MUSCAT: The land of frankincense is all set for the second edition of Tour of Salalah from Sunday with more than 100 cyclists battling for the honours.
The four-stage cycling race which offers a total prize money of RO 7,730 is being organised in accordance with the regulations of the International Cycling Union (UCI).
The tour is organised by the Oman Cycling Association and supported by Dhofar Municipality, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth and Ministry of Heritage and Tourism.
The Tour of Salalah will witness competition among 11 teams – 7 teams from Oman and national teams from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Thailand.
The Oman teams in the competition include Royal Army of Oman, Salalah Club, Oman Club, Bahla Club, Al Asimah, Cycle.kom and Gulf Cycles.
The tour consists of four stages from September 11 to 14.
On Sunday, Stage 1 will run for 116 km from the picturesque Darbat Waterfall to Ayn Ishat.
The 101 km-Stage 2 will be held between Al Baleed Archaeological Park and Hajeef on Monday.
Stage 3 will see cyclists battle it out from Mirbat Castle to Tawi Ateer at Wadi Darbat in a 123-km race on Tuesday.
Stage 4 and the concluding race will run for 116 km from Khor Rori to Municipality Entertainment Centre on Wednesday.
Oman Cycling Association Chairman, Saif bin Sebaa al Rashidi, said the Tour of Salalah is growing from its inaugural edition to become a top sporting and tourism event in Salalah.
“The Tour of Salalah has become an important sports and tourism event in the Sultanate of Oman. Through the Tour, the Oman Cycling Association aims to raise the technical level of the contestants, as well as promote the natural beauty spots in the Governorate of Dhofar. This time, the Thailand national team will participate for the first time. In the opening edition the participation was limited last year to the Gulf Cooperation Council teams only,” Al Rashidi said.
OCA General Secretary Ishaq al Balushi said all preparations are complete to hold the Tour.
“The OCA and the organising committee have completed the technical and general preparations for the second Tour of Salalah and we expect a thrilling contest among the 11 teams with the spectacular backdrop of green mountains and other beauty spots in Salalah.”
PRIZE MONEY
On each stage, the first three riders will be awarded a prize money of RO 150, 120 and 100 respectively.
After the stages, the general individual time classification topper will get RO 600, while the second-placed rider will get RO 500 and the third-placed racer gets RO 400.
In the under-23 category, the top three riders will get a purse of RO 300, 200 and 100 respectively.
In general individual point classification and best climber classification, the top rider takes home RO 300.
In the team general classification, the toppers get RO 1,000, runners-up get RO 800 and the third-placed team gets RO 600.
The leader of the general individual time classification will wear a yellow jersey, while the leader of the points classification will wear a green jersey.
The leader of the best climber classification will wear a silver jersey and the under-23 leading cyclist will wear the white jersey.
