Liwa Cycling Challenge 2014 Day 2

27 people have rated this event.
Overall Rating
6.6
6.0
Alex P. - 11.03.2014

“Thankyou...still so - Dear Sirs, Firstly thank you to adco and Adnoc for putting on this event. There are many things that could be improved however and I will list a few as limited characters- 1. timetable from arrival needed (dinner / breakfast times / registration etc) 2. Note ref water provided or not 3. Tent allocation description 4. Water ran out across entire course stops and 43 degrees! 5. Better on a Friday as long drive and back to work Sunday 6. Staff did not know the agenda Thanks though ”

8.0
Helle B. - 11.03.2014

“Facebook from organizer - Overall fab event. Thanks for organizing bus transport.”

8.0
Rob R. - 11.03.2014

“Great course and well organised - More on-course marshals would stop some dubious tactics on the hills (holding onto buses)! That said, the people that were there helping were ALL really nice and supportive Big thanks”

7.0
Jock H. - 11.03.2014

“Great course - Great initative and fabulous course. I would hold it one month earlier, the heat made it an ordeal for some riders. The registration should be at the start not the finish. It was difficult to navigate the FB page for key information, FB pages aren't great for disseminating information, i'd consider a normal web page. Finishing the race in Tal Moreb made it difficult for people to get away. Could you run it in reverse and finish in Liwa to make the Traffic more managable?”

6.0
Mark S. - 11.03.2014

“Great course and race - way too hot! - One of the best races in the UAE over a challenging and exciting course. Great road closure and Police protection. Just way too hot and luckily no one seriously ill through the heat!y”

8.0
Josh T. - 11.03.2014

“Great race, great venue - Maybe the next one should be when it's not so hot! :)”

4.0
Anonymous - 11.03.2014

“Organized chaos - Started way too late, no water stations, had to drive to the finish to collect race numbers which should have been at the start. Route was enjoyable though.”

6.0
Volker V. - 11.03.2014

“Nice race - but too late in the season. Too hot! - Please do it earlier in the year. It was already way too hot for cycling up the steep dunes. Otherwise, very nice. Not enough water at the water stations. perhaps a few more helpers at the stations.”

8.0
Anonymous - 11.03.2014

“A good challenge, well organised. - The build up to this event was very good, plenty of Facebook updates. Although quite a distance from Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the journey was very worthwhile as the event was both challenging (as the event title suggested) and rewarding.”

6.0
Colin H. - 11.03.2014

“Awesome route, dreadful organisation - The course is beautiful and very challenging however the event suffered from poor organisation. 1) it was not apparent the start venue was over 30 Kms from the finish and registration. 2) guys at registration did not know where the race started 3) road to leave the event was closed for over 45 mins 4) wrong time of year, too late in the day. Starting in 93 heat! 5) the water stations ran out at 50kms. People could have died - totally irresponsible! 6) limited water at finish. No shop eit”

4.0
Liam H. - 11.03.2014

“No water at support stations - very poor! - The organisers need to reassess their approach to health and safety for this event. Insufficient water was provided at the support stations (1 cooler box per station), which meant that riders in the back of the field had no water at any of the stations. I passed at least 6 stations with no water! I ran out of water at 65km and retired after 80km. When I finally made it back to the finish, the event had been packed up and the organisers had no idea that I had not returned. Very poor!”

5.0
Anonymous - 11.03.2014

“Dangerous lack of water, most stations empty. - Poor briefing of pre race instructions. Some friends who travelled all the way and stayed locally in hotels got so confused they didn't make it to the start. The lack of water was dangerous, station after station I was just told sorry all gone. Fortunately I had brought a 2 litre camelback in addition to two litres of water bottles. If it hadn't been for a passing support car from a team that I begged for water I would have had none after 50 k. I still had to ration and ran out. Great views.”

5.0
Nuno A. - 11.03.2014

“A lot to improve! - Lets start by saying that the only good thing is the location and course. The lack of minimum support stations is unacceptable. I did 65km (until I quit) with ZERO water. Every single station was empty. Remember: almost 40 degrees. Then, after all that effort, arriving at the finish line and it looked like a war zone, with everyone gone, no food, no reception, nothing. If this is suppose to be an event only for the elite, don't open it to others. Last, 11.30h, really?!!!”

8.0
Aimee W. - 10.03.2014

“Fantastic race until they ran out of water! - It was a great, challenging course which made it worth driving all the way for. But I suffered quite badly in the heat due to lack of water. There were enough support cars going past which could of filled up the ice coolers - it was quite dangerous not having water and to be racing at that time in the day. Also the race money was supposed to go down to 10th place yet no one after 5th received their prize money? Race back collection should have been at the start, as most people went there first!”

