Over the weekend, the UCI Gran Fondo held its second edition at the Dead Sea borders, presenting cyclists with a 3-day stage race. The event featured a 19km time trial on Thursday, followed by two demanding road races of 74km and 76km on Friday and Saturday, each with significant elevation challenges going from 400m below sea level to a peak of 800m above the sea.
Roisin Thomas from Ireland dominated the women’s time trial, completing it in an impressive 29 minutes and 47 seconds, finishing 5 minutes and 18 seconds ahead of Tamara Zein. Ahlam Zaid secured the overall bronze. Thomas maintained an average speed of 39.6 km/h.
In the men’s time trial, Majid Basim from Jordan claimed the top spot with a time of 26 minutes and 3 seconds, a full minute faster than Aleksandr Sivov. Sergei Kozulin secured the third position. Basim’s average speed during the time trial was an impressive 45.4 km/h.
The second day saw the same winners as in the time trial as Roisin Thomas won again ahead of Rawan Naji. Tamara Zeiner secured the overall third place.
Also Majid Basim continued his success from the day before winning the first road race with a considerable lead of almost 4 minutes over Mohammad Mayyas. Omar Al Khairy claimed the overall third position, trailing by more than 15 minutes.
Tamara Zein from Lebanon secured the GC winning the final stage where Thomas didn’t take the start. Rawan Naji and Clara Straimer completed the podium. In the men’s race, Mohammad Mayyas outsprinted Majid Basim in a 3-men sprint at the finish line, with Mo’men Al Fejjal finishing third. Majid Basim’s strong overall performance earned him the top spot in the general classification over the three days of the event.
