When & Where
| Date: | Friday, 16.12.2011 |
| Start Time: | 06:00 |
| City: | Dubai |
| Country: | UAE  |
| Location: | Outside the Dubai Autodrome |
Average ratings
“The event improved massively on last year and the police supervision was outstanding”
“Well organised but course a little disappointing! Could have made it more of a Dubai tour by using Al Wasl road more, Satwa, Deira etc.”
“Actually I would recommend to have max biggers three groups if there are 600 starters which allow a more competitive cycling as more people will be able to share the work in the front and the other will draft. For instance group B easily ride with group A and so on... In my case I started in Group G and with few other guys we overtook Group C, D , E and F and I finished 129 in the overall in front only A and B riders...”
“The Police were super. I rode with a friend who was cramping, so out of the bunch, and the Police stopped traffic just for the 2 of us. Overall, it was also great to have food at the end, however, I would like to see more food stalls next year as I was starving and they ran out of meat and eggs!”
“Great to experience the event. Great to have police support; need it even more at intersections and less roving the route. Definitely need more route signs (was told by an Event Staffer there were signs at every intersection, some turned or laid down by people)...that was NOT the case...there were multiple intersections with NO visible signs...took a wrong turn twice (as did several other Event first-time riders). Riding was great along route where there was a 2 meter-wide paved shoulder/bike lane...bad where construction forced you to ride in right traffic lane, less than a meter from vehicles whizzing by. Website and email to Registrants should have exactly specified turn to take off of Emirates Road (Route 311) to enter the Autodrome...took the first "Motor and Sports City" " exit I came to...wound up in unlit area I think in their communities...finally found way back onto Emirates Road...only to miss the Motor City turn-off...barely made the Start Time after scrambling to find way back to Autodrome Exit...have Event Staffers proactively looking to help/assist riders with info as they arrive, where to Register, where to get goody bag/T-Shirt...rather than riders seeking them out...start the event when daylight breaks (e.g. 0645). 250 Dirham cost for Registration and "goodie bag"/medal should have included T-Shirt cost also...make shirt a hi-tech one in future vice cotton. Have multiple such events throughout the year, at various locations, to include Abu Dhabi (could ride this distance on Yas Island with much less traffic). While my comments appear to focus on recommended improvements, Thank You for all the effort to put this on! I have been riding for over 40 years, to include International Events...keep it up!”
“1. Enjoyable course however, sometimes the signs were not posted clearly and the directions were a bit confusing. 2. Would be better if race shirt was made from dry fit fabric. Longer lasting and more useful compared to cotton. ”
“1. Enjoyable course however, sometimes the signs were not posted clearly and the directions were a bit confusing. 2. Would be better if race shirt was made from dry fit fabric. Longer lasting and more useful compared to cotton. ”
“Really enjoyed it. Police were fantastic and I wouldnt do it without them in future! Arrival parking signage was non-existant. The website comment of "It's where we normally park on a Wednesday night" does not help those of us who dont go on a Wednesday! I ended up with a convoy of lost cars following me and asking directions. Only 1 toilet stop at 70Km is too little too late....especially after a very chilly wait at the start line. The water stop on Jumeirah road has a very dangerous, slippy kerb on the entry. 2 of our group fell off mounting it. Luckily only bruises. No medals received by any of our group at the finish line. We came in around 3hrs 40. It felt a bit like the organisers had gone home! Overall excellent, enjoyable event. Just a few tweaks for next year please!”
“Frist of all the event could have started a bit later due to the cold weather, or the date could be moved a bit earlier by maybe a month, secondly the water /support point at burj khalifa need to definately shift, in my 16 years of cycling I have never experienced a water/support point at the bottom of a hill. Had a few nervewrecking experiences with traffic on Al khail with the service roads connecting and definately need to have more police there and less in say Qudra road, police moved along some of the riders and it would be advisable to have police static in strategic hotspot areas instead of patrolling along with the riders and let the marshal cars do the assistance, in some cases they do not know what to do.”
