“Very good event, thanks for AD for great event”

“تنظيم رائع جداً شكراً لكم ”

“Start is chaotic, neutral car too fast resulting in crashes in the humps, water bottles flying and rolling”

“Mass start was dangerous- lots of crashes with inexperienced riders”

“العدد في سباق واحد جميل لكن انتحار”

“I think if there was some way of streaming ability of riders on the start line, it would have enhanced safety. Perhaps by insisting on a UCI race licence and even examining it's level and then issuing a colour coded number plate to allow entry to a front pen for experience The 6 km, neutralised zone, was particularly chaotic. I was very near the front but I understand there were many crashes in this section. Many many ramps the lead car's speed was in consistent causing severe "braking waves"”

“They stopped us while we were ridding at the right speed. And didn’t let us continue even after they stopped our time”

“Great organisation, tough head wind.”

“شكرا علي كل من ساهم في هذا الحدث الفريد من نوعه في دوله الامارات شكرا الشيخ خالد بن محمد بن زايد علي هذي الرياضة الجميله ”

“التنضيم كان مميز بس كان يوجد نقص شديد في المياه في النقاط اوالمياه الموجود حاره ”

“مافي ماي في اخر نقطتين باتجاه العين”

“The event was well organised, police were great and encouraged the riders well.”

“Very bad organizing , the first 6km should be max speed 35 . But the car was driving very fast and the peloton was speeding above 40 km. Wolfis car assistant giving water for selected people which is in fair in a gran fondo race. We need more profisional people to arrange up coming races ??”

“Water had run out by 100km and there was no water at the finish line. ”

“I didn’t appreciated that some athletes been awarded were PRO even during 2020 (main example is the man winner Grega Bole). ”

“Disqualified even though I cycled the average speed of 28.5km/h. Due to the headwinds, I had to avoid any further undue exertion to complete 150k. Made me feel I shouldn’t have registered this event. Absolutely different other endurance events such as marathon, Ironman 70.3. I didn’t know this event was only for good and fast athletes. So I’d better not do it again. ”

“The black of water in the last 2 water station it was really bad.”

“Water stop should be more completed with food etc. Elite riders should have reserved starting grid. It will be much safer at the beginning of the ride/race.”

“super good and hard hope this event will have another one”

“The last water staions are empty”

“No support car Thanks for all”

“Great race, full police support on the road, and bad quality aid stations, the stations are not enough in a hot weather like UAE, it should be more, and the station should have enough water for all riders, the support car must be near to the riders in case of emergency, people were waiting for Wolfi's support car for more than 20 minutes to fix a puncture. ”

“the event was excellent and the water stations were well positioned my only comment, the neutral start was a complete nightmare, too many crashes, this was the worst part of the whole race, the lead car should have gone slower till the whole cyclists go out of the roundabout areas safely. ”

“It was a wonderful experience ”

“wish the cutout time would have been at 27 like it was promised and not at 28-29km/hour”

“At times great with road closures etc but start procedure of first come to queue up meant very unsure people able to start at the front and very fast racers coming up quick from behind in the neutral. Dangerous. Could have had the race at the front then sportive people with no timing afterwards grouped by the speeds they had put down. No water at the last water stop nor at the finish line when I got to those two places. Everyone I was with looked like they needed it! Very poor in that regard. ”

“Open starting grid is hopeless, need to be according to speed groups. Too many maniacs creating crashes and fanger situations.”

“Every thing it’s ok but there no water in the last stop”

“All riders started together. Should have been split into speed pods. No water available at the last 3 water stations. A lot of accidents due to riders not used to group cycling. Overall okay event, food box at the end of the race was nice. Could have had more water and pocari sweat available. ”

“Communication pre and post event Race briefing, sharing the course/route pre race Race pack collection for non Abu Dhabi residence to be communicated in advance rather 2 days before the race Great work from the marshals and the commissars and the ambulance police to keep the roads safe. thank you Results communication needs improvement On race day the elite group was supposed to go out first but on the race day all where together with people of less abilities in the front group ”

“Organize more Road Bike races this season and yearly. More Power ”

“Water station at end was poor ”

“Awesome event. I really enjoyed it. Thank you”

“Very badly organisation Route selection was very bad”

“I have participated in a gran Fondo competition and one of the cyclists crashed me from the back I was injured my whole body was bleeding none of the ambulances stopped to assist me even my bicycle was destroyed and I lost my phone and there were no buses to take us to the finish line as they promised I waled over 20km walking back to the start line under strong sun heat.”

“Well marshalled throughout, great spirit amongst riders and superbly well supported at feed/aid stations and the finish. Cracking ride out. Finished safe and thoroughly enjoyed my day.”

“Great event that was well attended and well organised. My only criticism was the fact that the final two aid stations had ran out of water (and seemed incapable of going to the bakala nearby to restock). Given the temperature was pushing 34/35 degrees this was actually quite dangerous as in my group we were having to ration out water supplies of sharing 1 bottle between 3 people for the final 50km.”

