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Dubai: Shaikh Faisal Bin Humaid Al Qasimi, the chairman of the Arab and UAE cycling associations and head of the 10th GCC cycling championships which concluded in Fujairah on Monday, has praised the UAE riders who dominated the tournament by winning 17 medals - 10 gold, four silver and three bronze.
"Our cyclists did well and deserve to win the GCC championships. I take this opportunity to congratulate them on their excellent efforts," said Shaikh Faisal at the closing ceremony of the GCC tournament.
Badr Mirza of the UAE won the gold medal in the individual 143km race for men, clocking a time of three hours and 37 minutes with an average speed of 39kmph.
Ali Hasan Mansour of Bahrain finished in three hours and 40 minutes to win the silver, while Badr Ali Shambeh of the UAE won the bronze medal.
The UAE also won a gold medal on the final day when Abdullah Yousuf Al Mansoury came first in the 46km youth race with a time of one hour and 12 minutes. Abdullah Jasim from Bahrain won the silver and Diego Hozel of Qatar finished third.
Start from Bahrain
Shaikh Faisal also announced in a press conference after the closing ceremony that the inaugural "Tour de Gulf" race will be held at the end of the year.
"The first Tour de Gulf will be held from November 27 to December 7, 2008 with all GCC countries taking part in it," Shaikh Faisal said.
"We hope Kuwait will join and take part. The race will start from Bahrain and finish in the UAE after cyclists will tour all GCC countries."
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