“Little bit of confusion at the left turn into the downtown area. No suport car stopping traffic for the lead bunch. Just a brilliant race and really wish there were a couple more through the season. May be one in Abu Dhabi.....? Well done to all involved in an awesome event”
“Thanks Stewart for the organization! I want to underline again the great job of Dubai Police! (I was in group D) Waiting for next year.... Ciao! ”
“Great organisation this year round - and excellent support from officials! However did see some lonely cyclists on dangerous roads by themselves without support vehicles (but totally understandable). Great ride and cannot wait until next year!”
“Confratulations guys, great race, I thought everyone did a great job. The signage was clear and accurate, the stewards were very helpful and the Dubai police were professional.”
“Traffic on the Al Khail road was heavy and Police presence is required, but it still felt dangerous. Problems with traffic stopped at red lights at Burj Khalif area caused issues for cyclists, as Police unable to move them on. Final section, over cobblestone (nr Spinneys) and two roundabouts onto circuit is very dangerous for the 'race groups. Too early a start at 6am - too cold :-)”
“I am a 69 year old social MTB'er that tries to ride a couple of the better known cycle road challenges. I live in Benoni South Africa and brought my bike to Dubai to ride in the Spinneys 92 with my daughter Samantha who lives in Dubai. The pre race hype and organisation was great. The course content was good with a couple of good challenges thrown in. The end of race handing out of medals was good. We completed the course in 4 hours 40 minutes and showed 92.8 kilometers completed, timed on my Polar HRM. Having ridden the Argus and 94.7 cycle challenges, I unfortunately have some negatives. I accept that there are many seasoned roadies in Dubai and this is a major event for them, hence all the support they got. However, you have to accept and accommodate us social riders as well. We had no support along the route. The volunteers were already being collected when we were still going to the first round about on the Bab al Shams road.We started in group F. Three water points are not sufficient and the positioning was poor. 94.7 has 11 water points!!! Al Khail road is a nightmare when you ride at the back of the race as there is no vehicle or police escort. You should have a sweep vehicle cleaning up from the rear. The social riders felt very vulnerable on especially Al Khail road. As my daughter has lived in Dubai for 9 years she knows the city very well. If I had been on my own I would have got lost as the signs were insufficient and in some instances poorly placed. I don't know Dubai that well, although I have been a number of times, but I would suggest that the route be changed to more safer areas, which I am sure are available and cut out the Al Khail and UmmSequiem roads. Despite the above negative comments I will be back and have convinced two more social riders to participate next year. See you in 2012. Congratulations and best of luck. Desmond Jordaan. Benoni South Africa.”
“A well organised event that was thoroughly enjoyable. As a competitor, it is important that it is easy to work through the day's procedures without any problems or major decisions to make. This was possible because the organisers had thought of every eventuality and created a procedure that was easy and trouble free. Well done.”
“The support of the police during this race was incredible! They went beyond the call to ensure that other cars were kept at a safe distance from us at all times, the cars were stopped at all the major junctions and they just did an amazing job in keeping us all safe. They really should be commended publicly for their efforts somehow. The way they performed on Friday has put them in a whole different light for me. Thank you.”
“Great race, would be nice if the roads were closed, however the Dubai Police did a great job!!!”
“1. The website is not really user friendly as the menus are not really up to date. 2. Last year the policemann really helped at critical crossroads (e.g. in dowtown Burj Khalifa area, Umm suqueim road traffic lights) however this year none of them were there as we passed which resulted in potentially risky situations.. Otherwise it was ok BTW, what happened to the guy who fell badly on the financial district road during the collective fall? is he ok? ”
“Overall the ride was very good…below are a few comments/ observations 1. Police support was excellent!!! 2. Course markings were very poor; there were a number of areas where there were no signs and it was difficult to stay on track 3. Could not find the start line parking lot. Noticed there were a lot of people with the same problem . We almost parked at the start line, then a ride volunteer explained we could not park there and gave directions to car park; a few signs would have helped. 4. Rest area was in a bad/ unsafe location. Before a hill on the main road. It would have been better placed a bit sooner when the ride when around the down town streets, so there would be more room to stop and take on water 5. Finish line was a bit congested and confusing; there were kids on their bikes and scooters all around the finish line making it difficult to finish safely. ”
“There was some confusion over course route in the area of the Dubai Mall / Burj Khalifa> We were in the B group and saw the A group goping in the opposite direction. There was no way of knowing if we were on the right course and they had gone wrong, or the other way around. Other than that, the police did quite well considering the roads weren't closed, but there were inevitable near misses and heart stiopping moments as motorists suddeenly found themselves cut up by speeding police cars and cyclists. Quite confusing for all. Is it possible to close the roads?? Also some confusion regarding direction on the Autodrome - no-one was at the junction where the extended loop rejoins the main circuit - we assumed we'd be going left but at the last moment someone jumped out and pointed right (against the normal diirection). Everyoen scattered in all sorts of dierections, although fortunately no-one crashed. Last comment / grumble on the route -the final approach section to the rear of the autodrome is tight - it was inevitable that someone would get cut up and find themselves with nowhere to go as people straightened the road instead of holding their line, especially around the mini roundabouts. Last comment of all, it would be useful to have more information ahead of the race regarding how the seeding system works, andf how you can get into the A group (what is the process for getting a competition license, and if yuou got it would you be eligable to ride with the A group.?? Overall a great race - thanks Stew!”
