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Big-hearted Haitham Assem has been in training for a momentous charity cycling mountain challenge in the spare bedroom of the family’s 14th floor apartment in Juffair.
On Friday he will start climbing some of the most fearsome routes featured in the gruelling Tour de France race and reckons he’s ready for action thanks to his coach and major cheerleader, Adam, his four-year-old son.
Haitham, complex director of marketing at the The Westin & Le Meridien Bahrain City Centre, said: “I believe in this quote from late Apple CEO Steve Jobs ...‘the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do’.”
The 33-year-old Egyptian expat will be part of a 20-strong team from Starwood, the hotels’ parent company, supporting its The Road to Awareness fundraising campaign which began when several senior colleagues decided to take on a cycling challenge in the French Alps in aid of a children’s charity.
In the six years since, associates have raised more than $5million and the bike ride has continued to be a highlight of the campaign every year. Last July, Haitham met one of the leading influencers in the hospitality industry and also a passionate cyclist, Guido De Wilde - Senior Vice President, regional director for Starwood Middle East, who is a key player in the Road to Awareness annual challenge and will be marking his ninth year of participation at this coming event.
“I admired his passion for cycling and he is one of the main reasons that I’ve become so motivated to cycle more and improve my skills to get ready for the ride,” Haitham explained. “I’ve received loads of support and kudos for my efforts in supporting such a noble initiative and from those who understand my passion for cycling.”
It is a passion that was only ignited a few years ago when he called for some medical advice about feeling lethargic and was advised to get fitter.He jumped on a bike and has never looked back. “I am a regular cyclist now,” he said, “and I join in weekly group rides around the island when I’m not travelling.
But a soon a reeie confirmation in April that I have been selected for the challenge I started an intense training plan for a period of three months, both indoor and outdoor. “I invested in a smart indoor trainer whereby, I can simply select the destination that I want to cycle to and it automatically adjusts the intensity, so it’s similar to the reality of the ride as possible.
This indoor routine is helping my body increase its endurance levels. “Little Adam loves cycling too and is always by my side to encourage me to keep going!” As well as young Adam, his other great supporter is his wife, Adriana, and others have rallied round to back him too.
“I would like to thank all my family, friends, colleagues and the team at TriLife, the triathlon store in Zallaq, for their continuous support,” he said. One colleague, in particular, stepped up to help him with his training regime.
As soon as Haitham got the green light to go, complex general manager AnnaMarie has met him daily at the gym at 6am before the start of the working day. “That’s true support,” he said. “And, not on that he ao ponore m fliht ticket and made sure that I got all the help I needed before the challenge.
You couldn’t ask for a better boss!” The French challenge will commence on Friday, starting from Carpentras to Monte Carlo and covering 450km over three consecutive days. “We will be climbing the feared Mont Ventoux, close to 10,000m in height, the legendary Col d’Allos, the Col de Pra Loup and the Col de la Bonette,” he added.
Mont Ventoux is a mountain in the Provence region of southern France. It is the largest mountain in the region and has been nicknamed the ‘Beast of Provence’, the ‘Giant of Provence’, or ‘The Bald Mountain’ and gained fame through its use in the Tour de France cycling race.
Col de la Bonette, which rises to 2,715m, is a high mountain pass near the border with Italy. It is one of the highest paved roads in the French Alps. Haitham will be riding his new state-ofthe-art 2016 Cervelo S3 mean machine with some upgrades done specially for this challenge.
He said: “I have never done anything like this challenge before, apart from the usual group rides, which was one of the main reasons I was keen to participate. I do hope that there will be more challenges in the future and other good causes I can support.”
Thanks to the enthusiasm and motivation of Starwood employees, the campaign has helped reach thousands of children around the world.
For more information, check out about Haitham’s efforts on Facebook by visiting https://web.facebook.com/ haithamfassem and for details about Road To Awareness check out www. roadtoawareness.com or https://web. facebook.com/unicefstarwoodR2A/
