Bahrain has marked its first foray into the world cycling stage with the establishment of the Bahrain Merida Cycling team.
Representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports and President of Bahrain Olympic Committee His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa remarked on the occasion.
“We have been always keen to promote Bahrain by establishing teams bearing the Kingdom name, in order to participate in different sporting events. “Launching Bahrain Merida Cycling Team translates His Majesty King Hamad’s vision and ideas to position Bahrain at the center of the world’s attention via accommodation of various sports, including cycling.”This initiative will have a positive impact on Bahrain, so much that it becomes the Home of Cycling in Middle East after earning the same feat in the triathlon sport, and this is a great leap towards promoting the country in line with the 2030 vision.
“Cycling are followed by a large base of fans and representing Bahrain in a global sporting event will surely place the country in the minds of all the people as well as enlarge the community of cyclists in the kingdom.
“To have a team bearing Bahrain’s name competing in this sport arose from the fact of the importance of cycling, as this will enable us to meet our aims of promoting Bahrain and generate results,” Shaikh Nasser explained.
“Our main goal is to encourage youth to live a healthy lifestyle,” he added.
Moreover, Bahrain is also planning to host international cycling races in the future and this is set to stimulate local economic growth and promote tourism, Shaikh Nasser said.
More than 350 Bahraini and foreign residents took part in a training session held over a 48km route starting from Sofitel Hotel and ending at Bahrain International Circuit.