MADINAT ZAYED // This time last year Yousif Mirza was busy not racing in the Abu Dhabi Tour. You can hardly blame him. He was busy attempting to qualify for the Rio Olympics.
Given that he did and became only the second Emirati cyclist to compete at the Olympics, it was not the worst strategy to miss out.
But he did miss it, he acknowledged later, and so this year’s race was a big moment for him. Given the quality of riders around him, it is no mean feat that that jury accorded him a 15th-place finish at Stage 1 of the Tour at Madinat Zayed.
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That is, to be clear, just one position behind Andrea Guardini. It is one place ahead of Elia Viviani and a few ahead of Mark Renshaw as well.
“It was the first stage for me in Abu Dhabi and it was a really proud moment, to be part of such a big race in my country,” Mirza said after.
“It was really hot but we finished the race in the top 15 of what was a really fast stage.”
Though Nasr Dubai did not feature in the breakaway, their riders were front and centre in the peloton. Mirza was actually well-placed for the bunch sprint finish but, he said, a lack of experience eventually told.
“Today we learnt something new about the sprint finish,” he said.
“I was in a good position for it but we learnt that it’s not only about the sprint. It is about teams and the leadout, but we learnt something new today and I am happy with that.”
Nasr Dubai are the only UAE-based team in the race – Skydive Dubai are not participating, having raced last year. The main aim for the team will be to feature in as many breakaways as possible, to ensure prominence for the team name and the country.
“I hope to do a breakaway tomorrow to show our jersey,” he said of the Abu Dhabi stage. “We try, day by day, something new and big to learn from the professional teams.
“We are really happy. We were always in the front. In the beginning I tried really hard to get ahead in the breakaway.
“I did a really good job today and sometimes in cycling you cannot do what you want. Tomorrow maybe we will try for another breakaway.”
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