Tomorrow, at the Arena of the Elite Sports Center in historic Diriya, the competitions of the first stage of the 2023 Exhibition Cycling World Cup will start, as part of the global stages that qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, as well as part of the events of the Diriya season, in which 57 athletes and female athletes participate 23, in addition to 3 amateurs and beginners. They represent 23 countries. The championship will take place in the historical land of Diriyah, the first time in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East region, since Diriyah is one of the six stations in the Cycling World Cup stages, it will be followed by the station Montpellier in France, Brussels in Belgium and three more stations to be determined.
Last Friday and Saturday, demonstration sports events were held, which were attended by a large number of families and spectators who are sports enthusiasts to enjoy training under the supervision of internationally qualified coaches in several sports such as skiing, cycling, scooters and alpine skiing. bicycles, up to parkour.
Today, the organizing committee of the tournament provided the national teams with training camps for four periods for the groups participating in the tournament, as well as spectacular sporting events such as cycling, skiing and parkour, in addition to a show tour of performances by international star Kenny Pele, provided that on Wednesday and Thursday , Feb. 16, Women’s and Men’s Qualifiers will take place, Friday, Feb. 17, Novice and Amateur Qualifiers, Warm-up Rounds and Semi-Final Qualifiers for Women and Men, in addition to performances by Kenny Pele.
Championship competitions will end on Saturday, February 18 with warm-up rounds for novice and finalists among amateurs, women and men, as well as finals for novice, amateurs, women and men. City festival in Diriyah and various sports activities that the festival offers.
Diriyah Season 2022 allows the public and visitors from the Kingdom and beyond to book tickets for the Show Cycling World Cup through the season’s official website at: (click here).
The International Cycling Union has decided to be the first leg of the 2023 World Championships of Demonstration Cycling global rounds qualifying as well as the Paris 2024 Olympics, from historic Diriyah and for the first time in the Middle East as part of the Diriyah season event due to the rapid development of Saudi Arabia. Arabia in hosting the largest and most important events, various sports, as well as the accompanying glamor and great media attention, as has happened to many hosts.
Director of Seasonal Events Matthew Jessen said: “The vision of the city festival in Diriyah coincided with the vision of the International Cycling Federation to spread the game among young men and women in Saudi Arabia and even among children, as this was one of the reasons, in addition to the fact that The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia today is one of the most important countries in adoption and we have seen this in the events. .
He added: “The elite sports center in historic Diriyah was chosen in particular for its unique, historical and aesthetic location in the center of Wadi Hanif and among the beautiful mountains. championships in equestrian sports, show jumping and equestrian sports, as well as holding many music festivals, etc.”
And he emphasized that one of the goals that both sides are striving for is to hold the organizer’s friction with the local organizer, player, administrator and media representative, sharing experiences between them and benefiting from those who have the experience and the most participation in the event, which local or international tournaments are organized in the Kingdom.
The 2023 World Cycling Demonstration Championships, which will be held at the elite sports center in historic Diriya as part of the events of the second season of Diriya, will see the most outstanding athletes from all over the world participate in the game. as male and female athletes from more than 25 countries of the world participate.
The tournament opens next Wednesday and will be held for the first time in the Middle East from 10 to 18 February as part of the global qualification rounds for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Australian Olympic champion Logan Martin is the most notable participant, especially since he has been competing in the International Federation championships since 2011 and has many international achievements and titles.
Also participating will be American Kevin Peraza, who has won six medals in the history of the tournament, Japanese Olympic champion Rem Nakamura, world champion in 2022, and Frenchman Anthony Jianjiang, world and European champion in 2020.
Also participating in the parkour game are Ella Bosio, the only woman in the parkour game, and David Rizzi, a parkourist with more than 10 years of experience, who has repeatedly defeated the Italian champion in free play, and Tanguy Van Schengen, who won first place in the speed championship 2022 and Zavia Rodriguez Alvarez finishes in the top three at the Tours of Spain.
Cyclist Youssef Mohammed expressed great joy that his dream of participating in the 2023 World Show Cycling Championship in the Kingdom came true and said: “A dream that has long haunted me and all show bike enthusiasts. , not only in the Kingdom, but also in several Gulf countries, being part of the Gulf team, all of which are in Riyadh today for the championship.”