DOHA: Qatar has kicked-off one-year countdown to the 2016 UCI Road World Championships which will be held in Doha next year.

The October 9-16 event will bring together dozens of teams and thousands of cycling fans to the Qatari capital.

The event consists of a road race a team time-trial and a time-trial for elite men and women and a road race and time-trial for men under-23 junior men and junior women.

The championship will make its debut in the Middle East which is fast becoming the hub of sports activities with Doha playing a lead role.

Qatar will be the second Asian country to host the event after Japan staged the championship in 1990.

“No country from the Middle East has ever been selected to host cycling’s world championships” Sheikh Khalid bin Ali Al Thani President of the Qatar Cycling Federation (QCF) said prior to the official one-year countdown.

“In 2012 Qatar received the right to host it. The first Arab and Middle East country and the second in Asia after Japan in 1990. The championship will enhance Qatar’s position to host sporting events and it will underline our ability to do it” he added.

The organizing committee of Doha 2016 has been working closely with UCI to make sure that next year’s event continues in the same successful vein he said.

In July this year the organising committee of the 2016 UCI Road World Championships held a special meeting to review the Qatar’s preparations to host the event.

“Thanks to the support of the government and national partners and as a part of the national agenda of the country’s leaders where sport occupies a privileged position we’ve been able to choose the best venues and roads for racing tracks which has been accredited by UCI officials” a QCF official said.

In February this year QCF unveiled the event route and the logo of the UCI Road World Championships 2016.

QCF President Sheikh Khalid was joined by cycling legend Eddy Merckx John Lelangue and Amani Al Dosari at the spectacular unveiling ceremony.

“It is a great honour and pleasure for me to announce the details of the World Championship” he said at the time.

“Since 1921 the UCI has been organising the Road World Championships. It is an annual event staged in one of the world’s cities chosen by the international institution through a bidding process similar to the process of choosing the host of the Olympic Games” Sheikh Khalid said.

“The first edition in 1921 was hosted by Denmark. Since then no country from the Middle East had been selected to host the championships.

“Qatar will be the first country in the Arab World and the Middle East to host the championships in 2016. It will also be the second country in Asia after Japan which hosted it in 1990” he added.

Lelangue told the media at the unveiling ceremony the road races for the elite athletes would be staged on an 80km loop in the desert. A special 19km circuit will snake through Katara — the city’s cultural centre — all the way to The Pearl Lelangue said.

The Katara route will include cobblestones he added.

“It will look nice. Nothing like Paris-Roubaix or the Tour of Flanders but we will have everything in place” he said. The route map has already been shown to world body UCI Lelangue said.

Qatar expects more than 1000 athletes from 75 countries for the event.

Millions of TV viewers all over the world are also expected to tune in for the event.



THE PENINSULA