Fernie, Gorvat triumph in Gulf of Bahrain cycling race

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Tom Fernie from the UK and Olga Gorvat from Ukraine were the winners of the Bahrain Cycling Association (BCA) Gulf of Bahrain Road Race, held yesterday in Sakhir.

The 60-kilometre event featured more than 130 participants at the amateur level, most of whom were able to finish the race. Fernie topped the men’s classification with a winning time of one hour 26 minutes and 25 seconds.

He pipped Kevin Orlandi from France in a tight finish, while six seconds behind was Isa Hisham Salah of Bahrain to complete the men’s overall podium. Mikel Calahorra from Spain was classified fourth, while Bahrainis Mohamed Khatam, Ali Abdulabbas Dawood and Hussain Muslem, along with Charles Boornazian from the US, rounded out the top eight. 

Gorvat clinched first place amongst the women riders in a time of 1:40:11. She took the win just a second ahead of runner-up Emma Baker from the UK, while Drew Keam from Canada came third in 1:40:17. Casie Pittman from the US and Luma Hamed from Canada followed in fourth and fifth, respectively, while Mariam Almoayyed from Bahrain, Belinda Jayne Spratt from South Africa and Amel Mohamed Jehad from Bahrain all made it into the women’s top eight.

At the end of the race, the winners have presented their respective awards in a ceremony attended by BCA president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa and other BCA officials.