Overall leader Willcox faces firm challenge from Mohammed al Wahaibi and Mundher al Hasani
Muscat, Dec 16
The Oman Cycling Association (OCA) will organise the fourth stage of OCA Championship 2020-21, a 98-km individual road race with 10 laps, on Friday.
The fourth of the total eight stages will start from the Civil Aviation Club building near the Muscat International Airport to The Wave.
As many as 145 cyclists from 14 clubs affiliated to the OCA along with 20 individual cyclists, junior and women riders will take part in the stage.
North Road Oman team rider Paul Willcox from United Kingdom is leading the race for Omantel jersey in the open category with 220 points after the third round. Willcox also leads the 40 plus category for the Sohar International Jersey with 140 points.
Willcox had won the first stage and claimed second spot in the second stage. The UK cyclist continued his impressive form with a third-place finish in the third stage.
Mundher al Hasani of Ahli Sidab A is leading the under-23 section for Bank Nizwa jersey with 120 points.
In the third round, Omani cyclist Mohammed al Wahaibi of Ahli Sidab A stormed to the top position in the open category with a timing of 2 hours 29 minutes and 37.87 seconds at Halban.
Mohammed al Wahaibi said he is training hard to keep up the good work.
“I will work hard in the remaining stages to achieve podium positions. The competition is really challenging and getting stronger,” he said.
Mundher al Hasani missed the first spot by a whisker as the Omani finished with a timing of 2:29:37.89 in the 90-km road race with 15 laps.
“Undoubtedly, the competition in this championship is strong from the first stage to the third stage, and thank God, I was able to perform well during the past stages and was able to lead the general ranking in the U-23 category. I thank the OCA for organising such tournaments that contribute to the development of the players of the national teams and also contribute to create a spirit of competition among the cyclists,” Mundher said.
After third round, Ahli Sidab A (Mohammed al Wahaibi, Mundher al Hasani and Saud al Mandhari) are leading with 285 points. Royal Army consisting of Said al Rahbi, Mashari al Khalili and Hatim al Booshri are second with 240 points and North Road Oman (Paul Willcox, Szczepan Pietruska and Yuri Lipkov) are third with 197 points.
Ishaq al Balushi, OCA General Secretary, said: “We have witnessed a high level of performance in the last stages. National cyclists have made significant improvement in the second and third stages.”
“The OCA has the best referees and technicians who are able to manage races and any championships of any size, and we also have the best national referees at the Gulf and Arab levels, as well as they are referees approved by the world cycling body, UCI.”
Sultan al Rawahi, Saud al Rawahi and Arafat al Hinai are the technical umpires for the championship.
Sultan al Rawahi, said: “There is no doubt that the technical level has increased significantly over the past years, especially with the increase in the number of participating teams to 14 teams. It is also noticeable that there is a significant development in the level of Omani competitors, especially among the youth.”
“Abdullah al Ghailani had won the second place in the open section and first in the under-23 category during the stage two. Mohammed al Wahaibi and Mundher al Hasani had won first and second places in the third stage as well,” the OCA board member added.
Anuroop Athiparambath
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
