Road To The Olympics: How Emirati Cyclist Safiya Al Sayegh Is Preparing For Her Biggest Race Yet
All eyes are on the young rider as she waves the UAE flag on her race to the finish line
Safiya Al Sayegh has always been athletic. The 22-year-old Emirati cyclist is currently at the pinnacle of her sporting career – accomplished through focus, determination, passion, and perseverance – yet her early life was a lot more experimental.
Growing up as the daughter of a professional football player, athleticism and competitiveness runs in her veins, and she’s tried her hand at almost every sport. From swimming and gymnastics to rugby and basketball, she forayed into cycling at the age of 14.
Today, she’s on her way to representing the country at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, competing in the tournament as the first Emirati woman – and just the second rider from the country – to qualify for the race.
Humble Beginnings
“I always enjoyed cycling from a young age,” says Safiya. “I’d always have a bike around the house, but I did start cycling more often when my father and I bought bikes together. We started doing it as a hobby, just going around the neighbourhood and chilling after a busy day at school and work. It really built the bond between my father and I,” she shares.
Once she got on the bike, Safiya knew that cycling was for her due to the fact that she explored so many different sports beforehand. “I got to see what I was good at and what I was not,” she says. “Also having done swimming and gymnastics, it provided a good base in terms of my body development, especially with my leg work and flexibility, and gave me a boost when it came to my cycling,” she says.
Looking back, Safiya is proud of how far she’s come. “From cycling around the neighbourhood doing five to ten kilometre rides to today completing 200 kilometres on a bike professionally,” she reminisces.
Professional Aspirations
It didn’t take long for her to set her sights on the national team. When she began cycling eight years ago, Safiya says there weren’t many teams for women in the country that were competing, other than the national team, and she was keen to be a part of it. Yet her father was the one who needed a bit more convincing. “He wasn’t so enthusiastic when I mentioned it initially,” she says. “I was an A student at the time and he didn’t want that interfering with my studies.”
“Eventually, I was able to convince him I’d be diligent with my school work,” she recalls. She kept her promise and joined the team, even increasing her grades from the previous semester.
Flourishing Career
After joining the national team, Safiya’s career soon flourished as she discovered her passion and prowess for the sport. While on the team, she joined a few local clubs and amateur teams to keep up her cycling aptitude, and competed in the UAE Cycling League. In 2021, she took a leap forward by joining the Dubai Police Pro Cycling Team, where she managed to achieve numerous medals and accolades. After six months, she was tapped to be a part of the UAE Team ADQ – the first women’s World Tour professional team in the country and in the Middle East, made up of 15 female athletes from around the world.
“I was delighted,” she comments about the opportunity. “I was a bit hesitant with being a university student and committing to a whole professional cycling career at that point, but I did make the choice to go ahead and I’m glad that I did.This is my third year as a professional and I’m very happy to have made it to my dream.”
Road To The Olympics
Currently a national champion due to her wins at the UAE National Championships in 2022 and 2023, Safiya made history in November last year by qualifying for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Now, the young cyclist is truly on her way to her biggest race yet – a responsibility she holds with honour and prestige.
“It’s a great pleasure, and also a big weight on my shoulders to represent my country in the best way,” she says. “I want to showcase the progress we have made not only in cycling specifically, but in sports in general in the UAE, and prove that we can be part of the leaders of the world in sport.”
For Safiya, qualifying for the Olympics was already a massive achievement, and her goal would be to complete the race. However, a winning accolade is not her main aspiration.
“Being realistic, I know that the podium is not the goal of this Olympics. The goal of the Olympics is to really represent my country well,” she affirms.
Cruising To The Finish Line
In preparation for her Oympic debut, Safiya says she’ll be embarking on a training programme in Europe. That is of course, after she graduates from university in May. The Emirati native has been balancing student life through the course of her cycling career, and will soon emerge with a degree in graphic design from the American University in Dubai.
After that, she plans to go full force with her commitment to the sport, with her Olympic programme consisting of six training days per week. She’ll also have double sessions on some days, and one-on-one sessions with a personal trainer who will monitor her speed, heart rate, cadence and progress in the days leading up to the strenuous tournament.
Safiya says she’s excited about training on hilly European terrain, to gain more momentum with climbing and intensive riding.
Of course, readying for such a phenomenal feat doesn’t take mere weeks of intensive preparation. Safiya has seemingly been preparing for this moment since the beginning of her professional career; every race being invaluable practice and every loss a learning curve. Most importantly, every win being confirmation that on the cycling track, she’s a rising tour de force.
Rising To The Top
A believer in the notion that “goals are dreams and effort combined”, Safiya has mastered the art of being focused on the present while simultaneously visualising her next big thing. “I want to go even further after the Olympics,” she says. “Hopefully I can qualify for even more Olympics and achieve even bigger titles than I have before. My career has been quite delightful and bright, but that definitely doesn’t limit me.”
“I’d like to be the champion of my country at least once in my career, which is the Asian Cycling Championships that I’m currently working towards,” she insists.
With an illustrious road behind her, and even brighter road ahead, Safiya committed to her purpose of allowing other Emirati cyclists, and aspiring female athletes, to follow in her tracks.
Images courtesy of Instagram