DUBAI // Take the old pictures of Tiger Woods teeing off the helipad on the Burj Al Arab, or Andre Agassi and Roger Federer having a staged tennis match on the same precarious hoist.
And the ones of Lindsay Davenport and Maria Sharapova rallying on a court halfway up Ski Dubai.
Or even, heading further back in the annals of UAE sporting history, the ones of Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis playing on a snooker table in the middle of the desert, with a camel wandering by.
Add all those images together, multiply their effect by 10 and still you would not even get close to the magnificence of yesterday’s road race cycling around the city.
Dubai has never had a better advertisement through sport than Stage 2 - “The Sport Stage” - of the maiden Dubai Tour yesterday.
Few sports do backdrops quite as spectacular as cycling. It is not the easiest to access as a live spectator, given the brevity with which the riders can actually be glimpsed in the flesh.
But this sport was made for television. The stunning landscapes of the European grand tours, for example, complement the world-class sport perfectly.
This was something totally different, though. On a clear, crisp day, as the riders wended their way through the Marina, Jumeirah Islands, and up the trunk of the Palm, Dubai was looking resplendent.
“There is a big screen to follow the race on and it is brilliant to be here to see the speed they are at when they are coming in,” said Jon Massie, a resident of Dubai for the past five years.
“I’ve cycled for years. Cycling as an event is fantastic, and as an advertisement for this city, this was brilliant.
“The footage of the Palm and the Marina, for example, it has been a great way to showcase the city. Long may this tour come here.”
Massie, who is originally from London, was one of several hundred spectators who had made it to the finish line to beat the boards as Marcel Kittel led the peloton home at a rare speed.
Given the pedigree on racers on show, the attendance at the climax was some way short of what it should have been.
There are mitigating factors, of course. This was a workday, and Thursday traffic is intimidating at the best of times, even before factoring in the confusion over which roads where closed and which were not.
Plus the end line was at the furthest point of the Palm’s crescent. It is, therefore, by its nature an exclusive neighbourhood.
Those who were present were either intrigued idlers holidaying in the adjacent Atlantis, or the neighbouring hotels.
Others were cycling die hards who had either used the race as an excuse to try the monorail that services the Palm for the first time, or rode there themselves.
“I’m shocked and horrified that not more people have come to support this amazing event,” said Alison Kirrage, who had also ridden to see the stage finale.
“It is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see world-class, amazing cyclists - and yet where is everybody? I’m really disappointed.”
Kirrage is planning to ride with her club, Dubai Roadsters, this morning before driving to Hatta to see the culmination of Stage 3.
As a teacher at Latifa School for Girls in Nad Al Sheba, she had benefitted from the fact numerous schools in Dubai had been shut for the day due to the road closures.
“The race went past the school and past Meydan,” she said.
“They race all seemed so local because Dubai is so compact. It was just a shame more people weren’t here.”
The peloton was welcomed back by spectators based in a makeshift stand and hospitality area built beyond the sea wall opposite Atlantis.
The fact the roads were being buffeted by a bracing sea breeze worked in the favour of Kittel, according to the powerful German rider.
“There was an opportunity to race Mark Cavendish and personally I like Dubai,” Kittel said of his reasons for racing in the inaugural tour.
“It was a good sprint stage I would say. We took it easy in the cross winds.
“It was a good race for the big guys and hopefully it can continue for the next two days.”
pradley@thenational.ae
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