Arab Cycling Championship returns to Syria after 19 years

DAMASCUS: After 19 years, the Arab Cycling Championship is back in Syria, bringing cyclists from 14 Arab nations to race through the streets of Damascus and beyond. The event runs until Oct. 10. The competition features men's and women's events, youth and junior races, and para-cycling on several courses in and around the capital. Racing opens on Sunday in Yaafour, in the Damascus countryside, with individual road races. Para-cyclists and younger categories will cover 25 km, while the youth race will be over 50 km, Maher Salim, Syrian Cycling Federation president, said. Individual time trials follow on Monday on the Al-Bajaa course, with distances of 15 km and 25 km depending on category, plus a 50-km para-cycling event. The program continues on Tuesday with 50-km road races for younger categories, and on Wednesday with a 25-km mixed team race and the youth road race. Team time trials are scheduled for Thursday — 25 km for women and 50 km for men — followed by men's and women's 25-km individual time trials on Friday. The championships conclude on Oct. 10 with a 50-km women's road race and the men's race on the Damascus-Saboura-Damascus route. Salim said the variety of courses would give the championships a distinctive character and hoped the event would showcase Syria's organizational capacity and Arab participation. Damascus last hosted the championships in 2007.