Emirates Motor Company (EMC) made dreams come true at Yas Marina Circuit on Tuesday night, after Carl Grzegorzek, an Air Traffic Controller at the Abu Dhabi International Airport, met his cycling hero, Mark “Manx Missile” Cavendish.
Carl, a long time Abu Dhabi Resident from England won the once in a lifetime opportunity to don the lycra and cycle around the world famous F1 track with the cycling legend, all thanks to EMC, the automotive sponsors of the Abu Dhabi Tour 2017.
Commenting on the experience to ride with the man who many in the sport regard as the greatest sprinter of all time, he said: “The weather wasn’t great, but the company was fantastic. Mark was a gentlemen, he’s just a really nice, normal, down to earth guy, and he didn’t go too fast for me, so we could chat the whole way around.
“I was pretty puffed out by the end of the lap, but he didn’t even draw breath.”
Carl revealed that he asked his idol lots of questions about his preparation before big races and for the long season ahead.
He continued: “I got to ask Mark about his plans for the season, and as usual, he is looking forward to the Tour de France, which is his big goal again this season. But, he also talks very highly of the Abu Dhabi event and the UAE in general as he loves it here.
“He said it’s been a very short off season this year, but he’s relaxed and happy to have been out riding his bike like a normal person, he feels very fit and fresh to go for the season.”
Carl, an amateur cyclist himself who often rides around the Yas Marina Circuit track, ended up finishing the lap with a mad dash to pip his hero at the finish line, jokingly noting that he was ‘quite pleased with his performance, despite Mark not trying to outdo him’.
He added: “I’ve been here last two years to watch the Abu Dhabi Tour, but it’s a very different perspective being on the track with one of the riders than in the stands watching, it was a really, really great experience.”
Emirates Motor Company (EMC), is the authorized Mercedes-Benz distributor in Abu Dhabi and Flagship Company of Al Fahim Group. This will be the third year in a row it has sponsored Abu Dhabi Tour, the only Middle Eastern cycling race on the 2017 UCI World Tour calendar that takes place in the nation’s capital 23 to 26 February 2017.
Ramez Youssef, the Head of Marketing and Communications at Al Fahim Group, said “We’re delighted to have given one of our customers the opportunity to meet one of his heroes, and glad that he got so much from the experience.
“The Abu Dhabi Tour is a fabulous event and Mark is a world star who is truly at the top of his profession. He is a great ambassador for the event and his sport and we would very much like to thank him for giving up some of his very valuable time.”
Check out Mark Cavendish and Carl Grzegorzek taking a spin around the circuit in the picture gallery here.
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