Inaugural Abu Dhabi Bike Festival to be held from 7-13 November 2022

As part of the Abu Dhabi Cycling Festival, the emirate will host two world-class cycling events, including the fifth UCI Urban Cycling World Championships, which will be held for the first time in the region from November 9 to 13. In addition to bringing the world’s top urban cyclists to Abu Dhabi, the event adds another world-class cycling event to Abu Dhabi’s calendar and broadcasts the sport live to new audiences.

In addition to the UCI Urban Cycling World Championships, the inaugural Abu Dhabi Gryffindor Cycling Championships will take place on 12 November, starting in the city of Abu Dhabi and ending in Al Ain with a 150km race. The amateur event has a prize pool of Dh2 million, divided equally between men and women.

The world’s top urban cyclists will also take part in the BMX Freestyle Park (an Olympic event since Tokyo 2020) as well as the BMX Freestyle Flats and Trials. In BMX Freestyle, the race category will include both women’s elite and men’s elite, including riders 15 and older. During the tryouts, the national team will be played and rainbow jerseys will be given to the winners of each category: Women’s Elite, Men’s Elite (20″), Men’s Elite (26″), Men’s Junior (20″), Men’s Junior (26″) ).

Commenting on the launch of the festival, Aref Al Awani, Secretary General of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, said: “We are very proud to host the spectacular UCI Urban Cycling World Championships in 2022. Having secured the prestigious UCI Cycling City label in 2021, we are now stepping up We have expanded our portfolio of world-class cycling events and entertainment in the region and look forward to showing the world what Abu Dhabi and the UAE have to offer both amateur and professional cyclists.”

UCI President David Lappartient said: “We look forward to Abu Dhabi, the first UCI Cycling City in the Middle East and Asia, to host this year’s UCI Urban Cycling World Championships. We will once again see the freedom from BMX since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Athletes from freestyle parks, BMX freestyle flats and trials come together for these unique UCI World Championships. Abu Dhabi will provide a majestic stage for this action-packed event.”

Nekhaira Alkhyeli, CEO of Abu Dhabi Cycling Club, commented: “First of all, I would like to thank Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nayan for his generous sponsorship of the inaugural Abu Dhabi Cycling Festival. Driven by Abu Dhabi Cycling, in Abu Dhabi Led by the Dhabi Sports Council, Abu Dhabi, with the support of the Abu Dhabi Cycling Club, is one step closer to achieving its long-term goal of becoming a leading global cycling destination. Cycling Abu Dhabi Festival will celebrate the 2022 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships, Adding another high-profile international event to the Abu Dhabi sports calendar, while also offering a variety of cycling events to the community, including the Abu Dhabi Gran Fondo Cycling. Abu Dhabi is fully supported by the Abu Dhabi Cycling Club to To ensure the continued success and growth of cycling in the emirate.”

A year ago, Abu Dhabi received the prestigious UCI Cycling City label from the International Cycling Federation in recognition of Abu Dhabi’s commitment to promoting cycling and developing cycling infrastructure and projects in communities across the region, and a year later hosted Abu Dhabi Bike Festival.

In addition to the competition, the Abu Dhabi Cycling Festival will host a variety of cycling events and activities for the community, covering all ages and abilities, including community rides exclusively for women.

An activity village with fun and family-friendly activities will host events at Nation Towers such as short bike lessons, face painting, bungee trampolines, graffiti artists, street dancers, BMX stunts, live music and more.