“Great Event, punishing in the heat though, - Perhaps a medal as opposed to the table mounted thingy, and a T Shirt that advertises the event, been there done that! all in all Andy did a great job of organizing this event against the usual suspects, a shame it wasn't fully supported by the other cycling groups!”

“By 8:30am it was too hot. - It needs to be earlier in the year. Otherwise a great event. Nicely organised. Good course. Support stations great.”

“Fantastically organized, great value for money - Brilliantly organized event despite the large numbers and different categories. Course was great and safe, timing was accurate, start times were accurate as planned, goodie bag was amazingly generous (first time ever I see a foot pump included in a goodie bag) and atmosphere was chilled out and fun. Will definitely do it again and highly recommend it. Thanks for the organizers”

“Nutrition - Nutrition supply can be improved. No isotonic drinks were available and water was warm. Cold drinks need to be available at the finish line especially after an event in that heat. ”

“This event should be done twice a year - PROs On Time Start Absolutely awesome goody bag Cons Ran out of bananas on last 2 support stations It was actually 107km, not 100km. (An extra 7km can be a big deal for beginners) Great event overall.”

“Very inprest with running and support of event - Dear pPremior Online, this was my first cycle event, and as I saw it was very well organised and run, with great support on the course with the support stations and marchelling. I will defiantly join again I just need to get more cycling under my belt to be on better form. Would it be possible to have a copy of the picture taken when I passed the Finnish line. Well done and thanks again Chris lester ”

“Good event but just a few tweaks needed - A sweep of the camel track would have prevented about 10 punctures within the first 10 minutes. Signing was good but it would have been better to have distance left. Water stations ran out of water on the loop but nothing too major. Overall distance was over 100km so anyone looking at speedo got somewhat anxious when we got to 99km and saw we were out of water and still nowhere near home. A great event however, and if held earlier in the year, will be even better!”

“Great, will do it again - Sooner in the year, more people would have participated.”

“Very nice event and tough for me - Is there a way we can get rid of the speed bumps next year? Anyway, job well done Andy. ”

“Enjoyed the race - Will definitely do the race again”

“Jst awesum event as expected - Go on”

“Missed it by that much! But race packs were great! - Could have been a great event but the heat and lack of water certainly detracted from it severely. Suggest to look at having it earlier in the year and ensure sufficient water/fluids are available. The start was also poorly executed. The speakers could not be heard from where people were getting ready. A second set of speakers pointed towards the cars would have assisted in getting starters to the line on time. Race Timing was disappointing. Why could we not have passed over the Mat to start?”

“Great potential - 3 punctures overall. The camel track was a great surface but had great chunks of gravel on it. Perhaps next time it would be good to arrange a sweep of the track? Sorry to be pedantic. Also no real reason not to start earlier in light of the weather I appreciate that the event was scheduled for earlier in the year when this shouldn't have been an issue. Otherwise more water on the course. Volunteers were all great help and encouraging. Overall very good looking forward to next year”

“A great event, well organised and safe. - This event exceeded my expectations of what it would be like to ride these distances. The pre-race organisation was perfect and during the event everything worked perfectly for me. Friendly organizers and very friendly, supportive people at the drink/food stations. The route was easy to follow, lots of signs and people to help throughout the whole event. Well done and thanks to everybody involved.”

“Good work.. a few things to be addressed... - It was generally a good effort, and well done to Andy for running it. A few things definitely have to be addressed though... double (at least!) the number of hydration stations across the course, have 2-3 different refreshment kiosks at the finish line, hold the event earlier in the year and finally, provide cold water! This is a promising event and I look forward to taking part again next year...”

“Great event - if it was in March - Another very well organised event. I did the 100KM group ride, although we got separated from the group after just 5k's due to punctures. I believe it would have been better to start the 100 and 160 events at the same time. Especially given the time of year, finishing a ride at 10am is too late. Starting the races together would have allowed the fast 100k'ers to set a great pace for the fast 160k'ers too. We had a stinker - but if in March next year, it will be brilliant! Thanks! ”

“Support Stations Feedback - Great event and great location. Just needed some colder drinks on the last 25-50km back.”

“Very badly organized event - Organization was very bad, grouping of cyclist was awful, non process nothing, I felt it is just Giant gathered few ciclyst and sent them lose on the course. Very bad event ”

“Really excellent event - Well organised and thoroughly enjoyable event. Best goodie bag I've had in the Middle East. Ended up doing 107k v 100k race distance but didn't detract.looking forward to next year where hopefully can be earlier in the year and a little cooler”

“Superbly organised and very enjoyable morning - Excellent event. Will definitely enter more of the GIANT Duathlons events after this. Well organised”

“Great route and great fun - Loved the event and will definitely do it again. Love the fact that there are events for all ages and abilities. Pretty much perfect in every way, a very minor gripe which I know was not the fault of the organiser was that it was held later in the year than initially planned. That meant the heat was a factor for me. ”

“Great, well organized event - Marshaling and signage especially good on this event”

“It was a good experience for me and I enjoyed it. - Awesome event!”