“Very badly organised No water station Speed groups not followed No support cars were allowed ”

“it was really bad road, bad start, bad supporting, because the professionals cycler and beginners cycler to gather!!!! how many accident we get? ”

“Not organized well sorry to say this so poor performance, to think it is a huge or big event with lot of participants but don't have adequate water to support the cyclist since the support car are not allowed. So, shock no water from 2nd to last stations and the staff are not enough and train well how to assist cyclist, they're not alert. couldn't grab water from them as only few attending and others only standing in the side watching. After 100 kms I don't have water at all.”

“sadly organizers did not arrange the start in speed set pods assigned. groups were randomly formed with a lot of mix and match during the route. I had crashed at 68km as a result of this lack of discipline as we had a lot of riders merging into club pods with no self discipline to ride in pods. Im glad the ambulance was close by to treat my injuries but there was no facilitation for transport to the finish unless for those who got caught by the cut out. In the end i had to call my own ride. ”

“Poorly organized. Rude staff. Uninformed staff.”

“It was nice experience but need more safety start area, beside in the, 130km point was no water, and the valnters has no experience to provide water to the riders. General feedback, it was better to finish in the same area of START In general thank you Abu Dhabi and see you next year. ”

“Not enough water stations for 150k and support cars were not allowed. I hope the start were based on speed pods or will have elite, amateurs riders so it was not a carnage. Our team was not registered as a women's team although we had it in the registration”

“Top organization and scenery !”

“Should be more water stations ”

“No water at checkpoint 4 and hardly anyone to serve water at checkpoint 5 ”

“Nest time please split people into groups according to self-selected speeds.”

“Good day out albeit some areas to improve: Neutral section was dangerous and lots of crashes, water stations ran out of water and the transport home would have been better as lorries/trucks for bikes and a large coach with AC”

“No water in the last 2-3 stations and we were in the middle of the race so not in the last few groups ”

“definitely will participate again next year ”

“Start area was good and management of closes roads too, not easy here. But to run out of water at last two stops was very poor. ”

“The road was opened ahead of schedule so far as I can tell, the buses didn't stop for us and the nutralised start wasn't actually nutralised. It also wasn't clear from the original description how competitive it would be. All that said I did enjoy the event and the presentation at the end was very good. ”

“Really tough race but very satisfying to have completed it. Ambulance cover was amazing so thank you ”

“1/ Riders must be split into speed pods to avoid/reduce the number of crashes; this is a common practice in all significant cycling events of this type - one front bunch for racing and then sportive bunches grouped by the speeds they put down. 2/ Bid numbers should have different colours according to the age group. 3/ Communication pre and post-event race briefing to be improved - a few days in advance for the pre-event information. ”

“Hoping next year again this event”

“Good organization, but next time spend a little bit more on the busses ”

“The race was well organised and conducted. ”

“the neutral was not controlled and no water in aid station for the temaining riders”

“Start line could have been sectioned off with the group category entered and the neutral 6km everyone was racing really. Otherwise the event was brilliant with high profile pros insight, over head helicopters and great road closure control. ”

“The last two feeding stops had no water. The buses were terribly organized. ”

“How can I collect the cash reward? Very good job done guys! Thank you ”

“I'm the winner position 29 (50+) how can I collect my gift?”

“Definitely need twice as many male toilets at the start than the females. Also, allow team cars for food and water. With that distance there has to be a way. ”

“Thank you it was amazing experience but I would like next time be two start because a lot of accidents happen during the first 10 k some people don't have enough experience. ”

“The bike race was a mess at the beginning ”

“this is for my opinion only the neutral is so wrong , You know what is neutral speed below 30kph but in the granfondo the speed is 40 up in neutral zone and a-lot of riders where is the safety of that, You know a lot of accident even the neutral zone have accident ,You people think that more than 800 riders start all together is safety? we register as category to avoid accident but not follow there own simple rolls. this is for my experience only thank you and God speed”

“Mass start was unfair for male and women mixed especially with a huge money opportunity. The First 4km was not a proper neutralized start - complete mess and won’t be doing it again. ”

“Good event. But dangerous to start all riders in one batch. Rather start Open Men, separate combined Ladies, Men 40+, Men 50+ categories. Racing will be much safer and more fair.”

“Last two water stations were empty which can result in serious injury and dehydration for many competitors”

“Some points to note for the organizers - there were supposed to be starts in different speed pods but the start was all one group across all speed levels - there was no water for riders who were behind after the 100km mark. - the route map was not available for Garmin download Other than the above 2 points, the route was well mapped and traffic free. Volunteers and organizers made sure no one missed the route.”

