Tour Ciclista en el Sáhara: la propuesta española de cicloturismo en Assa-Zag

Interacting with the local population, getting to know a more rural Morocco and creating a new form of sports tourism are some of the reasons why the project of a cycling tour in the Moroccan Sahara is an interesting project.  

The proposal comes from a Tenerife native, Andrés Gómez, who has the southern provinces of Morocco as his second home. This Canary Islander, who loves mountain biking, has been visiting the Sahara since 2008, and with his cycling project he wants to do his bit for the development of tourism in the region.  

The project follows the main lines laid out by the tourism promotion associations of Assa, which have ecotourism, sustainability and projects with a positive social impact as the main headlines of their development policy.  

"We are working with a forecast of cyclists from 10 different countries," said Gómez at the presentation of the project. "We are talking about a hundred athletes, including Moroccans, and with a first circuit of six stages," he added.  

Assa-Esmara is the first route that Andrés and his team are planning. The Tenerife native is supported by the Provincial Tourism Council of Assa Zag, the Spanish-Moroccan Almakan Association, 7Raids, the Miran Association of Smara and several other local bodies in Assa Zag.  

For now, the project is still in the development phase, which involves finding a main sponsor who will also give the bike ride its name.  

Andrés Gómez admits that the requirements are numerous. Security, accommodation and the necessary infrastructure for athletes. "We need a bivouac or adapted accommodation for people who have been cycling all day on all the stages," Gómez told Atalayar. "Cyclists must have a shower, a medical or prevention service and a correct diet for cycling", adds the Tenerife native.

With all this, Gómez is confident enough to believe in the project: "The idea is that this project will be carried out from October to November 2023. We are working with that in mind," said Andrés Gómez in the congress hall of the municipality of Assa, at the closing session of the first Provincial Tourism Forum.  

Gómez is already thinking about the next editions for the following years, with new stages and destinations. In conversation with Atalayar, he admits that he would like to organise an El Ayoun - Boujdour stage.  

During his presentation, Gomez received a very positive welcome from the local notables present at his exhibition. The idea is a firm and well-structured project, something that the members of the Assa community ask for and want to see, rather than empty talk. Actions and not words.