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Gangadharan takes top spot in Dubai Sports Council's Virtual Tour Challenge D'Amelio finishes second in five-day event that attracted around 500 participants
Sajin Gangadharan has bagged the overall honors in Dubai Sports Council's Virtual Tour Challenge, finishing ahead of Chris D'Amelio and Babu PD in the five-stage cycling event which saw around 500 participants in action across five days. The Virtual Tour Challenge took place from April 19 to April 23, between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. each evening, on Dubai Sports Council's Dubai Cycling app, which is available on both the Android and iPhone platforms. Gangadharan took the top honors in the challenge by covering a distance of 154.2km across the five stages, finishing at the top of the leaderboard in the Nad Al Sheba Stage (35.2km) and third in the Hatta Green Top Stage (28.1km). Finishing at the top of the overall classification means Gangadharan will receive a specialized Allez bicycle from The Cycle Hub, while runner-up D'Amelio has earned himself The Cycle Hub Gold Workshop Pack. D'Amelio was a consistent performer through the Virtual Tour Challenge, finishing on the podium in each five of the stages. He took the top spot in the Hatta Green Top Stage (30.3km), and runner-up in the Al Qudra and Nad Al Sheba Stages, while he finished third in Jumeirah Kite Beach and Mushrif Park stages. Babu PD took the Jumeirah Kite Beach Stage and finished third overall with 95.2km against his name, and will take home a pair of S-Works Road 7 shoes from The Cycle Hub, while fourth-place Jason Stott, winner of the opening Al Qudra Stage, will receive an S-Works Prevail Helmet. Ali Al Marzooqi, winner of the Mushrif Park Stage, finished fifth overall and his prize is The Cycle Hub Deluxe Service, while those who finished 6th to 10th will get a Muc Off Bike Care Kit from The Cycle Hub. Meanwhile, Khalid Al Farsi, took the top spot in the Be Fit Be Safe Sprint Challenge, which was held between April 12-17, finishing ahead Abdulrahman Al Kaabi and Ghaith Al Falasi. Both the Be Fit Be Safe Sprint Challenge and the Virtual Tour Challenge were organized by Dubai Sports Council to give cycling enthusiasts from around UAE and the globe a chance to compete virtually, from the safety of their homes. With traditional sports and outdoor activity coming to a standstill around the globe due to the COVID19 pandemic, Dubai Sports Council has been encouraging sports event organizers in the Emirate to embrace virtual sports and esports, and to come up with innovative solutions to keep members of the community engaged in physical activity at home. To facilitate organizers, the Council has launched a special segment for registering Virtual Events on their www.dubaisc.ae website. Taking the lead in keeping the community physically active at home, Dubai Sports Council had earlier organized a Marathon at Home, which was a huge success with participants from around the globe. All the virtual events are being organized under Dubai Sports Council's "Be Fit, Be Safe" campaign, which is running under the hashtag #DSCchallenge. The "Be Fit, Be Safe" initiative has received widespread support with top football stars like Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs, former Spain international Michel Salgado, rising Portuguese star Joao Felix backing the campaign alongside greats like Luis Figo of Portugal, Brazil's Roberto Carlos, Carles Puyol of Spain, Italy's Gennaro Gattuso, and Frenchman Nicolas Anelka among many others. The campaign has also received widespread support from the community, with experts from the fitness industry and some of UAE's top sports stars, taking part alongside many others, including mums and dads, and schoolkids, of different nationalities. As part of the campaign, DSC has also linked up with some of the leading brands from UAE's fitness industry to offer free daily virtual fitness classes, led by certified fitness trainers. RESULTS Be Fit Be Safe Sprint Challenge (April 12-17): 1-Khalid Al Farsi 4m, 6sec; 2-Abdulrahman Al Kaabi 5m, 1sec; 3-Ghaith Al Falasi 6m, 7sec. VIRTUAL TOUR CHALLENGE Overall Top 10 - 1-Sajin Gangadharan 154.2km; 2-Chris D'Amelio 135.99km; 3-Babu PD 95.2km; 4-Jason Stott 91.9km; 5-Ali Al Marzooqi 68.1km; 6-Salah Alzanbagi 36.7km; 7-Sami Anis 31.5km; 8-Ahmed Alrazi 29.6km; 9-Emmanuel del Rosario 16.2km; Khuloud Al Dhaheri 8.9km. Stage Winners Virtual Tour Challenge – Al Qudra Stage (April 19): 1-Jason Stott 91.9km; Chris D'Amelio 51.59 km; 3-Salah Al Zanbagi 36.7km. Virtual Tour Challenge - Nad Al Sheba Stage (April 20): 1-Sajin Gangadharan 35.2km; 2-Chris D'Amelio 33.4km; Babu PD 33.1km. Virtual Tour Challenge – Hatta Green Top Stage (April 21): 1-Chris D'Amelio 30.3km; 2-Babu PD 30km; 3-Sajin Gangadharan 28.1km. Virtual Tour Challenge - Jumeriah Kite Beach Stage- (April 22): 1-Babu PD 32.1km; 2-Ali Al Marzooqi 20km; 3-Chris D'Amelio 16.2km. Virtual Tour Challenge - Mushrif Park Stage (April 23): 1-Ali Al Marzooqi 13.9km; 2-Ahmed Al Razi 13.2km; 3-Chris D'Amelio 4.5km. — SG
