He said that the presence of 165 cyclists on the starting line of the Federation Championships is an unprecedented achievement

Bouassiba: The most important cycling challenges are preparing the teams and “unloading the players”

• From previous cycling competitions this season.

  From the source

• Mansour Bouassiba: "An exceptional season for Emirati bikes... and the integration of amateur racing with clubs has raised the level."

picture

The President of the Cycling Federation, Mansour Bouassiba, said that the first season of the Federation’s board of directors was exceptional, as it coincided with great challenges imposed by the Corona virus crisis, and the measures associated with fighting this epidemic, noting that the Emirati bikes witnessed a boom in local races, and at the level of preparing the team during the period previous.

He stressed that providing everything necessary to prepare the teams for external competitions, and "unloading the players", is one of the most important challenges facing the federation.

He stressed that the integration of amateur racing with clubs has raised the level significantly.

In the following interview with "Emirates Today", Bouaseba shed light on many issues related to the bicycle game, the current season, and future aspirations:

■■ How was the first season of the Cycling Federation?

The first season was very difficult, due to the challenges of the Corona crisis, and the races that stopped all over the world, so the technical committee worked to develop the championship program, and precautionary measures were applied to ensure the safety of the contestants, conducting tests, and many things, and we came out with very positive results in the season the first.

■■ How many races did the federation organize and the number of contestants in the first season?

■ The Federation organized and participated in the organization of 26 races in the adult and under-23 categories only, due to the suspension of the junior and youth championships, which is a very large number, in addition to the fact that for the first time in the history of the UAE cycling championships, the Federation witnessed the presence of 165 cyclists on the starting line.

■■ There was a fear of merging amateur racing with clubs.. How was this problem dealt with?

■ Indeed, the idea was from last season, and there was a great challenge, fear and hesitation in merging amateur races with clubs, but after the first race last season, clubs and amateur teams saw the success of the idea very significantly, and this contributed to raising the technical level of racing, and discovering talents. New.

■■ How did the federation deal with the large number of teams and riders?

■ The current season witnessed an increase in the number of teams and riders, so there was another challenge due to the number of riders in the races reaching 245 riders, which made us divide the race into two or three starts, between them approximately 10 minutes or 15 minutes between each start and the other, and this contributed The racing level is also on the rise.

■■ What are the biggest obstacles facing the union now?

■ Preparing the teams for external competitions, without having everything necessary to help the riders succeed, will not contribute to the success of our mission.

For example, the biggest challenge we face in preparing the teams is the challenge of “unloading players”, an old problem they suffer from.

■■ Did the clubs of the General Assembly agree to merge the amateur teams with the clubs?

■ There is no objection, and the Federation did not receive any complaint from the clubs of the General Assembly. On the contrary, on the ground, the clubs welcomed the presence of amateur teams.

■■ How did the federation deal with riders registration, results extraction and electronic transformation?

■ Once the federation was received, there was an obstacle in registering players and extracting results immediately after the races. Today, we cooperated, under the auspices of a company, in conducting the process of registering riders and races electronically, and extracting results in seconds without paper documents.

During the races, as soon as the cyclist reaches the finish line, his score is shown directly on the program and his time, which was not present at all before.

■■ How is the Federation preparing to participate in the Arab Championship in Egypt?

■ The participating mission with 53 people was approved, and it is the largest expedition in the history of cycling to participate in an outdoor championship, where participation will be in all disciplines (road, track, mountain bike, BMX, and outdoor cycling), and a preparation plan has been developed, and there will be a camp for the teams In Fujairah, we will go to Egypt to win the medals.

■■ Did the participation of amateur teams contribute to the preparation of the teams?

■ Certainly, the participation of amateur teams in the races has greatly contributed to the preparation of the teams, due to the high level, in addition to attracting a number of amateur riders to the teams, with a mechanism discussed with the General Sports Authority not to force the riders to join clubs in order to be in the teams. .

■■ Has the union received its headquarters in Sharjah?

■ Unfortunately, so far, we have not received the headquarters, and this was supposed to be last August, but so far the Federation has not received the track and the administrative office, and we hope that the receipt will be as soon as possible.

53 people are included in the delegation of the cycling team participating in the Arab Championship in Egypt, which is the largest in the history of the UAE's foreign participation.

The clubs of the general assembly are in complete agreement with the federation regarding the integration of amateur racing with clubs.

The electronic registration has turned the federation into a sophisticated institution without paper... and the results appear as soon as the riders reach the finish line.

To watch the video,

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news