Finland’s Pia Sundstedt and France’s Frederic Gombert won the women’s and men’s MTB UCI Elite titles of the Al Adaid Challenge respectively on Friday.
It was fourth title in row for Pia, who completed the race in a time of 1:54:49, ahead of Qatar’s Tala Abujbara and Lebanon’s Marwa El Hage.
“I am happy to win again, but this was definitely the toughest edition ever, due to the windy and dry conditions. The organisation was one again excellent,” said Sundstedt. 
Qatar’s Tala AbuJbara clocked 2:34:41, which gave her the title of the National MTB Cross-country Championship, while her sister Amira AbuJbara finished second, as the third place went to Muneera al -Kuwari.
UCI Elite races are recognised by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as an XCP-C3 race and it offers the highest total prize money in the world in its class.
It was a historic day for women sports in Qatar, as three female cyclists competed in the event for the first time, and the results achieved by Qatari cyclists this year highlights the promising future of this sport in the country.
 “I was happy to finish first, but for me, our race today was not about winning. It was about showing what Qatari women can do in this sport. I was so happy to have three Qatari women competing today. It is a big achievement and I hope this inspires other local women to compete with us in the future,” Tala said.
Gombert completed the 38.5km cycling race – which included the tough task of crossing seven sand dunes on the way to the finish line – in 1:34:52, less than a minute ahead of Iran’s Faraz Shokri, while Serbia’s Alexander Roman took third place.
“The race was harder this year, but I have adapted well and the experience I have gained over the past two years made the difference today,” said Gombert.
More than 300 participants took part in the multi-category cycling race, among them cyclists who travelled from countries like Great Britain, France, Australia, Italy, Ireland and Iran, specially to take part in the event. The organising committee distributed more than QR180,000 for the top finishers of the various races in this year’s edition.
Marwan al-Jalham, who finished fourth in the overall rankings of the MTB category, won the men’s National MTB Cross-Country Championship title after completing the race in 2:03:51. In the Fat Bike category, Qatar’s Hamad al-Jaaidi  won the race in 2:04:46, ahead of Iran’s Vahid Fallahi and Jumel Justo of the Philippines, who finished second and third, respectively.
In the women’s Fat Bike category, Maricar Estacio of the Philippines won the title after completing the race in 3:25:12, as her compatriots April Joy Frange and Christine Llegos finished second and third respectively. Britain’s Tom Whateley won the MTB category with a time of 1:52:42, as Australia’s Glenn Bull took second, and Argentina’s Andres Del Valle came in third.
In the women’s MTB category, Canadian Shawna Rae Garrett came first as Spain’s Carla Pregigueiro won second and South Africa’s Eulogy van Dyk took third place.
A kids’ race was also organised near the finish line at the Doha Bus Desert Adventure Camp, where children aged between seven and 15 had a chance to learn more about mountain bikes as their family members cheered them alongside the route. It aims to further promote this sport in Qatar, where it is already making rapid progress.  
In the running event, where more than 200 participants had to cover a distance of 26.7km crossing four sand dunes in the process, Morocco’s Abderrahim Ghayour won first place in the open category after completing the race in 1:41:21, more than three minutes ahead of Qatar’s Mohcine Zaytouni, who came second, and Morocco’s Ahmed Sebbar who finished third.
Meanwhile, it was an all-British podium in the veterans’ category, as Andrew Jones won the title ahead of his compatriots Steven Baker and Andrew Buckley, who finished second and third respectively.
Stephanie Innes-Smith won the women’s open category with a time of 2:28:16, while Ireland’s Sinead Noone came second and Romania’s Nicoleta Hodorogea finished third.
In the women’s veterans’ category, Diana Quinton of Canada secured the first place with a time of 2:39:57, as Ireland’s Aoife Boyce and Great Britain’s Vicky Boswell finished second and third respectively.
Dr Jamal Rashed al-Khanji, managing director of Al Adaid Desert Challenge said: “The success achieved by Al Adaid Desert Challenge today exceeded all expectations.
The event broke all records this year in terms of the number of participants and international cyclists, in addition to the total prize-money.
 “We are planning to expand Al Adaid Desert Challenge next year, to move it to a higher UCI category, may be by making it a three-day event, which will attract more international cyclists to come to Qatar to participate in the race and enjoy this unique adventure in one of the most beautiful natural areas in the world,” he said.
Dr Abdulaziz al-Kuwari, president of Qatar Cyclists said: “We thank all the participants and also all members of Qatar Cyclists who took part in organizing this amazing event.”