Skydive Dubai’s Soufiane Haddi became the first-ever Arab rider to capture a jersey at the Dubai Tour as the Moroccan snatched the Young Rider’s classification, finishing an impressive 10th overall in the standings.
Haddi, who had claimed the White jersey on day one of the tour, clung onto his slender lead and edged out Al Nasr Pro Cycling’s duo Jesus Arribas Rubio and Luca Wackermann by a mere four and six seconds respectively.
“It was important for me to hold my ground and not celebrate too early. Now that the race is over I can be happy that I have the White jersey. I lost the UAE Flag jersey but I’m proud to have kept at least one,” Haddi told Sport360.
“It’s a great start for me, I want to do more in the future.
“Of course the last stage was tough and the pressure was really high, especially that the time difference between me and the next rider was really small. So it was stressful but the teamwork we did was brilliant and we kept the jersey.”
The top three riders in the White jersey classification came from UAE teams, with Al Nasr joining Skydive Dubai as squadsfrom the Emirates.
Haddi believes the arrival of Al Nasr, who made their debut at the Dubai Tour, is a positive addition to the UAE cycling scene.
“The more professional teams come out of this country the better, that’s how I see it. The competition gets tougher and the image of UAE cycling grows more and more around the world,” said the 25-year-old Haddi.
“Like any rider I dream of becoming a world champion and competing in the Grand Tours against the very best riders. For now, we’re still a Continental team and hopefully next year we’ll get Pro Continental status so we could compete in the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France.
“Tonight we are off to the Tour of Qatar and then I’m off to the African Championships.”
Haddi also has one eye on the Olympics in Rio this August but believes a lot of work needs to be done until then.
“I hope to be one of the three riders selected by Morocco but you never know what form you’ll be in by the time the Olympics come around. So it’s important to stay fit and in good form. I’d love to go to the Olympics, it’s a huge motivation for me this season,” he added.