In the aftermath of a death in the cycling family, the Tour d'Egypte gets under way, reports Ghada Abd El-Kader The 43rd annual Tour d'Egypte began its 1,000km cycling journey on Monday, a little over a month after the death of Egyptian star Hisham Fadel. Fadel, 26, died on 5 January after colliding with an onrushing car during practice in Badr City on the outskirts of Cairo. Another training accident in April last year killed 19-year-old cyclist Karim Mohamed in St Catherine, in the South Sinai governorate. Mohamed crashed into a fence at a speed of 50mph. "Hisham Fadel was a decent and talented player," president of the Egyptian Cycling Federation Mohamed Azzam said. "I was preparing him to coach in the future. He was one of the best players on the national team, was in love with this sport, and was the best player on the team. "While he was student in college, he came on his bicycle from Fayoum to Cairo and back," said Azzam in acknowledgment of the player's commitment to the sport. In the wake of Fadel's death, Mohamed El-Qadi, the federation's secretary-general, said safety measures -- the wearing of helmets, riding on the white line on the right of the road, not using mobiles or talking to colleagues during training -- have been issued and signed by the cyclists. Each cyclist is to be insured LE100,000 by Egypt's Olympic Committee (EOC). To help prevent further tragedies, the National Sports Council (NSC) agreed to purchase newly equipped ambulances, three motorbikes and a microbus, all geared to safety. What should also be worked on are specified roads for cycling, as is done in many European countries. In compensation, the federation granted Fadel's wife LE10,000 while LE20,000 has come from the NSC. Fadel's wife, a graduate of the faculty of social services, was quickly appointed in a youth and sports centre in Fayoum governorate to provide for her two-year-old daughter. Fadel had cycling siblings, an older and younger brother on the national team. "A week after Fadel's accident, I was surprised to find his brother Galal on the Assiut Desert road training youngsters. This shows how much they love the game. Taking risks is part of the sport," Azzam said. Last year, South Africa won the Tour d'Egypte. "We hope this year to be among the three top countries," El-Qadi said. "There is also a tourist element since foreigners from Arab and European countries visit our touristic sites." The Tour d'Egypte, founded in 1945, is under the auspices of the International Cycling Union (UCI). The seven-day, seven-stage event is being held south of Sinai in the cities of Nuweiba, Dahab, Saint Catherine and Sharm El-Sheikh. Eighteen countries are in the race, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Libya, Algeria, Syria, South Africa, Benin, Rwanda, Nigeria, Azerbaijan, Greece, Turkey and Serbia. The race is for men only and cyclists must be above 18. There are Individual and team time road events. Referees, including those for doping, are from the UCI and Egypt. Total prize money is LE130,000. Prizes and bonuses are awarded according to the classification in each stage and the overall classification at the end of the race. "Preparation started with coordination among all official authorities in the Sinai governorate, public security, the traffic sector, ambulances and the media," El-Qadi said. The history of the Egyptian Cycling Federation goes back to Taher Pasha, a political science academician who founded it in 1910. One of the oldest federations in Egyptian sports, it was among the four original federations that formed the EOC. From 1910 to 1990 Egypt was nowhere in international cycling but in 1991 in the All-Africa Games in Egypt, the host country took the silver medal. In the pan-Arab Games last year, team women took two gold medals and one bronze while the men collected one silver medal. In the 2004 pan-Arab Games in Algeria, Egypt bagged 14 medals in indoor and road events. A new women's team is being formed. "The age of the woman's cyclist is open. In the Arab federations, Saudi Arabia, for example, doesn't have a women's team," El-Qadi said. The federation's many challenges include building velodromes. Work began on a velodrome near Cairo Stadium 13 years ago but is still unfinished. "Now, we are trying to finish it. The wood of the track has been imported. It is expensive because it was treated to endure heat and riding. The rest of the structure, including a media centre, is close to finishing," El-Qadi added. "After Fadel's death, NSC President Hassan Sakr promised to finish the structure as soon as possible." Bicycles on velodromes have no multiple gears or brakes. They employ a fixed rear gear, or cog, that does not freewheel. This helps maximise speed, reduces weight, and avoids sudden braking while allowing the rider to slow by pushing back against his pedals. El-Qadi told Al-Ahram Weekly, "The international federation promised to set up a training centre for cyclists and referees, the first centre of its kind in the Middle East. Teams from abroad will come to stay and train, thus covering the expenses of establishing it." Most international races are in velodromes. The numbers of medals that can be won in velodrome racing is 17 while a maximum three can be had in road racing. Velodromes have the advantage of spectators being able to watch the entire race, as opposed to road events 120 kilometres long. The velodrome also opens the door for more sponsors. "Cycling isn't very well known so we are trying to spread the game all over Africa to raise the standard of the players," El-Qadi said. "In Egypt, we only have 350 men and women cyclists," which would include world champion Hisham Abdel-Baqi. In 2007, Abdel-Baqi finished 14th in the World Road Racing Championship B in Cape Town, South Africa. Apart from the lack of fame, "cycling is very expensive, a bicycle costing $7,000 to $8,000. There is no local industry that produces them," Azzam said. The federation is working on several aspects to develop coaches and players. "In Egypt we do not have professional coaches but we are trying. The federation in cooperation with the EOC organised training courses for 40 coaches with an English coach which was very successful," Azzam added. The NSC has increased the federation's budget from LE300,000 to LE700,000 "but we need more to increase the number of cyclists," El-Qadi said. "Cyclists need a yearly training programme applied by a technical director, training camps and equipment in order to reach international levels." Because Egyptian cyclists make an average monthly salary of between LE150 to LE300 monthly, that goal will be hard to achieve.
