“No WATER during the race !! - HOW DO YOU EXPECT 2-3 VOLUNTEERS HAND OUT WATER TO THE 300+ RIDERS DURING THE RACE ON THE ROAD ??”

“Organized chaos,dangerous course - Start far from the city in the middle of the desert,no hotel at the area,the race course changed 3x, many roundabouts,u-turns and speed bumps. Not worthy of UCI status.Finish area/timing mat was a joke,only one lane.No medal,no t-shirt,only one water and much paper.”

“Disappointment at the results. - I would like to express my dissapointment as I finished the race in the top 7 and I did not qualify over a finish line technicality. The event organisers failed to notify my fellow competitors and I with regard to the finsh line placing of the timing mats. As we approached the finish line in the final sprint there were people still standing on the road placing one foot high traffic cones to guide all competitors to the right hand side of the road. In future a detail of the finish is required”

“Dangerous Course - The online registration was easy and direct. I signed up for two racing events at the sametime and was worried I may not get it delivered in time. When I registered for my race in RAK (2 weeks before DGF), my race pack and timing chip was present at the event in RAK. When my envelope was delivered by courier days before the DGF, my bib and notification that my chip was already paid for and received made for an easy process. Too many accidents due to dangerous course! 2016 make changes please!!”

“Dangerous course - Course was changed twice the week before. This is far too late for this and should have been worked out long before this time. I also found that the course was extremely dangerous through the residential areas with all the speed bumps and roundabouts. Far more accidents than there should have been. The worse part (and most dangerous) of the course was the finish line where 70-80 cyclists (in the lead peleton) had to be funnelled from 2 lanes into one in order to cross the timing mats. ”

“Awesome event, bigger better next year - Super excited to have a world class event like this come to Dubai. The lead up to the event, rolling road closures, and event village were fantastic. The only piece that I felt unsafe was the finish (hence the low scores in certain categories). Had the finish line timing mats positioning been announced prior to the start and coned off starting 500+ m out (instead of 10), that would have been completely acceptable. Course wise may not be to everyone's liking, but there are 12 other races.”

“A good first event - Well marshalled event, top police co-operation, with good route signage. The original course looked very good, but I understand had to be changed at the last minute. and the new course had many speed bumps which was not ideal but did not cause too much trouble. There was a mixed ability field but this is understandable for a first event and a great way to promote cycling in the region”

“Enjoyable cycle race - This was a great event. The start was punctual and the neutral first few kms gave everybody a chance to get moving. The route through expat suburbia, JLT and IMPZ provided riders with the rare opportunity to concentrate on braking, cornering and bunny hopping speed bumps. There were only a few sections of straight road, and no boring stints along the Al Khail road which kept the race interesting and it felt shorter than the 120KM. Good marschalling and general road safety. Goody bag was empty.”

“A completely dangerous course and a disgrace - Well apart from the marshals and Dubai police doing a great job on the day, the rest was a joke. A course that was one of the most dangerous with speed bumps too many, corners that cold take maybe 60 riders, not 300 riders, and weekend warriors with 1st time racers it was a disaster. Oh yeah and paying for a delivery that did not exist should see the organizers in goal in the UAE for theft. A complete joke. But thats ok because it is Dubai and we are all rich idiots who pay for rubbish ”

“No timing mat in 'fast lane'; speed bump hell - No timing mat in the fast lane ruined the event for me and many of Team Frankies who lined up in a sprint train and never saw the mat or any warning it was only in the slow lane... Illogical however you look at it. Add down hill finish with tail wind and how we were supposed to funnel 80 riders sprinting at 60kph I will never know or understand... I escaped crashing by a miracle....”

“Great event, some improvement needed - It was great event to take part in, and personally I was very happy with my result. However, I do agree with some of the other comments, such as the route - I appreciate there were issues here, and this needs to be addressed in the future. the marshals and police were great, and I managed to find the free water!”

“Organised chaos. - Last minute changes to the course added a few pinch points. The finish line layout was dangerous and should have been full width of the road. ”

“Look at how they spend in Ljubljana - 1. Early Start 2. Dangerous finish, with a wide road to the narrow !!!!!! 3. The results are not on a photo finish.”

“The Race was organised chaos - I registered on the 27th of Feb as an international cyclist & few days to race I got an email saying my pack can’t be courier to me. I am still expecting a credit back on my card for courier charges. This was a race for amateurs and I would have expected more emphasis on Safety & pep-talks on race day. Having all cyclists start at the same time was ill advised. Not only were we amateurs cyclists, we also started the race at a roundabout. This is highly hazardous. No water or 1st aid station.”

“Great Race - pity about the course - The event was really well organized, and the marshaling excellent. The volunteers did a great job. The rolling start could have been a bit better to make it safer, but I suspect that was more about the route.”

