Spectators watching the Abu Dhabi Tour will notice the eye-catching vehicles from Emirates Motor Company (EMC) supporting some of the best riders on the planet after it announced it will once again be sponsoring the world-class cycling event.
The Mercedes-Benz distributor, the flagship of the Abu Dhabi-based family-run business Al Fahim Group, will be providing 70 vehicles from its exclusive range to the event, the majority of which will be used as support vehicles during the four-day race.
The Abu Dhabi Tour completes an impressive hat-trick of sporting sponsorships in the capital for EMC following the Mubadala Tennis Championship and the HSBC Championship, in December and January, respectively.
Along with providing cars, EMC will have a stand at the fanzone at Nation Towers where the E43 AMG will be on display.
The Abu Dhabi Tour, scheduled from February 23 to 26 and organised by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council in collaboration with RCS Sport, gained World Tour status in 2016 and is the only Middle East race on the 2017 UCI World Tour calendar.
This year will be the third in a row that EMC has sponsored the race.
“The way this event has grown in recent years has been hugely impressive and it certainly deserves its World Tour Status,” said Frank Bernthaler, the chief executive of Al Fahim Automotive. “We are proud to have been part of that journey and look forward to our successful partnership continuing in future.”
Ramez Youssef, the head of marketing and communications at Al Fahim Group saidworking with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council to improve the lives of the community at large was a main ambition.
“Sponsoring global events such as the Abu Dhabi Tour is one important pillar to that commitment, but we also work on smaller grassroots community events to help promote healthy lifestyles and to encourage people to improve their lives,” he said. “We hope that by supporting the professional events and the community projects we will help to connect both together and give sports lovers in Abu Dhabi something to aspire to.”
The Abu Dhabi Tour will see 16 UCI World Teams and four UCI Professional Continental Teams, each consisting of eight riders, battle it out over four gruelling stages.
Many of the best riders on the planet have confirmed their participation in the race, such as the UK’s Mark Cavendish and the former Tour de France runner up Romain Bardet and winner Vincenzo Nibali.
chnelson@thenational.ae
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