Mirza caps dream run with Tour of Al Zubarah title

DOHA: Yousif Mohamed Mirza of the UAE yesterday capped his dream run of form with Tour of Al Zubarah title after finishing an impressive second in the fourth and final stage of the four-day race.
Mirza - winner of two stages out of three - was yesterday pipped to the finish by New Zealand’s Roman Van Uden of Kazma Cycling Team in the final stage that started and ended in Mesaieed.
The 25-year-old UAE rider won both intermediate sprints yesterday picking up another 10 points to add muscle to his dominance in the four-day event hosted by Qatar Cycling Federation (QCF).
After four days of gruelling cycling, Mirza retained his yellow and red jerseys while Martin Weiss of Austria National Team secured the white jersey.
Mirza finished with an overall tally of 70 points followed by Van Uden with 45. Third-placed Weiss managed a tally of 24.
Mirza’s overall time was 8 hours 14 minutes and 50 seconds. Weiss was 23 seconds adrift of Mirza while third-fastest Krist Jan Fajt of Adria Mobil was 31 seconds slower than Mirza.
Qatar’s best rider over four days was Ahmed Elbourdainy (7 minutes 23 seconds behind Mirza’s overall time).
Van Uden finished yesterday’s 120.7km stage in a time of two hours 44 minutes and 40 seconds. Mirza was 0.06 seconds slower while Gregor Muehlberger of Austria National Team was third.
Qatar’s best rider in yesterday’s final stage was Abdullah Afif who ended in 33rd spot.
Mirza was delighted with his performance, saying he arrived in Qatar ‘to corner Tour of Al Zubarah title’.
“I am very happy,” Mirza said. “I am proud of my performance. I arrived here after a poor performance at Tour of Sharjah. It was very disappointing,” he added.
“I wanted to win this title because I knew I am a good rider. I have long-term goals and to reach those goals, I must win titles. I am targeting Asian Games next year.
“I prepared for this Tour,” Mirza said. “When I saw the start list I said ‘I will win’. I beat riders from Europe and Asia and so I am proud of myself,” he said.
“I am proud of my team. They supported me well. Today I was alone in the front so that I can control the race. I knew other riders would race against me. Thank God, I finished well.
“My next event is the GCC Cycling Championship. I am the defending champion. I want to win that again,” Mirza added. 
The team event was won by Austrian riders while Team Amsterdam ended in second spot, a notch ahead of Adria Mobil.
Qatar National Team ended in 8th spot while second home side Lekhwiya Cycling Team was last out of 14 sides. Regional sides will stay back for the GCC Cycling Championships beginning later this week.
Mirza said he wanted to go professional.
“I like this sport a great deal. I want to go and train in Europe. I want to create interest for young people so that they take cycling seriously. In Middle East, everyone likes football. Hopefully I can create a buzz,” Mirza said.
‘That’s why I dedicate this win to my country,’ he said.
The Peninsula