Rhaili triumphs at Dukhan Road Race, Bushel claims women’s title

Mouhcine Rhaili of Team Doha Cycling won the feature race at the Dukhan North road race, which was organised by Qatar Cycling Federation. Abdullah Masoomi, also of Team Doha Cycling, finished second ahead of Nayef al-Mesallam of Rasen Adventure Shop.

Perfect conditions encouraged some brave moves from racers. Ahmed al-Bordainy (Team Doha Cycling) attacked from the gun and, finding nobody willing to join him, pressed on alone. His advantage went up to almost a minute over the hilly section of the course. However, 98km is a long way to ride solo and his chances of success were low. So it proved. When the bunch gained the wind behind them, al-Bordainy’s lead was quickly destroyed.A more realistic chance came at halfway, when six broke clear. This group lacked the strength of this season’s dominant rider, Bilal al-Saadi (Rasen Adventure Shop) but included team mate and time trial specialist Fadhel al-Khater, who was often seen pulling on the front until an unassailable lead was gained. Al-Khater would later have bad luck with a mechanical problem, putting him out of contention.In the closing stages, al-Mesallam attacked off the top of the first climb, only to be caught on the second, then made a long range move off the top of that one too. Another bold move, but one that relied on the trio from Team Doha Cycling letting him go. There was no fracture in the team. Al-Messalam can be proud of his hard-fought third place but Rhaili won the five-man sprint ahead of Abdullah Masoomi with Abdulrahman Ghanem celebrating Doha Cycling’s victory as he crossed the line in fifth. Jay Shalekbriski (Al Udaid Cyclists) was another revelation. Although a regular visitor to the US airbase, this was his first race in Qatar. He bounced back strongly from a fall, worked hard to push home the advantage of the escapees and finished fourth.Isobel Bushel (Team Doha Cycling) in the Women’s Race was another cyclist in the mood for a gamble, making her move at three kilometers to go. After 48 kilometers of twitchy, high-speed racing the C Race wasn’t about to slow up now and it would be Daniela Sposi who would bide her time to win with a two second margin. This pair would then wait 5 minutes more for Mijana Lecic (Rasen Adventure Shop) to take the final podium spot.ResultsA Race: 1. Mouhcine Rhaili (Team Doha Cycling) Time: 02:27:48.9; 2. Abdullah Masoomi (Team Doha Cycling) 02:27:48.9; 3. Nayef al-Mesallam (Rasen Adventure Shop) 02:27:48.9Women: 1. Daniela Sposi (Rasen Adventure Shop) 01:16:53.3; 2. Isobel Bushell (Team Doha Cycling), 01:16:55.2; 3. Mirjana Lecic (Rasen Adventure Shop), 01:22:27 B Race: 1. Daniel Shimanski (Team Doha Cycling), 01:53:30.7; 2. Herb Albert Curaza (Bike to Work Qatar), 01:54:28.9; 3. Joao Melo (Team Doha Cycling), 01:54:30.6C Race: 1. Aditya Prasetyo (Rasen Adventure Shop), 01:16:44.6; 2. Mohamed Iman Hafizi Bin Hasmin (Rasen Adventure Shop), 01:16:44.6; 3. Mohamed al-Khelaifi (Team Doha Cycling), 01:16:44.6Novice: 1. Cesar Calbog (Ka gulong/BTC), 01:19:04.4; 2. Stuart Bloor (Team Industrial), 01:19:05.5; 3. Abdollah Baloch (Team Doha Cycling), 01:19:05.5