When a young German started selling bicycles in the corner of his brother’s car repair shop, he had no idea that decades later he would be considered by many as the face of cycling in a faraway land.
However, that was how Wolfgang Hohmann — known to most as simply Wolfi, a name also given to his shops— began his career, that brought him to Dubai 20 years ago where he opened his first shop in the UAE.
Since then, he has had a front row seat from which to observe an explosion of interest in cycling across the country, which has led to the UAE being viewed as an international hub for the sport.
It's a very different story today to when he first arrived in Dubai.
The best cyclists in the world come here to use these tracks and they are amazed by the quality
Wolfgang Hohmann
“When I first came here in 2002, I had a 40-foot container, half of it had furniture and the other half was bikes,” said Wolfgang, 50.
“I opened the container in front of my first store on the Sheikh Zayed Road and walked into an empty showroom and that was the start of it all for me.”
The shop, which is well known to anyone in the Dubai cycling community, is the first of four he now has in the Emirates.
The cycling infrastructure in those days was in its infancy.
“Back then, the facilities weren’t what we have now. There were less people living here and the interest was quite small,” he said.
“I remember our first riding group, the Dubai Roadsters, we had maybe five or six people.
“Now in Dubai, if you look at the Al Qudra track alone, there are thousands of cyclists there at the weekends, people have to arrive around 5am to be sure of finding a parking space.
“It’s almost like being at a concert every week when you see so many people gathered in one place.”
The UAE today is well regarded within the global cycling community for its investment in the sport, with more facilities being added each year.
Dubai has plans to expand the emirate’s cycle tracks from 463km to 759km by 2026 as part of the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, with paths mapped out for 29 city districts.
Abu Dhabi has plans for a 109km cycling track called the Abu Dhabi Loop, as well as a 3,500-seat velodrome, to be built on Hudayriyat Island.
The emirate also received the accolade last year of being named as a Bike City by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), becoming the first location in the Middle East and Asia to receive such status.
The interest in cycling was a much different proposition when Wolfgang first arrived in Dubai from Freiburg in Germany all those years ago.
He said he made it his personal mission to try to persuade people to take up the activity.
“I think it took almost about 10 years to make it work,” he said. "I was telling people who were into cycling to just bring one person along with them to the cycling groups and it grew from there.
“That was how the business grew. There was no Facebook or Instagram back then.
“I’m extremely proud to have helped build a community and play a part in bringing people to the sport.”
Cycling enjoyed a boon during the pandemic when most public activities were banned due to restrictions.
“If there was any winner that came out of Covid-19, I would say it was the sports industry,” said Wolfgang.
“A lot of gyms and other activities were closed off to most people. There was an unbelievable demand for cycling and goods such as indoor trainers.
“It really confirmed for me how important sport is and how it can help people to survive.”
A large part of the surge in interest in cycling in the UAE was down to the facilities, he added.
“The best cyclists in the world come here to use these tracks and they are amazed by the quality,” said Wolfgang.
“There’s nowhere else in the world where you have so many cycle tracks of this size that you can ride on with your friends.
“The community is only going to continue to grow and grow.”
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Profile of Hala Insurance
Date Started: September 2018
Founders: Walid and Karim Dib
Based: Abu Dhabi
Employees: Nine
Amount raised: $1.2 million
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, AB Accelerator, 500 Startups, private backers
AL%20BOOM
%3Cp%20style%3D%22text-align%3Ajustify%3B%22%3E%26nbsp%3B%26nbsp%3B%26nbsp%3BDirector%3AAssad%20Al%20Waslati%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%20style%3D%22text-align%3Ajustify%3B%22%3E%0DStarring%3A%20Omar%20Al%20Mulla%2C%20Badr%20Hakami%20and%20Rehab%20Al%20Attar%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EStreaming%20on%3A%20ADtv%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Results:
6.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 2,000m - Winner: Powderhouse, Sam Hitchcott (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap Dh165,000 2,200m - Winner: Heraldic, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
7.40pm: Conditions Dh240,000 1,600m - Winner: Walking Thunder, Connor Beasley, Ahmed bin Harmash
8.15pm: Handicap Dh190,000 2,000m - Winner: Key Bid, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
8.50pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed Dh265,000 1,200m - Winner: Drafted, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson
9.25pm: Handicap Dh170,000 1,600m - Winner: Cachao, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
10pm: Handicap Dh190,000 1,400m - Winner: Rodaini, Connor Beasley, Ahmed bin Harmash
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
