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Being the primary is rarely simple, however Safiya Alsayegh is wanting ahead to it.
The 20-year-old will turn out to be the primary rider from the UAE to race within the Girls’s WorldTour this season after she signed for the brand new UAE Group ADQ, which took over the Alé BTC Ljubljana staff final winter.
It’s her first professional contract after beforehand racing for the nationwide squad and the Dubai Police Biking Group. She joins fellow Emirati Yousif Mirza — who rides for the boys’s UAE Group Emirates and is somebody Alsayegh seems to be as much as — as the primary riders from the UAE to race at WorldTour stage.
“It’s a massive accountability as many individuals already look as much as me and are hoping for the very best outcomes from me,” Alsayegh informed VeloNews. “That pushes me to try and to work more durable for finest outcomes for the UAE and for my staff. I’m wanting ahead to it, I’m excited, and I’ve a variety of ardour to get to the very best stage.”
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In addition to being the primary lady from her nation to get knowledgeable biking contract, Alsayegh would be the solely member of the WorldTour peloton to race carrying a hijab. In a sport that’s nonetheless very a lot dominated by white western individuals, Alsayegh will likely be an uncommon sight within the bunch.
She already felt that barely when she traveled to Spain for the staff’s first coaching camp earlier this 12 months, however she sees her step into the professional ranks as a chance to teach in addition to an opportunity to encourage extra Muslim ladies to trip and race.
“I’m out right here to encourage extra, particularly Arab and Muslim, ladies to trip a motorbike and be part of the professional stage as nicely and to try to achieve it,” Alsayegh mentioned. “I’m positive folks do discover it fairly stunning and weird. Even on the staff camp, we have been at a resort and professional groups have been staying at it. I did really feel I used to be fairly an uncommon individual due to the seems to be I used to be getting. However I aspire to let the world know extra about my faith and my tradition and perhaps I get them to find out about it.”
Biking is a sport that’s rising in recognition within the UAE, notably due to the success of the boys’s WorldTour squad.
Many ladies are taking to 2 wheels, however Alsayegh says that there’s nonetheless a dearth of feminine riders seeking to race on the prime stage and he or she hopes to alter that.
“We presently have various Emirati ladies [riding], however not many which are striving [to turn professional],” she mentioned. “We’ve an novice stage within the nation, and now we have pro-level and many ladies are staying within the band of the novice stage, and presently don’t need to be part of the nationwide staff. We discover it fairly a wrestle as we want extra riders to race worldwide races with the nationwide staff.
“I do hope to be an instance for extra ladies to affix onto the professional stage and assist us construct a greater base of professional riders right here within the UAE.”
Balancing research with racing
Alsayegh, who’s the nationwide highway race and time trial champion, made her staff debut on the Al Salam Elite Girls’s Race this week and can go on to race the Asian Biking Championships subsequent month. She’s going to proceed to race in Asia for the primary months of the season earlier than heading to Europe to affix the remainder of her new teammates.
In addition to studying tips on how to be knowledgeable rider, Alsayegh is attempting to steadiness her coaching load together with her research. She’s presently midway via a course on graphic design, a profession she want to get into when she’s not racing.
Issues about neglecting her course work and discovering the balancing act too overwhelming meant Alsayegh nearly turned down the chance to race with UAE Group ADQ. Nonetheless, the staff was persistent, and he or she realized it was too good of an opportunity to overlook out on.
“I used to be supplied it and I used to be overwhelmed by the chance and the provide,” Alsayegh informed VeloNews. “At first, I took a step again and mentioned, ‘I don’t suppose I can decide to this.’ It was already fairly onerous with the college, particularly after my final journey to Egypt for the Arab championships. I used to be away for each a camp earlier than the race and for the monitor and highway championships. After I got here again, there was only a entire pile of labor from the college, and it was a catastrophe, as I wasn’t in a position to sustain on work over there.
“It truly traumatized me a bit. I used to be anxious in regards to the step, however hopefully, if races are brief, and I don’t must be away from college for too lengthy of time, I can steadiness out. They supplied it once more and so they have been like ‘we actually need you on the staff’ and I didn’t need to hand over this chance. I’m completely happy I did agree.”
Balancing schoolwork and sport has been the story of Alsayegh’s life thus far. She was a really energetic youngster and took half in gymnastics, swimming, athletics, and extra as a teen.
In her early teenagers, she began using mountain bikes together with her father however was impressed to trip on the highway with the nationwide staff after seeing a buddy out with the squad. On the time, there have been no biking golf equipment that she might be part of so the nationwide staff was the one manner she might race.
Her father was reluctant at first as he had given up his training early to pursue a profession in soccer and he didn’t need his daughter to do the identical. It was solely when she proved that she might handle each that he relented.
“At the moment, I used to be 14 and I used to be doing nicely with my research, I used to be an A+ scholar, so he actually didn’t need me to go down on that aspect,” she mentioned. “However I promised to check out to steadiness my grades if I used to be to begin biking. Upon the tip of the primary semester, whereas I used to be biking with the nationwide staff, my grades elevated much more so he was very completely happy he noticed there’s nothing incorrect factor with doing sports activities and your research.”
At 20, Alsayegh continues to be discovering her toes as a rider, and he or she doesn’t but know the extent of her capabilities. With the step as much as pro-level, she hopes to seek out out the kind of rider she is.
“I’m presently nonetheless exploring and attempting to find what sort of highway rider I’m finest at,” Alsayegh mentioned. “I do love to do a little bit of monitor biking as nicely. I do see that I’m extra endurance-based than sprint-based. However I’ll attempt my finest to innovate either side of the endurance and the dash to hopefully be an all-rounder sooner or later.”
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