ALSAYEGH Safia

General
BALANCING SPORT AND STUDIES
Her father was reluctant to let her become an athlete as he had given up his education early to pursue a career in football. She also hesitated to join a professional team due to her university studies. "I was an A+ student, so he really didn't want me to go down on that side. I was offered [a professional contract by the UAE Team ADQ] and I was overwhelmed by the opportunity and the offer. In the beginning, I took a step back and said, 'I don't think I can commit to this'. It was already quite hard with the university, especially after my last travel to Egypt for the Arab championships [speaking in February 2022]. When I came back, there was just a whole pile of work from the university, and it was a disaster as I wasn't able to keep up on work over there. It actually traumatised me a bit. I was worried about the step, but hopefully, if races are short, and I don't have to be away from university for too long of time, I will be able to balance out. They offered it again and they were like, 'We really want you on the team' and I did not want to give up this opportunity. I'm happy I did agree. Since I started competitive cycling in 2016, it's been hard to find the right balance between both, but I'm fighting to keep performing well on both fronts and will keep doing so until I graduate." ((FitStory YouTube channel, 02 Jun 2022; arabnews, 13 Dec 2022; velonews, 18 Feb 2022)

FIRST FEMALE PRO
In 2022 she became the first female rider from the United Arab Emirates to start competing on a professional team when she joined UAE Team ADQ. "We currently have quite a lot of Emirati girls [riding], but not many that are striving [to turn professional]. We have an amateur level in the country, and we have pro level and lots of girls are staying in the band of the amateur level, and currently do not want to join the national team. We find it quite a struggle as we need more riders to race international races with the national team. I do hope to be an example for more girls to join the pro level and help us build a better base of pro riders here in the UAE." (velonews, 18 Feb 2022; cyclingnews, 14 Feb 2022)

She is the first female road cyclist representing the United Arab Emirates to have competed at the world championships. She participated in the road race and the individual time trial at the 2022 edition of the tournament in Wollongong, NSW, Australia. (SportsDeskOnline, 23 Dec 2022; colnago, 21 Sep 2022)

In 2022 she became the first female rider from the United Arab Emirates to compete in the WorldTour. (arabnews, 13 Dec 2022; Cyclist Turkiye Instagram profile, 27 Oct 2022; cyclingnews, 14 Feb 2022)