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in Dubai. The city has also responded to the needs of cyclists by building cuttingedge infrastructure. There are several dedicated cycling tracks including the 67km Al Qudra track which connects Al Barari area with Bab Al Shams, and the 13km Meydan Track in District One. As of August last year, Dubai’s Roads and Transports Authority said that it has built a total of 425km of cycling tracks, which will extend to 647km by 2025 by way of upcoming projects in DIFC and Jumeirah Corniche beach.

Wolfi says that a crucial factor was that the biking community has been supported by the vision of the country’s rulers. “Sheikh Hamdan is the leading person behind all these events. It’s just incredible what he’s doing for us. I think it’s because he loves the sport so much,” says Wolfi, who notes that the Dubai Crown Prince is often seen riding his Colnago. “He has some other bikes that he enjoys too. We make sure that he always gets the latest equipment to enjoy the best things.” Investing in the cycling ecosystem even further, Abu Dhabi investment fund, Chimera Investments, last year acquired a majority stake in Colnago whose bikes have been ridden to victory at world-class competitions including the Olympics, the Paris-Roubaix and Tour de France.

Professional cycling in the UAE had its moment when 21-year-old Slovenian Tadej Pogacar from UAE Team Emirates rode to a spectacular victory at the Tour de France last year. Earlier this year, in one of the biggest boosts for the country’s professional cyclists, the UAE’s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala also announced a sponsorship deal that it had reached with UAE Team Emirates. Other events like the UAE Tour, a UCI WorldTour race, has already attracted top cycling talent to participate in the event including Chris Froome, Pogacar, Mark Cavendish and Adam Yates.

Looking forward, Wolfi says that there are plans to expand his business into Abu Dhabi and perhaps into the broader GCC region too, although those plans haven’t been finalised. “The GCC countries are interesting for us because we feel cycling can be as successful as it is in Dubai. Qatar is a big market and we had a Tour of Qatar a few years ago. Israel is a big market to expand into too.” Wolfi has shown how it’s possible to build a ground-up grassroots passion for cycling. There’s little that stands in the way of replicating that model, as successfully, in any other country that he trains his sights on next.