This precocious Abu Dhabi cycling talent has big plans to turn pro one day
Most professional sports stars take years to hone their skills and make it to the top. However, sometimes a precocious talent can just come out of nowhere to buck that trend where their natural ability shines through.
Golf legend Tiger Woods started from the age of 3; while former world champion boxer Rocky Marciano started fighting at 23.
In the case of one such ambitious athlete in Abu Dhabi, it was very much the latter.
“I only took up cycling three years ago,” says Nikolai Acimovic, the 17-year-old prodigy who is taking the sport by storm. “It was as a result of the pandemic that I joined the local Abu Dhabi Cycling Club and since then I have loved every minute of it.”
Since taking up the sport in 2021 the young British International School Al Khubairat student has gone from strength to strength claiming many different titles and awards at local and national events. Some of these successes include the Daman Gran Fondo in Al Ain, the Daman Liwa Race and the UAE Cycling Federation.
Nikolai has already sampled a taste of the international cycling circuit after spending some time competing in races in Turkmenistan and Italy. The latter was a 90km course with a 22km climb, something which he was not akin to after learning his trade on the more relatively flat terrains in Abu Dhabi.
“The race in Italy was very valuable to me as it is up and down hills like many of the races in Europe. If I want to follow my dream of competing in the Tour de France, I need this type of exposure as much as possible moving forward.”
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Indeed, mentions of competing in the most iconic race series in the world, Tour de France, may seem a bit fanciful at the moment but it is a goal and ambition that Nikolai has set for himself and one which he hopes is attainable, especially as he is about to attend two major training camps in Europe this summer.
“This summer I will be spending a month training in Flanders in Belgium where I will be racing 2-3 times a week. Then in August I will be joining the European Junior Cycling Tour Assen in Holland, something which will provide invaluable experience for me.”
His rise through the ranks is something which has really made his family proud with his father Nemo, another cycling enthusiast, brimming with pride at his recent achievements and excited to see what unfurls in the future.
“We are very proud of his exploits so far, absolutely. Abu Dhabi is fast becoming very popular for cycling and the semi-government organisation Bike Abu Dhabi have been very good in pushing the campaign on,” says Nemo, someone who himself undertook a grueling 570km cycling charity challenge in France in 2012.
In terms of educational aspirations, Nikolai is a sixth form student at BSAK. He is trying to marry business and pleasure by studying Business and PE, something which he hopes can further enhance his ambition to become a professional rider in future.
It’s all moving in the right direction for the young, talented man. Don’t be surprised if this is one face you will see again soon, moving onto bigger and better things.
The wheels of fortune are turning in his favour.
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