Setting A New Track Record: Nine Cyclists Achieve Top Speed And Honours In Yas Marina Circuit’s Inaugural Cycle Yas
Duncan Clarke of Canada, and Victoria Norvall of South Africa were among the nine winners who achieved top speeds this past Friday, 18 January at Yas Marina Circuit’s inaugural Cycle Yas. The race, the first of its kind to be held on the F1 circuit, attracted over 150 elite and aspiring cyclists of all ages, from around the UAE who competed in three categories, Elite, Mass and Kids.
“The UAE cycling community is a tight-knit and passionate group and it is an honour to host so many UAE-based athletes at this unique event.” said Al Tareq Al Ameri, Senior Director, Commercial at Yas Marina Circuit. “We congratulate all participants today, especially our winners. The support, dedication and perseverance of all participants helped ensure that the race was an overwhelming success and on this basis, we are planning similar events to engage an even broader audience of UAE-based athletes.”
During the race, individual cyclists and teams were challenged to rack up the most laps in three race categories on the Formula 1™ track. Taking top honours in the Elite men’s and women’s categories were Duncan Clarke of Canada and Victoria Norvall of South Africa, while Mass category top honours went to Wes Glazbrook of Australia and Lena Willoughby of Germany. In addition to the winners, cyclist Paul Cheetham of Great Briton also set a new track record for the fastest lap with a time of 7mins: 45.3secs.
Speaking of his win in the Elite category, Duncan Clarke commented: “As a cyclist in Abu Dhabi, I regularly attend Train Yas, but it was great to actually be able to race on the circuit. Cycle Yas was a great first event and I hope to see many more cycle events here in the future.”
Younger cyclists were also out en masse during the morning event, with over 30 young people aged 6 – 16 years, competing across three Kids’ categories. 13-year-old, Callum Anderson of Great Briton was awarded first place in the individual age 13-16 category, while 9-year-old Emirati National Dana Alqubaisi took top spot in the age 9-12 category. Amongst the youngest competitors, Swiss National 8-year-old Sophia Dumont and 8-year-old Briton Angus McLay were named fastest in the age 6-8 age category.
Racing action began at 8am on Friday with the Mass race, followed by Elite and Kids categories. Both Elite and Mass races followed an hour-long Criterium format and included two sprints, one at the 20 minute and one at the 40 minute mark, and a final lap after the hour. Riders were awarded points based on their position after the sprints, and based on their final finishing position.
Emirate: Abu Dhabi
Date: Jan 21, 2013
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