hand in hand. The culture has to be right and the environment will definitely produce a future champion,” Bin Huraiz added.
The official said that the growth of cycling at the community level will perfectly complement the rise of the annual race.
“The fruits are all obvious to see. The event has really spread the cycling culture in Dubai and in the entire UAE. You get to see more people riding and that is also in line with the thinking of the Government and that is being seen with the increase in the number of cycling tracks within and on the outskirts of the city,” Bin Huraiz said.
The Road and Transport Authority (RTA) has recently added another 32km of cycling tracks in the Mushrif, Mirdif and Al Khawaneej areas taking the total to 218km.