The Greatest Bike Exploration Race on the Planet concluded in Muscat on Thursday. which was also was BikingMan`s first foray into the middle east, saw participation of cyclists from 22 countries.
The official prize ceremony will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel at 8PM on Friday, March 2.
The inaugural edition of BikingMan Oman, a 1.000km long self-supported ultra cycling race around the Sultanate was completed on March 1 at 5pm when the last two athletes arrived at the finish line in old Muscat. 45 athletes from 21 different countries completed the race in less than 120 hours. They had to manage on the race course their own food, water and sleeping time without any form of outside assistance.
The race started at the Al Nahda resort in Barka, and finished at the old Incense burner in old Muscat. The athletes rode west around the Hajar mountains, then climbed up to the first checkpoint at the Jebel Shams resort, at 2.000m asl. After stamping their progression, they descended back down the mountain, rode south east towards the 2nd checkpoint outside Bidiyah, continued to the coast, turned north towards Sur then rode back along the coast to old Muscat.
Oman kicking off the BikingMan 2018 race series
The BikingMan race series is the first of its kind bringing athletes to the desert of Oman, the forest and mountains of Corsica, through the Andes in Peru and finally into tropical climate in Asia. This is the ultimate endurance adventure for athletes that are ready to test themselves in all kinds of terrain and weather conditions. The athletes need to handle fueling, accommodation and repair on their own. Outside support and riding in a pack are forbidden. Athletes must race as solo or pair riders. The race series is not only aimed at cyclists, but endurance athletes in general such as ultra-runners, triathletes, mountain bikers and adventure racers.
Results
The female SOLO category was won by italian Juliana Buhring, who completed the race in 49h 53min. The mens SOLO category was won by Rodney Soncco from Peru, who completed the race in 46h 17min. The TEAM category was won by Team Army Oman, consisting of local athletes Mohamed Awad Obaid Al – Shandoudi & Hatem Hamdan Hammad Alboushri in 71h 30min.
Top 10 Overall 2018 :
Rodney Soncco, Peru. 46h 17min
Josh Ibbett, United Kingdom, 49h 43min
Juliana Buhring, Italy, 49h 53min
Paul Albaek, Denmark, 49h 55min
Niel Copeland, United Kingdom, 54h 30min
Carl Simmons, United Kingdom
Jason Black, Ireland
Rafeeq Safoodien, South Africa,
Marcel Esser, The Netherlands,
Jacques Le Roux, South Africa,
.
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