“Great race...not sure who enjoyed it the most the riders or the Police. Excellent support from the Dubai Police Dept...well done to ALL concerned. Just needs a couple of thousand supporters along the way to cheer everyone on...”
“Marshalling and route "protection" could have been better.”
“You should make two different awards, one for the Pro-teams & one for the normal riders. The A,B categories, are excellent.”
“A great course and very well organised - the police support was excellent and I felt safe throughout the ride!! The timing chips were really good and the quick turn a round for results was excellent. I have only been in Dubai 3 months and I loved the course and would definitely do the race/ride again. Thanks, Kenny.”
“The support stations were situated in places where we were either on the wrong side of the road from them, or in places where we were travelling too fast. As a result I couldn't use any of them. Having said that, that was the only low point, the rest was great!”
“Hi Guys, The event was fantastic and very professionally organised & run. The police, voulenteers, etc were very good and again were very professional. I would likedo have a few suggestions though:- 1) Can you look at organising the Build Up events in outher GCC countries to give some people who are not from UAE a chance to get higher up the gradings at the start? 2) At the finishing km could you look to put down 1000m, 500m, 400m, 300m, 200m, 100m markers to give the peope, not fimilar with the course an indication of what distance remains? Can't wait for next year :-).”
“The road management from the Police and the support vehicles was absolutely fantastic. Please pass on our thanks as they did an amazing job of protecting the cyclists from the traffic. Overall a great event - tahnk you very much and will be back next year. On support stations - the riders had no idea they were coming up (a sign saying 1km to support station would help) and in one instance (beach road) was on the wrong shoulder as we were all on the left to make the left turn and the station was almost oppositie on the right.”
“Drink stations were not sign posted in advance. Some warning would have been good. e.g. drinks 1km....drinks 500m....etc When travelling at speed in a large group, we did not notice the drink stop until it was too late. The Police escorts were brilliant at looking after the large groups of riders - particularly near junctions and traffice lights. However, in the last five miles, I got separated from the large group - at this point I felt very vulnerable on the very busy roads on my own.”
“Well run, and I think the police provided a first class service. A huge well done to them. Including well done to the organisers. Only one suggestion it would have been nice for the race fee to get a T-Shirt.”
“Great support from the Dubai Police and RTA. From arrival to the event village it felt like being part of a professional race. Great enthusiasm from the organisers and a huge turnout contributed to a fantastic morning. Thoroughly recommended ”
“never participate in a race organised by a supermarket! and please let there be a proper seeding process and don't let slow people start in a race where they will end up on Sheikh Zayed road at nine in the morning without any support because support cars left before. Cycle Safe???? Forget it!!!!”
“I'll definitely be back next year.”
“It was a cold beginning and many of us arrived as instructed at 0500; but there were no toilet facilities available, which was not a good beginning for some of us after ~50 minutes in ~11C temperatures and only a layer of lycra! Further, at the end of the course there were no sign-posts as you passed the stadium (opposite Spinneys) and several of us first-timers did circles trying to figure out how to enter the stadium: a simple sign-post confirming that we should continue straight-on would have been enough. The rest of the race seemed well organized and the POLICE did a SUPERB job; they need to be thanked and thanked again for their efforts. Thanks to the organizers for a great job too!”
