Women’s cycling numbers see big increase in the UAE

This content was originally posted in 7DAYS UAE website at: Women’s cycling numbers see big increase in the UAE Move over guys, the number of women cyclists in the UAE is growing fast and they are coming to a road near you. Road cycling has predominantly been a male sport with global events such as the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España boosting popularity with worldwide audiences. Plus in recent years the sport has seen greater interest in the Middle East with the introduction of the popular Dubai Tour and Abu Dhabi Tour events right here in the UAE. But away from the various Tours, the demographic that is seeing the greatest growth in the UAE is women. And this popularity has triggered the formation of the Urban-Ultra Women’s Cycle League. According to organisers of the league, there has been a 34 per cent increase in women cyclists in the UAE since 2001. Pascale de Jong, the league’s race director, has been cycling for the last two decades in the UAE and felt the time was right to organise some competitive races. “The Urban-Ultra Women’s Cycle League was created as we have been cycling here in the Middle East for the last 20 years,” she said. “Slowly myself and Louise [partners within Urban Ultra] have seen an increase within ladies taking up cycling and they have improved thanks to the experience on the road. “We have been talking about setting up a league or some sort of racing for a year and then maybe two months or three months ago we cut to the chase and got it all organised.” The league held its first event on October 31 with 28 ladies from 10 teams battling it out for points over an 84km distance. Since then there have been two more events held. Talking about the league’s mission, de Jong added: “The mission is very simple. We are determined to increase and incorporate more women in this sport. To open this sport to any nationality including local UAE ladies. “We are out there constantly giving advice, doing training sessions, doing technical training and doing bike technician training.” With new facilities and companies opening to support the sport growth is evident, but de Jong admits there are certain concerns that may prove to be a hurdle in their success. She said: “The concern in the cycling league itself is that you will have different levels of abilities, not everybody has ever raced before. “We very quickly learned that the pack is spread out amongst more elite riders competing against each other and they have the experience group. The middle pack are as experienced but not as quick as the other riders. You also have the back pack that are riding together as a group but still trying to race against each other until the end. “They protect each other but the fear was that there would be crashes, because people weren’t aware, and you kind of stay away from them.” But despite any concerns, the future seems bright for the Women’s Cycle League. “I expect the league to be very successful – I can already see it,” said de Jong. “Every time we have done a race, we come back and gather around again. The sponsors are super happy, as we are encouraging women to start cycling more competitively. “If you look at the pictures of all our teams it looks good, I’m glad it’s successful. It has proven already that the women are improving within three races because they are training hard in between to try to become better and they learn what they are not good at, and what they are good at, so it’s successful.” All about the Urban-Ultra Women’s Cycle League  The numbers – 34 per cent increase in the number of female cyclists since 2001 – Mostly women in their 30s with an annual income of $60,000+ The teams in the league: Currently 11 teams are competing in the league, including UAE Cycling Federation and non-federation races. The current team roster includes: Urban-Ultra, Wolfi’s Contessas, TREK Tigresses, Souplesse Cycle, High5, Liv, Velo Vixens, Adventure HQ, BeSPort and an all-Emirati team, SALT. How points are scored: Each event carries points for all riders finishing the event and are tallied over the year for an overall winning team and individual. Riders will get points from their best four results for overall season totals. Website: urbanultracycleleague.com Read the original story at: Women’s cycling numbers see big increase in the UAE