“A great event - Only criticism was the signage when arriving for the event in the dark; could have done with a few more marshals and illuminated signs. Otherwise nothing but praise. ”

“A great event for me - This was my first race event in the UAE and it was great. From the organization to communication to the race it self, everything was first class. Thank you for a great morning. ”

“Pity about the poor start announcement :-( - I heard the start announcement in the distance but was not affective enough nor were enough warnings offered for the start announcement, which made me, my group and a lot of other groups miss the start. Quite unorganized really. Shame because everything else was well thought out, friendly, fun with great support.”

“Toughest ride of year for me - Jumping from cold New England racing to Dubai heat was tough, but worth the challenge. I have to say that I have been part of Bike races at Pro level for many years and you have some of the best Marshalls I have ever seen! To see them just standing in that heat, smiling, encouraging for hours. Unbelievable! ”

“Great work! - I managed to oversleep and miss the start of the 100k for which I was registered. I turned up and the registration staff were able to reallocate me to the 50k race with a minimum of fuss. It's these little challenges which test how good the preparation and organisation is, so well done! Really enjoyed the event, looking forward to taking part in future events and seeing them get bigger and bigger.”

“The makings of a great cycling event - Well done to all though look forwards to participating next time around during the cooler months (please:-(. Pity the 160 km riders had no cool water on arrival but then again, the giveaways made up for all! Thank you to the 160 group for all the support through out the event!”

“A well planned and executed event for all cyclists - Great support from sponsors & volunteers, & with each event it will grow. Collection of packs could have been more prominent, once located personnel very helpful & knowledgeable. Traffic amazingly patient & considerate - a thank you to them & police, also marshals very good, at no time did we feel unsafe or confused with direction. I've indicated poor for the timing as not a feature of the Festival & we self timed. Post race 'lounge', bean bags, umbrellas may encourage people to stay & eat?”

“A long ride!! - Many thanks, Andy for the organisation. Not sure what happened at the camel track that resulted in us doing a whole lap and adding 6km to the 100km course, though. Also big thanks to Marshals, volunteers at aid stations and start/finish. Boy was I glad to see that Red Bull arch at the end! ”

“Enjoyable, nice goody bag, HOT! - Great marshals. Start area not marked properly. Water stations were supposed to be every 25km, not 33km”

“An attempt at my first 100km - Unfortunately I was one of those that didn't finish as the heat got the better of me ... Still happy with 77km. Will definitely try again. Great job of organizing!”

“Worth getting up for. - 1. Signposts to the event were poor / non-existent coming from Abu Dhabi direction. 2. Water bottles en route should have been 500 ml- that last 20km was very dry at hottest part of the course. Maybe another station along there would have been good. 3. Gravel on Camel track lap caused a plethora of punctures. Disappointing start for some- not me fortunately. r. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Earlier next time? (month- not hour! ) ”

“Great event - Good organization and a great route made it a perfect morning event. A little hot towards the end, so the earlier start time was necessary. Only glitch was at a water station on the return from Al Qudra where all of us in the leading group had to stop to get the water since it was still in the coolbox I normally don't care about giveaways but gels and the pump was appreciated. I know many people appreciate the sculpture that was very nice, but it is not necessary for me. Coming next year.”

“Bloody Hard Work - Excellent event. I have some feedback to considered; 1. Support stations ran out of water from the last 40km of a 100km track. Was this because anyone on al qudra track was being given water for this event? 2. Why did we start with a 12km loop of the camel track? The 100km from the camel track to qudra / back was enough (speaking for myself). 3. For this event I thought the support stations could have been shaded. Some were some not and in that heat (35-40 d) the purpose was reduced. Than”

“Great time with the camels - Would have preferred a medal rather than glass trophy. Loved the fact that costa was there too. ”

“Hotter and hotter,slower and slower - It is not easy but that's the whole point of a challenge isn't it?! From 26-41 degrees the temperature is a factor, but the support team and water stations are ample (maybe a little more water next time please). I thoroughly enjoyed the event, despite the fact I struggled, and would definitely do it again next time. I have learnt a lot. A big thank you to all the support crew who were on hand to fix my wheel and give me a massage with 10km to go. Couldn't have finished without it!”

“Excellent Event - Good fun, well marshalled excellent event. OTHER EVENTS COULD LEARN A LOT FROM THIS ONE Excellent Marshalling (after the start), Excellent Water Stations, Excellent Giveaways and Fun Trophy! Great stuff! A Triumph - just very hot though by the end!”

“Suntan, blood and nearly tears... - Great organization, great ride, great company on the 160 ride. Thanks guys, we suffered together...! O yes, who switched off the AC...? Undeniably one of the toughest I have done in many, many years! Note at the end as the 160 km guys came in, there was no water left. Thanks for one of the marshalls that gave me a Pocari 4 km from the end. That helped me through! Great goodie bag.”