“Next time hope to make it sreies , qualification for final race ”

“A race worth 3 million couldnt affordvmore water bottle at last three water stations!!!!! Support car wasnt even allowed in 20 last kilometers to bring i. More water ”

“Very well organized, lots of staff available to help”

“- start of the race, the car paced the start very fast - water stations were poor, not enough people on them, no bananas or cola or other important nutrients, and sorry but the ticket is not cheap and this is a well funded even by ADSC - buses were very dirty and unorganized, again, substandard - buses were late to leave back to the start point - finish line water ran out with less than 25% of participants finishing. Again, very poor station preparation. Hope next year these things change”

“Some how organized but not very well as everyone is saying ”

“The required minimum speed to remain in the race was 27km/h. I maintained an average of 29,3. Yet I was DQ’d at km 90 and the rationale was that I had actually stopped for water; I was one minute behind cut off and that the police wanted to open the road for traffic. Amazing event and great experience but disappointed with this outcome.”

“Good experience, more accidents, finish water ”

“Good race, but a lot of crashes. It should have been seeded better from the start as it was completely mixed which ended up being very dangerous. The neutral zone was also a mess, a lot of crashes happened in the first 6k that could have easily been avoided. ”

“The traffic support and water stations are well organized ”

“Speed pods were a pleasant fiction. Aware it was a professional event but I thought if there are concessions to the amateur I could do it....I was wrong it was every man and woman for himself. Also, 1st 6km neutralised? I've seen better organised bar fights. ”

“Great innovation and a super event for Aby Dhabi, challenging route which was well marshalled and controlled. Great prize presentation area with a nice touch with a food box! Those are the positives. The communication before the event was poor. The start was carnage with 700 riders starting in one group. The neutralised section was not neutralised. The feed stations were shocking. Illl prepared with not enough water or staff..Way too many crashes because riders were not segregated at the start.”

“*Minimal specific pre-race information. *Collection of race pack was costly, and time consuming. *Didn’t appear to be any average speed pens at the starting point. *Didn’t appear to be any management of a neutral zone. *Impolite, discourteous police during the opening of the roads. *No obvious signs of the sweeper buses. *Riders left to find shade/protection from the opened roads. *Lack of accountability towards the welfare/safety of those riders not considered elite. Roads opened early”

“It really amazing being part of a wonderful event organised by the Abu Dhabi sport cancel You guys are great. To be honest with you you guys this is my biggest race ever in my life and with it I gained more experience thank you guys for organising short a wonderful event. ”

“Very bad organized What’s the point of signing up in a certain speed when you get to the start line there’s no division between different speeds Lots of riders including me were asked to stop even though we were above the minimum speed required of 27k/h”

“Great race. However no water at the last 3 aid stations is not acceptable for a sports race and could be a serious danger to riders”

“The mass start was super dangerous with so many novices before the experienced riders. This cased many crashes. Other than this, very well done. ”

“For safety it is better to keep group level as it was scheduled.”

“We need support car from our team. ”

“Great day and event. The only comment is that the detailed information about the race should have been released earlier. It was only received 2 days before the event making arrangements more difficult ”

“This mix group start is a non sense. We all registered per category and this must seeded per registered level. It’s a sport. Sport is also coming with risk and it’s not acceptable to mix first timers with experienced. We don’t do sport like lottery. This is an amateur event. We all have jobs and family. We can’t risk our safety out of an unplanned race start. This is just the most normal practice for any sport event in the world. ”

“The supposed to be neutral zone is very fast, like race stated from 0km”

“U should cancel the cut of time so all can finish the race regardless of the time, some they race for the money and others like me for their Self fulfillment”

“the race is perfect except for lack of water station near the end of the race. the organizer bus from al ain to bawabat mall was worst i paid but did not see it a lot of people looking for it. when i found it in the adnoc the driver was arrogant and did not let me in.i almost take a taxi from al ain to abu dhabi with my bike. i got lucky one of my teamate help me ride with him. ”

“Poorly organised and supported. Start line was chaotic with mixed abilities all together. A categorised grid system is needed here to reduce crashes and to stop riders fighting for positions in the neutralised zone. Return buses from Al Ain were slow to load and go. Like me, many riders had to wait in queue under the midday sun for an hour. Not the best way to finish a day of racing!”

“Need some improvement on support especially for the first timer who joins this event, grand fondo. Need more support on the biker pick up. Need more contact person instead of only one, he/she cannot accomodate all the participants alone if problem happens.”

“No water at last 30 km ”

“We signed up to speed groups and on the day it was a free for all. Slower riders would have gone closer to the front. Having groups may have reduced the number of crashes. The women would not take their turn me on the pulls. Please have a separate start for men and then for women. Other than that, a fantastic event which was run well. ”

“Starting line need to separate by Age category or master category….not all together that’s why a lot of accidents happen….they say have 6kilometers neutral…but the speed is 43kPH…”

“Im very happy to get experience that race and that is my 1st road bike entry”

“The Abu dabhi grand Fondo its good specialty route. I hope every year have this event. Thanks for the organizer and the sponsor of garan fondo ”

“I would recommend to improve the start of the race. Very dangerous. Leading car were to fast. It caused many accidents”

“Crucual information not online available No answer on E-Mails since days Probably foreign participants not wanted? Worse experience of costomer Support ? No Advertisement in the Cycling communty I hope you would improve and take help from professional Gran Fondo organizers. I would love to see this event grow and Support Further Events. ✊ Still Hope for an answer for my E-Mails ?”