“Well organised but course a little disappointing! Could have made it more of a Dubai tour by using Al Wasl road more, Satwa, Deira etc.”
“What is it with people who take the ride with a group and refuse to do any of the work at front?? With group B over the final 20 kms or so, only three or four riders were prepared to push at the front. The remainder (50 or 60!) were happy to sit and wait, intent on improving their own times but unwilling to give anything to the group. Had there been more willing to take the strain we would all have gotten better times. It is really frustrating and irritating that people don't observe the etiquette of the sport.”
“Huge thank you to the police and the support cars as they swept us through all the dangerous junctions with great care, and showed us lots of support throughout. This is very clearly a race as a sportive would have more groups and be mixed ability. I didn't do the build up rides as I didn't realise how important they would be for the results. I started in F group but could have ridden with B easily. This meant a small group of us worked really hard for the whole course but still didn't get the same time as someone who sat at the back of group B for the duration. The large timing gaps at the start gave us even less chance to bridge any gaps, we caught up as far as C group but there was little chance of 4 of us getting to B with 50 riders of our ability working together. Apart from this the event was really well organised, good route but could include more of the city and less U-turns. Overall really good morning out and a great ride. ”
“Well done. This event is something to look forward to each year. Police escort this year was effective and appreciated. One comment is that the police cars when pulling forward of the groups would stop in the shoulder, often creating an obstacle that would have to be negotiated by the pack. Perhaps in future, they could try to pull further over into the shoulder out of the way. Music and atmosphere was great. Stu must have have some experience MC'ing. He's a natural. Well done!”
“Thank you very much - Just a few comments hopefully constructive - We could not find the entrace to the parking (we did not see any signage and nobody was directed us - we got into trouble with security (myself and several buddies) for parking down the road.The start width is very narrow, no cars should have been alowed on this side of the road it should have been for bikes only. There was a car and trailer pushing all the bikers our of the way-plus the exit could have been a double arch. There were no "how far to go" markers - and did not realize we had to go around the track as well. The police did not give us full road closure (not your fault) but did a good job however this made made of a noisy edgy race. They need to be told that when blocking the slip roads they dont park in the way of the peloton which had to go around their vehicle, there was a few near misses. The route was not scenic and did not warrant so many twists and turns. How to get back to my car was a big problem. Maybe a way finding map would have been useful. - Early days it will be better next year.. thanks again Brian. ”
“The organisation was very good and the police on the course did a fantastic job controlling the traffic. Thanks to all the organisers for a great day!”
“Still need to avoid Al Khail some how. There will eventually be an accident if cars and cyclists allowed to mingle. During this ride a taxi squeezed between riders and the police and lead cars on Al Khail. On two occasions the group also nearly rear ended stationary cars at red lights. However, police escort much better than 2010. Very good. Lead cars a great idea. I didn't see anyone stop for the water stations. If you did then you lost touch with the group. Avoid the cobbled section outside Spinneys Motor City. It's hell after 90k. The only accident I saw occurred there. Some port-a-loos at start might avoid dozens using the side of the road! Why did group A go round the Burj the wrong way? Very nice ride overall and nice weather. Well done!”
“Good Race, perhaps having a registration desk that is staffed on the day would help. there was an issue with my registration and there was no-one there to solve it. By the time someone was found that could do that, it appeared they had too many tasks to do and this was not one they wished to do. Race itself was interesting, probably not enough hard places for breakaways etc, but then what course here would do that. Probably do again.”
“Great event, police were fantastic-one slight complaint was the amount of time(nearly 1 hour in my case zone H)standing around in the cold prior to starting-we were told to be in our starting zones by 05.30am and we did not start the race till around 06.23am”
“This is my first time. I dont understand why we had to be there at 05 an hour before. Was disappointed in the latter half how poorly the route was signposted, especially in the last 15 minutes. I lost momentum in slowing down to figure our where to go. ”
“Just wanted to say a huge thanks to the event organisers for putting on a great ride. Special mention should go to the Dubai police for making some tricky roads feel incredibly safe.”
