The true Ride of Champions!

A TOTAL of 950 riders from 72 countries took part in the Ride of Champions at the Pearl-Qatar last week.

The riders passed through different areas of Pearl-Qatar before finishing in a looped course, the exact place where the elite men’s and women’s races finished. 

A number of eminent personalities, including French Secretary of State for Sport Thierry Braillard, French Ambassador to Qatar Eric Chevalier, Belgian envoy Christophe Payot, Dutch Ambassador Dr Bahia Tahzib-Lie, UCI President Brian Cookson and UCI Road World Championships Doha 2016 Local Organising Committee Chairman Sheikh Khalid bin Ali Al Thani, also took part in the event.

“French people love the sport. I was happy to be a part of this competition. Cycling is a healthy pastime and we’ll try to help popularise it in Qatar,” said Chevalier.

Payot was excited to support the event. 

“I support the initiative. The large turnout proves cycling is a very popular sport. It’ll help the sport’s development in the region,” said Payot.

Belgian legend Eddy Merckx and Kazakhstan’s 2012 London Olympic gold medallist Alexandre Vinokourov were the other prominent names.

“Cycling is part of the Dutch DNA. So when I was invited to the Ride of Champions, I agreed to be a part of it. Several of my colleagues also joined me. It was a great experience for us,” said the Dutch ambassador.

Each rider got a Ride of Champions jersey and those who rode the full course at least once were also awarded medals.