Starting in the early hours this weekend, 1,000km solo and with no support await; including through the desert. He has prepared on a turbo trainer under heat lamps to get ready for the high temperatures.
Endurance cyclist Jason Black at BikingMan Oman
Irish endurance cyclist Jason Black gets his season underway in the Middle East on Sunday with a 1,000km unsupported race.
BikingMan Oman, with 9,000metres of climbing, gets underway in the early hours of Sunday morning.
One of the key challenges will be coping with the heat, with temperatures expected to go over 30 degrees Celsius.
With that in mind, Jason Black has been preparing on a turbo trainer set up beside heat lamps.
Black, from Donegal, is an adventurer and mountaineer turned endurance cyclist. He has ridden the Donegal Atlantic Way Ultra Race; finishing 2nd to Ronan McLaughlin in 2016.
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Later this year he will team up with fellow endurance cyclist Joe Barr for the Race Across America.
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They are aiming to win the two-man category in the race over 3,000 miles though 12 states.
Oman is likely to prove a very good testing ground for Jason Black.
Riders have a maximum of 120 hours – five days – to complete the course. However, many will be much faster.
Unlike other endurance races, the cyclists will not be tracked by a support car.
It means they must carry everything they need; from food and drink to medical supplies, clothing and any bedding they want for sleeping.
The riders will start in Muscat at 3am on Sunday, or 11pm on Saturday Irish time. Thereafter the racing unfolds in the south-east Arabian Peninsula.
The course includes the Hajar Mountains, Jebel Shams Pass, the Ash Sharqiyah Desert and Arabian Seaside Roads.
While the race is obviously a test of cyclists’ endurance, the fact it is unsupported adds a dimension.
It means strategy will be crucial. And even what riders choose to bring or leave behind and how they pack their bags and bike could prove crucial.
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