Mayouf: The idea came to my mind in 2016 to help Youssef Mirza

"Bicycle mechanic" citizen... a safety valve for the national team in the Arab Championship

Ahmed Mayouf during his work in following up the malfunctions of the national team bikes in the current Arab Championship in Egypt.

From the source

The delegation of the UAE national cycling team, participating in the Arab Championship hosted by Egypt, includes a citizen bike mechanic, Ahmed Mayouf, who is responsible for everything related to the players’ bikes, as he works daily at an average of 16 hours, between the bike area in the hotel and preparing for the race, in addition to Being in the service car escorting the riders at the races, in anticipation of any bicycle malfunction.

This is the first time in the history of the federation that it uses the services of a citizen who works as a mechanical technician for bicycles, which makes Mayouf very happy, telling «Emirates Today» that he started this work in 2016, when he was a former cyclist, and then decided to go to the task of a bicycle technician, wishing In helping the national team star, Youssef Mirza, especially after accompanying the Emirates Cycling Team and staying with him for a long time, which helped him gain the necessary experience.

The team is currently participating in the Arab Championship in Egypt, which concludes next Sunday, with a mission that is the largest in the history of the federation’s participation, as it includes 56 people, including 33 cyclists in various categories, and the team has so far achieved four medals among the People of Determination, in addition to 40 medals in the track and road. In the mountain bike category, a number that occurs for the first time in the history of the Arab team's participation.

Mayouf told «Emirates Today»: «I do this work daily in the championships, as I seek to find out if there are any malfunctions before the races, and this we know as technicians through what we call (bicycle washing), or by observing the riders themselves, but far away About the championship, it is preferable to have it three times a week, and the player knows his bike if it needs washing through the bike chain (track) and gears, as their color changes, and there is an unnatural movement in the movement between speeds. He added, "This process is during the championships on a daily basis, so that the cyclist ensures the same performance in each race, especially the rafts and combined races, which continue on a daily basis." He continued:“The idea came to my mind in 2016, when Mirza needed help and all my colleagues, so I sat with them for a month in Spain, and there I learned a lot about washing bikes, and how to make sure the bike is safe before and after the race, and the important thing is that bikes have developed very much, what It means that learning does not stop because of the different bikes.”

Mayouf said that the task was difficult due to the number of participating riders and the difference in competitions. He explained: “A track bike is different from a road race bike and a mountain bike. The large number of these bikes requires us to be aware of all bikes, who is their owner and the type of race he will participate in this morning. Next, and accompanying the riders in the races to quickly change the bike, or tires if a collision or fall occurred, which is what happened in the 150-kilometre race with the team’s riders, where four riders fell, in addition to the breakdown of Rashid Suwaidan’s bike.” He said he is very happy with what he is doing, and finds Support is his main job, as he is an ADNOC employee, and he is keen to provide support to any person or player, even if he returns to him 10 times in a day, so that he just feels comfortable during the races.

• Mayouf works an average of 16 hours a day during the competitions, to follow up on bicycle breakdowns, repair and equip them.

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