Starting in Prince Hussein Bin Abdullah Park at an elevation of -370m near the lowest point on earth, the 19.5km individual time trial was mainly flat and the only challenge was the wind going towards the turning point.
Reigning World Champion Jessica Rhodes-Jones (GBR) was the overall fastest female of the day beating Meredith Byrne by 32 seconds while Polina Kriuchkova took overall third.
The fastest male in the time trial was Aidar Zakarin (RUS), former pro rider from the Katusha team who won before Kirill Kolenchits and Angelo Di Veroli by respectively 6 and 25 seconds.
The average speed of both winners was 39 and 45.5 km/h.
On Friday, the first of two road races promised to be challenging, starting at -370m at the Movenpick hotel to go towards a highest point at 800m above sea level for a short 74km race. The 18km climb had parts up to 18% gradient and could be divided in two sectors with a flatter part in the middle.
Sergei Trobetskoi (RUS) was the overall winner, 48 seconds before Kirill Kolenchits with Jordan Majid AbuHarrah in third at more than 6 minutes. Meredith Byrne (USA) was the strongest female beating Natalia Permiakova by more than 20 minutes while Yifat Safriel got overall third on the second day.
The course of the third day was almost a copy of the day before in reverse order with an extra loop before the downhill, totalling 84km and 1500m of elevation. Unfortunately rain showers halfway made it a true battle with very cold temperatures on top at the turning point resulting in a lot of riders having to quit the race
Dmitry Puzanov (RUS) was the strongest on the final day beating his compatriots Sergei Trobetskoi and Kirill Kolenchits with Sergei Trobetskoi taking the GC after three days.
Meredith Byrne confirmed her supremacy in the women’s category beating Lateefa Alyaseen and Polina Kriuchova which was also the overall podium in the GC.
UCI Gran Fondo Dead Sea was a great added value to the series with perfectly organized events in a challenging environment.