“Good event with terrible value for money - Race pack was horrendous. No water at end of race. Had to pay additional costs for short massage at end. Not sure why this event was 300 dhs. The road was well organised and closures were excellent. Think the race needs a sponsor next time. ”

“Poor course - was there a speed hump we missed ! - The enjoyment was the taking part and finishing but the course left a lot to desired - I hope the lessons are well learnt for the Spinneys . And one specific - I though a rolling start meant a gradually increasing speed not a yo-yo of constant changes ? Same issue as at the RAK 70 .”

“Exciting but for advance cyclists - I registered with lot of entusiams but I found myslef into a very aggressive race that is good for a certain point of view but this will prevent large partecipation. The pack was a joke for 450AED , a bottle of water......”

“Dangerous Course - Great Police support, but a totally dangerous and frankly stupid course for a road race. Too many speed bumps, u-turns, raised manholes and road furniture. How much longer will organisers risk the lives of competitors by promoting races on such dangerous course. Not worthy of UCI status. Finish area/timing mat was a joke. No giveaways. Someone made a lot of money out of this event!”

“Great race and i hope it is on again next year - The course was awesome....just unfortunate that there are speed bumps through certain areas. The finish was a fiasco....i think you are aware of that by now. Simply have the finish 100mtrs before the roundabout on the way up and problem solved. 300 dhs and not even a T-Shirt....? Think you can do better than that”

“Well organised - Great route with well organised road closures ”

“Route let the event down - Just want to start by saying a huge thank you to all the marshals and the police who did an amazing job of keeping riders safe and away from traffic on the route. The route, however, was a joke. Completely unsuitable for racing with far too many roundabouts, speed humps, u-turns and narrow turns. I have never seen so many crashes in a race before. Very stressful and challenging for the wrong reasons! Also: no medal (or indeed anything) at the end. Where did the hefty entry fee go?”

“Great event but course needs some more thought - Loved the race and good job with the rolling road closures, never felt in danger of road traffic. Great organisation! Well done! For next year route may need some revising - too many speed bumps, u-turns and roundabouts. ”

“Lousy route, poor finish timing mats. - Unfortunately for the organizers, the route was changed at the last minute due to local restrictions. The alternate route was bad. There are much better racing alternatives to the route taken by this event.”

“Overall a very well run event - Pity about the last minute route change but otherwise a great day out on the bike!”

“Great organisation - Couple of crashes that could have been perhaps avoided by grouping or seeding riders but overall great day”

“Was mostly ok - Did not like being sent down onto the main bloody highway without some kind of escort nor having to then having to dodge a police car to get back onto circuit. there was around 30 riders made to do this, not clever if it was done on purpose. Also why so many speed humps surely there could have been another route where there wasn't so many or even better none.”

“Very nice event - Alot of speed humps and sharp corner which it makes the event more dangerous. The finish line was very narrow And it was difficult for riders to sprint. ”

“Well organized - Very well organized. ”

“The worst wct event i have done - All the way to dubai to ride on a non-scenic course through the suburbs full of dead ends and u turns and speed bumps literally every 100 meters. Packet pickup is 40 mins out of town, goodies are non existant, forced to purchase the timing chip and then given all sorts of scare warnings and threats about being pulled from the course if not fast enough. I didn't feel welcome. No water at the finish, only some green bananas. ”

“Interesting - Too many bumps on the inner city stretches, dangerous connections from motorway parts into one or two lane roads. ”

“Speed umps madnessb - So many wide roads in Dubai and you go and pick a 10K stretch with speed bumps every 100 meters. I was weeping for my wheels every time I had to ride over these speed bumps at full speed.”

“Terrible - The finsih was on the Downhill... Congrats I think that this is a little bit dangerous! The start zone is too far from the city. The non local riders must rent a car :/ The event pack is joke :(”

“Needs to be improved.. - The route could have been more scenic for Dubai. Good support from the volunteers and police on the roads. But arriving at the finish line was an anti climax,... not even cold water in sight. Critical issue was that there were no medics on location and it took quite a while for the ambulance to return and start treating the injured especially those who were bleeding as a result of falls along the route. And when it did, they had to queue up as there was only 1 ambulance. Grossly insufficient. ”

“Below the expectations - Delivery of pack was not delivered and the pack was not worth the money. Medal was not given to some of us by the finish line. ”

“Not a bad first attempt, but improvement is needed - This was a reasonably well run event. The route was adequately signed and the volunteers did a good job at directing the race traffic in 90% of cases. The police also supported well The route was a bit disappointing, but understood. The Start and finish area was a bit chaotic and not very well controlled and this must be improved upon. I know some competitors who did not get their time registered as the timing mat was not across the road - big error. I'd also suggest a flat/uphill finish”

“Very disappointing... - 3 days before the event the route was totally changed. I checked the new route & it looked really dangerous as there were many roundabouts, speed humps, narrow sections etc. Also noted it was a mass start of 300+ riders on a flat course so I anticipated there would be a lot of crashes so decided not to participate (foresight proved correct). Asked for a refund or credit. Was told there would be none even though the event was no longer as marketed which is a real Rip off! Really a UCIWT event..?”

