Cycling events in the Gulf countries have been part of the world calendar for a decade. If Qatar has used the “little queen” to make “soft power”, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman are hoping for media coverage to bring in fairly wealthy tourists.
For the first time, in the Middle East, an event of the women’s World Tour circuit is coming for four days (from February 9 to 12). In the United Arab Emirates, the girls put on a “show” under the blazing sun of the Persian Gulf. A media coup, in a region where the place of women is still widely criticized. “ By being here, it’s a strong message that we want to send to our sport, that women can run everywhere “, swept Wednesday, February 8 during the pre-race press conference the Italian Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo). This event is reminiscent of the women’s Tour of Qatar, a precursor race of its kind in the Middle East between 2009 and 2016, at a time when the World Tour label did not yet exist for girls.
The peninsula stage race trilogy
It must be said that the cycling events in the Gulf countries have been part of the world calendar for a while. This sport was chosen for “soft power” by Qatar in 2002, when the small emirate decided to create its national tour. The 2017 edition, which was to join the World Tour calendar, has been canceled by the organizers. Since then, the race no longer exists. But Qatar managed to organize the World Cycling Championships in October 2016, for the first time in an Arab country.
Little throwback. In 2006, Qatar was to host the Asian Games. Hamad ben Khalifa al-Thani, then emir of this small country which made its fortune thanks to gas, wonders if there are cycling events on the calendar. We confirm that he is, and he gets closer to Eddy Merckx, icon of Belgian cycling, who puts him in contact with Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), which owns the Tour de France, among other things. ASO invites him on a stage of the Grande Boucle and the Emir takes it into his head to create a Tour of Qatar, which ASO will hasten to organize. “ These powers do not really look at how much it costs and ASO was looking for new markets, that was good “Explains to RFI Raphaël Le Magoariec, geopolitical scientist, specialist in the Gulf countries and sport.
Today, cycling is part of the landscape at the start of the season, when the heat is still mild. The Saudi Tour (Tour of Saudi Arabia) opened the stage races in the Persian Peninsula on February 4, which will continue with the Tour of Oman and the UAE Tour in the United Arab Emirates for men.
Camels, sand and few people
” It’s great fun to do one or two races a year like that, without the stress of races in Europe. Be careful, this is not a vacation, but it is one hell of an experience “, commented during the Saudi Tour the Austrian Felix Grossschartner, one of the new lieutenants of Tadej Pogacar in the UAE team. The runners were accommodated like everyone else in a luxury lodge for up to 1,000 euros per night, at the expense of the host country.
Organized in the region of Al-Ula, a spectacular maze of canyons and rocky peaks in the northwest of the country, the Saudi Tour took the opportunity to show archaeological sites classified as World Heritage by Unesco such as Hegra, the “Saudi Petra”, with frolicking camels, lots of sand and very few people. The oil monarchy opened its borders to foreign visitors only four years ago, and the idea is to develop high-end tourism in the region, strategically placed on the old incense route. Saudi Arabia wishes to entrust the development of this site to France.
“ The joint will of Saudi Arabia and France is to implement a new model of economic and tourist development, centered on the absolute preservation of the environment, respectful of history, territories and the local population, at the service of an authentic tourist experience, faithful to the hospitality of the Arab world “, writes Gérard Mestrallet, executive president of the French Agency for the development of Al-Ula.
Big local sponsors for three World Tour teams
In this region with a rich archaeological heritage still largely unexplored, the Royal Commission for Al-Ula (RCU), created in 2017, intends to soon offer stays for amateur cyclists during the high season, between October and March, before the furnace of the summer. This project is part of the pharaonic “Vision 2030” development plan launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which plans to invest between 50 and 100 billion dollars throughout the country.
” With the exception of Qatar, which sought “soft power” through sport, the others want above all to show the beauty of their country. They invest in multitudes of sporting events with no particular objective. We don’t really know the audience figures. Saudi Arabia uses cycling for the development of tourism says Raphaël Le Magoariec. ” Oman was looking for publicity for its tourism and also saw cycling as a good vector. ASO had invited them on a stage in Qatar and Oman embarked on the adventure in 2010 “, he specifies. The Briton Chris Froome, and the Italian Vincenzo Nibali, put their names on the list of winners of the Omani event. For the very first time, the Tour of Oman will count the presence of its national team.
In addition to the races, three of the 18 World Tour teams now have a Gulf country as a major partner: the powerful Team UAE of Tadej Pogacar, double winner of the Tour, Bahrain-Victorious, and… Al-Ula who carried his investment up to seven million dollars a year to become one of the main sponsors of the Australian team Jayco (ex-BikeExchange). ” It is a strategy of legitimization with the world authorities of cycling “says Raphaël Le Magoariec.