Mirza clinches two-year UAE Team Emirates contract

ABU DHABI: UAE Team Emirates has announced that UAE National Champion and Asian Road Race Champion, Yousif Mirza has signed a new deal with Emirati formation.

The new contract was signed during the team’s recent UAE training camp, with Mirza — who recently celebrated his 30th birthday — signing a two-year deal.

The contract extension is a sign of the faith the team has in homegrown talent, and testament to what has been a record-breaking season for Mirza.

He secured his eighth UAE National Road Race title as well as picking up a hat-trick of medals at the Asian Cycling Championships in Malaysia.

His achievements have been recognised by the leadership, being awarded the Outstanding UAE Athlete of 2017 prize, on behalf of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the UAE.

Commenting on the new deal, Mirza said: “I’m happy to be able to continue to be a part of this magnificent team that takes the name of my country around the world.

“It’s an honour to line-up alongside these world-class riders, sharing the joy of success with my teammates, and sharing my love for cycling with everyone from the UAE.

The bar continues to be lifted as the team bring many other champions to this project, and for my part, I’m going to continue giving my utmost to push it ahead.

“In the first two years, the team and I were able to reach our goals of seeing more and more bikes on the road, and getting people of all ages to be passionate about this sport. I feel like my teammates and I are role models for the whole community, and I hope my participation on the UCI World Tour can inspire more people in the UAE to ride their bikes.”

UAE Team Emirates’ participation on the UCI World Tour gives the region’s community the opportunity to come together and support world-class athletes as they aim to become one of the top cycling teams in the sport.