22 Nov. 2015 – The Lebanese Cycling Federation celebrated the Independence day with a race held in Dbaye. Elite cyclists, veterans (masters), juniors, amateurs and special needs were all racing in this special day.
Before the start of the race, everyone sang the national anthem and Abdo NADER, the general secretary of the federation thanked in the name of the federation the Lebanese army in this particular day. We should also note that Lebanese army cyclists took part in the event today.
Edward MAALOUF, our paralympic medalist also joined the cyclists for a 45km race. He started with the three and only female cyclists who had only three laps to race, but the three of them didn’t stop cycling and continued for two more laps!
In the women’s category, Stephanie MONJIAN finished first, Farah HALAWANI was second and finally Lama BAHSALI finished in the third position.
“Many races are organized around the year, but very few, if any, women participate, which makes racing impossible. I’m glad that we made it today, and hopefully many more will start joining. We are calling all women cyclists to participate in the race taking place on NOV29 in Tripoli. It will be around the International Fair, with a flat track and no corners!!” said Farah who started cycling only one year ago. This was her second race!
“I highly encourage women to participate in races more often, there is so much more to the experience than mere racing: support, mentorship and self-empowerment. However, this highlights the need for developing teams in different areas around Lebanon which help women cyclists, beginners and intermediates, to train regularly and improve. So let’s ride our bikes for change,” she added.
In the Masters category, Karl ISAILI (Athletico) won the race and was followed by the former champion Karim EID (Athletico), and finally Bassam DENAWI (Chabibe Saalta), who came back to race after having an accident that left him injured, finished in third place.
The juniors were competing on 45km and Roy ROUKOZ (Athletico) was the first one to cross the finish line, followed by the former champion Tegor YAACOUBIAN (Homentmen), while Youssef MRAD from Chabibe Saalta Came in third place.
All the focus finally turned to the Elite category. The win was determined by a final sprint which allowed Abdallah AL ER (Cabibe Saalta) to win the race directly followed by his teammate Kamal CHAABAN who played a big role in this race, preventing Athletico from defending their title. The great legend of Lebanese Cycling, Zaher EL HAJJ (Athletico) finished in third place.
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