“Awful course. Horrific finish. Dangerous race - A vivid Gran Fondo racer so not just talking emotions here. This is by far the worst UWCT event I ever done. When you mix weekend warriors with amateur racing cyclists you should put them on a selective course. Otherwise we all spend 120 km of stress and crashes. A lot of improvement required if this race is to survive another year. PS: the goody bag was a joke but the single lane mat at the finish line was the cherry on the cake.”

“Let down by course, finish area and no medals! - Shame the race was changed and the route was bordering on being dangerous. Too narrow for a sprint finish with no signage to let you know how far to go till the end. The overall package compared to other events was not so good.”

“Well Done Dubai Police & Marshalls! - The Event Info on site needed to have been amended to "Medals only for Winners". Really disappointing to finish an event and not receive anything. Even water wasnt available . Really poor 'Goody bag'. Why bother to go through the trouble of making a bag, when there is nothing in it except for some rubbish flyers?? such a waste of resources! For the price paid , this event was a rip off! But to give credit where its due, well done to all the Marshals and Dubai Police for ensuring our safety ”

“Great event, but the route could be adjusted - Great arrangement, but all the roundabouts, especially in Sports City made it both risky and more of strategy game than an endurance race So, the same route without Sports City included would have been great”

“Dissappointing - No medal, no shirt and more importantly no WATER left at the finish on a hot & windy day.”

“No water on the course made last 30km awful - The lack of drinks on the course was a real problem, and the one bottle I got had a screw top that was not easy to handle whilst riding at top speed. I had the last 30 km without water at all. The stop that was there had no signage, and only two people that I saw. Could learn a lot from the Challenge event in that regards”

“Dangerous, expensive, no medal - Best part was the smooth road.....Poor choice of course which directly attributed to crashes (3 that I saw). Why only a bottle of local water in the goodie bag nothing else? No medal or T shirt for the large entry fee is disgusting. Compared to other local events, very very poor. The only thing that will keep this event going is cyclists need to race, not the event. Organizer needs to fully relook at what they are trying to achieve here in Dubai. Sorry, but not good, and critically not safe.”

“Course not selective enough - 1. my entry online failed twice so i had to pay an extra 60AED for the event when entry was extended. 2. i paid 25AED for courier delivery pack but was told i had to get to revolution cycles to pick up my pack. 3. race goody bag was a bottle of water - thats pretty insulting. 4. the course wasnt selective enough for the race to split up. 5. perhaps we should have raced in age groups so that it was safer & the race split up. 6. the finish should have been marked better with 1km to go sign”

“An amazing event but room to get better - When I registered the email I got said I had registered for the 50-54 age category but it didn't mention gender; so I didn't pick up that I had mistakenly created my profile as male. When I went to pick up the bib number I was not able to see the start order for my category so again it was not picked up that I was registered as male not female. When I did not get called out as having finished second in my race category, the organisers were very responsive and dealt with the error very well.”

“Not bad - Finish line too narrow for effective sprints. Some marshall vehicles blocked the roads in places. Otherwise, a cracking event.”

“Ok Event could be better - Needs to be bigger more vendors more promotion more giveaways ,just bigger, felt like a social sportive”

“Excellent organisation - Route contained some very tight and narrow sections which were bordering dangerous for such a large group, although I appreciate organising the route was very challenging with many restrictions”

“Good event, poor course - Too many tight turns, some causing crashes, poor routing over speed bumps, not very scenic. Great police, marshal and organiser support on the day”

“Excellant - Great event, will be massive next year”

“Great Race - Besides Medals for the first 3 per category, I feel there should have at least been other medals for the finishers. Maybe Next Year.”

“Many speed bumps, finishline timing mat missed - I am one of the many who missed the timing mat @ the finishline. If we need to be in one lane in order not to miss it, there should be a marking at least 300m from the finishline. ”

“Good ride and nicely organized - For the money paid the support station at the end was not what I was expecting. I finished after 3:16m and there was not even water left, luckily I had the water from the event pack which was the only good and useful thing in that pack.:) And no Medals at the end?? At least the roads were closed as promised and the course was interesting...it felt safe thank you for that”

“Well done to the organizers. - Fast and furious in the beginning which certainly challenged my limits. Would have of been nice to have ridden the original course, too many speed bumps!”

“Excellent well organised event. - Well organised and marshalled event. The course was kept clear of traffic, Police organisation was excellent and overall a good event.”

“Read below - I checked the box for delivery of race pack to me in Abu Dhabi because I knew I would not be able to pick it up in Dubai. And it was never delivered. What a waste of my money and training. I take part in events in France and compared to this, they are sublime. ”