9.0
Timothy J. - 10.03.2014

“Very good - great course; well organised; 120 - Especially good was the on-course support and marshalling (but not good enough to stop some local riders catching a tow on their team bus in the last 10kms or so !!) I would suggest: - registration on day two does not need to be at finish (could be at start for those travelling to Liwa on the day) - hold the event in january - Elite / Open/Master/s categories for men and Open ladies - not really fair that SkyDive Dubai awarded priz money - 120kms and an earlier start in 2015 ?”

7.0
Jonathan H. - 09.03.2014

“A great ride - Really enjoyed the ride. A few people were struggling for water although I luckily wasn't one of them. I am looking forward to next year as this has the potential to be a truly outstanding event.”

7.0
Steve O. - 09.03.2014

“With some changes this could be a great event - I think that the time of the event was too late in the day and it was by far a lot hotter than most people are used to exercising in at this time of the year which led to people drinking more water and the water stations running out of water, pehaps consider changing the time of the event or the date closer to winter.”

8.0
Anonymous - 09.03.2014

“Wow! - Marshalling and signage was fantastic. Great route and an awesome challenge. Apart from the obvious (lack of water, timing of the event at midday in March), it was great to be a part of this inaugural event. Other suggestions include portaloos at the start, someone at the campsite giving directions (registration area was separate), support cars driving up and back through the slower riders checking on them and with mechanical support (pump, spare tubes, etc) and giving water. ”

Comment from the Event Organizer - 09.03.2014
“All great points and the event can only get better with a longer planning lead time. This was the first cycling event ever organised by ADCO. LoVeLiWa.”

6.0
Joshua C. - 09.03.2014

“Wish to see the race better organized next year - Transport of valuable cycles with bubble-wrap to prevent damages Provide toilets at start Provide water, bananas and dates at start and along the route Provide participants who complete the race with a certificate and medal.”

6.0
Anonymous - 09.03.2014

“Great scenery but too hot and no water - I enjoyed the race and scenery until the point that sun become to strong and couldn`t finish the race because of lack of water. I didn`t find any water left on water stops. It should start earlier in the morning and maybe you should make a start of Open racers at least one hour before Elite group. I am glad that I participated and will try to come next year to see if you fixed this few issues. Overall it was a great spent Weekend out of city.”

6.0
Sue G. - 09.03.2014

“Great course but soooo hot! - Start chaotic, definitely no ladies toilets! Great route, well policed and marshalled. Lack of water very dangerous. I was lucky having my own support car. Finish was a bit of a damp squib too. Didn't seem to be much going on. Will be back next year though to try to get to the end!”

4.0
Anonymous - 09.03.2014

“Chaotic. Hot. Dry! - A complete shambles. Registration was chaotic. Communication was non existent. No toilets at the start line. Water stations ran out of water and the heat was 40+ degrees. Should have had options to cut the course. And the over night camp - no mattresses, vehicles driving around most of the night. Only way I'll do this event again is if its in January, no camping and different organisers.”

Comment from the Event Organizer - 09.03.2014
“For most people registration was straight forward as they were aware of the need to go to Tal Moreeb to collect race numbers and chips - this was communicated via the Facebook Page where regular updates occurred daily. It is a shame that vehicles were driving all night at the camping (a curfew in future events would be nice). "Mattresses" were requested but the request was lost in translation and mats were supplied. Lesson learnt there. Toilets were at the Mosque 200m from the start.”

7.0
Anonymous - 09.03.2014

“Well organized - The only problem was: the starting hour (too hot)”

Comment from the Event Organizer - 09.03.2014
“Agreed on the heat for the day and UAECF/ADCO will schedule event earlier. LoVeLiWa”

7.0
Doug F. - 09.03.2014

“Fabulous event - Superb marshalling, great support from the Police, fabulous route BUT dangerous lack of water enroute. Due to lack of water I managed to collect water at only 2 out 7 water stops. ”

9.0
Greg P. - 08.03.2014

“Great place for a ride but needed more water! - I thought the race was well organized but needed serious improvement in relation to water stations on the course. I spoke with several people who were forced to pull out due to the lack of water on an extremely hot March day. Some of this could have been potentially avoided with an earlier start time (reason for low marks for Start Organization). Otherwise, the signage for the course and organization with the Abu Dhabi police was fantastic. I hope the event grows and improves in the future!”

6.0
Anonymous - 08.03.2014

“Great potential. Terrible organisation. - Start location given on email miles away. No toilets at start. 'Water stations" (man with a cool box) mostly empty, understaffed and badly advertised (massive problem when cycling 100km through desert at midday during March!) Finish area uninteresting and again under stocked on refreshments. Better planning & advertising (only got the email 2 weeks before race), either starting earlier or moving to January and this could be a brilliant event. Location was stunning and Marshall's were excellent.”

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