Team spirit: on the road with the Spinneys cycling team

The team’s enthusiasm is infectious as they whiz past us on the track, having just completed another successful training ride in the run up to the Spinneys Dubai 92 Cycling Challenge, which takes place on 26 March, 2021.

“Spinneys has a tagline – Eat well, live well – and we believe cycling ties in completely with that ideology,” says Sunil Kumar, CEO of Spinneys Dubai LLC. According to Sunil, cycling is a fantastic sport because it’s gentler on the body compared to running or football, and at the same time allows one to get in a challenging cardio workout. When we ask him how often he’s been training for the Spinneys Dubai 92 Cycling Challenge, he says, “I don’t know whether I should call it ‘training’ but I ride at least 200km every week as part of my regular exercise regime.” It’s obvious Sunil loves the sport.

The Spinneys cycling team started with four members back in 2004. Ahmed Barakat, who is the company’s legal manager, was one of the first to sign up. “I have been cycling since 1998. When I joined Spinneys in 2004, I introduced cycling to my colleagues.” He firmly believes that this sport enhances relationships between individuals who work together, “We train together and we look after each other while riding. It definitely translates to a more understanding working relationship,” he adds. Ahmed’s wife and son are also actively involved in the sport and will be participating in the challenge. “My family enjoys adventure sports and cycling allows me to spend even more time with them”.

We asked Elmira Pelovello, operations manager at Spinneys, why she thinks cycling has caught on in the company. “During the week we ride on Monday and Wednesday after 6pm. It builds motivation and it’s a chance for all of us to socialise outside of the office and we have a lot of fun together.” That must be true, otherwise we can’t imagine waking up well before dawn to be out on the track training three to four times a week. “You get to meet a lot of people with the same interests and you make new friends. Plus, Al Qudra is a very well built and safe track,” says Elmira.

“I wasn’t keen on cycling, but five years ago Sunil encouraged me to join the team,” says Charanjit Singh, regional manager at Spinneys. The upcoming event in March will be his sixth time participating. Like Ahmed, Charanjit enjoys the sport so much that he wanted to share it with his wife. “We’ve trained together for the past four years and she is also part of the Spinneys cycling team. It’s good for me because she doesn’t have a problem with me going home late after work since she also loves this sport.”

“I wanted to start a healthy habit, but meeting new people at the same time is an added benefit,” says Hernald Batisanan, who works in the butchery department. He’s been cycling with the Spinneys team for four years and he aims to improve his overall timing in 2021’s event. Hernald hopes to inspire his friends and family and get them riding.

Syed Mohammed Agha, who works at the IT department at Spinneys, is a dedicated runner and enjoys endurance sports but has realised the benefits associated with cycling. “I love running and that’s my primary sport but I was getting injured a lot so cycling is a way for me to cross train. And it is really popular at Spinneys that’s why I decided to join the team.”

The common sentiment echoed by all these cyclists was that they are lucky to live in a city that has a track dedicated to cyclists. “Dubai is a young, active city. The government has built a 500km-long cycling track. I don’t think any other city in the world has done that for this sport,” concludes Sunil.