Tour of Al Zubarah

About Qatar

Qatar is a peninsula, 11,437 square km in area, which projects from the Arabian mainland. It is approximately 160 km in length and 80 km in width at its widest point. Overall, the country is very flat; rising to only 110 m at its highest point, and the land mass largely consists of scrubby
desert terrain, covered in sand and loose gravel.
A broad North-South arch dominates the structure of the land, while the coastal areas are mostly characterized by salt flats, with an area of high sand dunes in the southeast, lying in the path of strong prevailing southeasterly winds.

There are several natural harbors like Doha, Wakrah and Messaieed. Qatar enjoys a typical desert
climate, with mild winters subject to very limited, rainfall compared to hot and humid summers.

Qatar as a hub for sports events

Since winning the bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, all eyes of the world have turned toward Qatar. Sport is vital as an integral part in building a modern and healthy community.

The organizing of the 2006 Doha Asian Games was a turning point for Qatar’s strategy in
hosting major sports events. In building up toward the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the first mega sports event to take place in the region, Qatar has been successful in hosting various
international sport competitions, such as the 2014 FINA Short Course World Championships, the 2015 IHF Handball World Championships, the 2016 UCI Road Cycling World Championships and the 2018 FIG Artistic World Gymnastics
Championships.

Doha 2016

Road Cycling
World Championships
From 9 to 16 October 2016, Qatar hosts the UCI Road World Championships, Doha 2016. Qatar by this will be the first country in the Middle East & the Arab World and the second in the Asian world after Japan to have such an event. The organizing committee of the event has optimized the course design to introduce challenging technical elements and create the best possible race conditions with highly competitive four parkours.

“The Race Starts Here”, the event consists of a road race, a team time trial and a time trial for elite men and women and a road race and a time trial for men under-23, junior men and junior women.
It will be the 89th UCI Road World Championships.
The race will start and finish in the capital city of Doha.

The Road World Championships Legacy
The first world championships took place in 1921; the first professional world championship took place in July 1927 at the Nürburgring in Germany. The women’s road race was introduced in 1958. Individual time trials in all categories were added in 1994. In 2012, the men’s team time trial was
reinstated, and a women’s team time trial added to the program. In 1996, the amateur category was replaced with a category for men under-23 years old with the professional category becoming an open (later elite) category. Since 1995, the race has been held towards the end of the European season in late September. The world championships are
located in a different city or region every year.