“Great improvement compared to last year”
“Race was very good, however I did feel for the slower riders (yes me) the tail end support was very limited. At times there were 3 or 4 police cars with the leading packs and little else for the tail enders. In addition there were many roads to negiotate, most junctions were with boards but these were small and not at every junction, therefore I felt some confussion at some junction points. Just my thoughts, organising such a big distance with so many riders etc is always going to be challenging !!! Well done overall. Were are the timings posted.”
“A big thanks and well done to the Organisers - it was awesome. There is room for improvement of course, but overall the whole event and it's organisation deserved the highest order of praise and merit! I am quite sure it will be better next year, and not only that, but it will form part of the yearly calendar for dubai. Having said this, I'm now off on my bike to start preparing for next year as it will be harder :-) Happy Holidays guys and a Happy New Year!”
“Dear organization, We need to say thank you very much for all support you give to us and we hope there is more than a event in the winter time at least 3 time per year and if that is a possible to show us full race results in the event website .. thank you again for events organization, Dubai Police, RTA and dubai sport council . All the best Ahmad Alqubaisi”
“A very well run event. Marshalling was much improved over last year. Thoroughly enjoyed the day,and look forward to next years event”
“The route was great and very well marshalled. The signage was big and visible unlike last year. The only piece of the route that I really did not enjoy was Al Khail road. It would be fantastic if the RTA could have a lane closure on Al Khail road. Otherwise I would like to commend all the organization and volunteers that took part-a job very well done and a big Thank you to all concerned. ”
“Keep up the good work and i look forward to seeing you next year,”
“Well done to the police, great work. ”
“Unfortunately another rider crashed into by bike at 50k so I couldn't complete. However the support staff were excellent in offering assistance as was the Police presence. Also the atmosphere of the "cycle village" was excellent. It was an excellent event and the only negatives were the very long wait before the start & sections of the course where there were no escorts & riders were directed to cross numerous lanes of highway to do U-turns.”
“Congratulations for such a well run cycle event! A special thank you to Stewart and also anyone involved in any capacity in making this event world class. The Dubai Police really made cycling in the event safe, well done!!!! ”
“Race Rating » Spinneys Dubai 92 Cycle Challenge 2011 was very well organized, and welldone for the organizers, Dubai police, volunteers, competitors and everybody and thanks”
“Better police presence this year, except one zone was poorly handled... the traffic lights behind Dubai Mall had a line of vehicles stopped with no open lane, we were ducking and diving between bus and cars... lucky escape. Kids ride seemed to work quite well; a nice touch to handle the family support, along with bouncy castle and Adventure HQ wall. It's improved from last year. Perhaps a slightly later start would be good for spectators if the police could go for that. ”
“Very good support by organizers, police, etc. this time, so a really pleasant race, thank you!”
“Due to a puncture early on in the challenge (around 10km) my husband and I fell behind the main groups (we started in d) which meant that the police protection / support never featured for much of the ride. Indeed they seemed to seemed to be focused solely on the big groups of riders, with few (none) looking after the stragglers until 4km to go. The refreshment stations werent where it was said they would be (nothing at the Manzil) - few loos for women. The main concern for me was that as single riders the roads were dangerous with fast flowing traffic, some with barely any road sense for cyclists. I had specifically asked at registration for the traffic situation and had been told that the cycle route would be closed off -not the case at all. Signs were few and not always strategically placed with even two towards the end pointing in different directions. My odometer says we did 97 km (even with a short detour for taking a wrong turn) this is beyond 92! The closure of feed lanes was inconsistent with some where police did hold traffic and others being totally uncontrolled. The wardens were not well placed and shouted out instructions that were totally inaudible. The lack of a briefing didn't help - what should we expect, should we stay in groups, would traffic lights be functioning etc - none of this was addressed and I certainly didn't see anything in the emails I received. It certainly was a challenge, not a pleasant one, and not one that I will be keen to do again. Oh - and what medal? I saw people wearing them but maybe we were too late? ”
“Excellent organisation Build up rides excellent Good finish line shops & eats Excellent marshalling Wonderful, fab police support (wouldnt like to do that without them!) But please, more toilets!!!!”