A joint training camp bringing together Turkmenistan's national cycling team and a cycling club from Abu Dhabi, UAE, has begun in Ashgabat. The international training camp will continue until August 20 and will mark an important stage in preparing athletes for the season's major competitions.
The joint training camp was approved by President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov at a Cabinet of Ministers meeting and marks another step in developing international sports cooperation between Turkmenistan and the United Arab Emirates.
A delegation of 28 people arrived in the Turkmen capital from Abu Dhabi, including club management, coaching staff, a technical specialist and 24 athletes. The guests are staying at the Turgenler hotel. Training sessions are held at modern sports facilities of the Olympic Village, as well as on roads in and around Ashgabat.
Special attention in the training program is given to road cycling sessions. The cyclists ride daily along Ataturk, Archabil and Kopetdag avenues, as well as in the scenic Gokdere gorge. Over the course of the camp, athletes will cover about 1,270 kilometers, completing training routes ranging from 60 to 150 kilometers.
The program at the Olympic Village velodrome will also be intensive: six specialized training sessions are planned, along with three educational seminars on modern training methods, organization of the training process, road safety and medical support. All activities are carried out in cooperation with relevant government agencies.
Sports cooperation between the Cycling Federation of Turkmenistan and the Abu Dhabi club has been developing since 2023. Over this period, the two sides have regularly held joint training sessions, exchanged experience and taken part in international competitions. Similar training camps were held in Ashgabat in 2023, 2024 and 2025, and Turkmen cyclists twice - in 2023 and 2024 - competed in the amateur Gran Fondo race in Abu Dhabi.
The current training camp brings together 15 of Turkmenistan's strongest cyclists, coached by head coach Kakabay Atayev and senior coach Igor Yoldashev.
As reported, after the camp concludes, the Turkmen team will travel to Thailand, where it will compete in the Asian Track Cycling Cup from August 28 to 30. The season's main event for the national team will be the 20th Asian Games, to be held from September 19 to October 4 in Japan's Aichi Prefecture and the city of Nagoya.
