Slovenian rider Primoz Roglic of the Jumbo Visma team has withdrawn from the Tour de France. EPA
Slovenian rider Primoz Roglic of the Jumbo Visma team has withdrawn from the Tour de France. EPA
Slovenian rider Primoz Roglic of the Jumbo Visma team has withdrawn from the Tour de France. EPA
Slovenian rider Primoz Roglic of the Jumbo Visma team has withdrawn from the Tour de France. EPA

Sport

Mathieu van der Poel and Primoz Roglic withdraw from Tour de France

Roglic, last year's runner up, had suffering multiple bruises when he crashed in stage three

The National

July 04, 2021

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The Tour de France witnessed some high-profile withdrawals on Sunday with Mathieu van der Poel and Primoz Roglic leaving the race before stage nine.

Alpecin-Fenix rider Van der Poel decided to cut his Tour short after his superb run came came to a stunning halt in the Alps.

The Dutch rider spent six days in the yellow jersey, but on Saturday UAE Team Emirates' defending champion Tadej Pogacar left him in his wake.

Pogacar, 22, started stage eight three minutes and 43 seconds off the lead of Mathieu van der Poel. At the end of the day, Van der Poel finished more than 20 minutes off the pace.

Van der Poel said he was leaving the race to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics, where he aims to race his mountain bike.

"It was not my goal to go for the [general classification]," the Alpecin-Fenix rider said. "It's been an amazing week for me and the team, we won two stages and had yellow for six days. It's my first Grand Tour and I think we can be really happy for that.

Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates took the overall lead after the eighth stage of the Tour de France on Saturday, July 3, 2021.
Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates took the overall lead after the eighth stage of the Tour de France on Saturday, July 3, 2021.
Team UAE Emirates' Tadej Pogacar ended the eighth stage of the Tour de France with the yellow jersey.
Team UAE Emirates' Tadej Pogacar ended the eighth stage of the Tour de France with the yellow jersey.
Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar (2-L) of the UAE-Team Emirates in action during the 8th stage of the Tour de France 2021 over 150. 8 km from Oyonnax to Le Grand-Bornand, France, 03 July 2021. EPA / CHRISTOPHE PETIT-TESSON
Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar (2-L) of the UAE-Team Emirates in action during the 8th stage of the Tour de France 2021 over 150. 8 km from Oyonnax to Le Grand-Bornand, France, 03 July 2021. EPA / CHRISTOPHE PETIT-TESSON
Stage winner Team Bahrain's Dylan Teunsat the end eighth stage.
Stage winner Team Bahrain's Dylan Teunsat the end eighth stage.
Team Bahrain's Dylan Teuns of Belgium celebrates as he crosses the finish line.
Team Bahrain's Dylan Teuns of Belgium celebrates as he crosses the finish line.
Riders in action during the eighth stage of the Tour de France.
Riders in action during the eighth stage of the Tour de France.
Team UAE Emirates' Tadej Pogacar looks back at Team Ineos Grenadiers' Richard Carapaz.
Team UAE Emirates' Tadej Pogacar looks back at Team Ineos Grenadiers' Richard Carapaz.
Netherland's Mathieu Van Der Poel, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, struggles to follow the pace during the climb of Col de Romme pass during the eighth stage of the Tour de France.
Netherland's Mathieu Van Der Poel, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, struggles to follow the pace during the climb of Col de Romme pass during the eighth stage of the Tour de France.

"Unfortunately I will not start today. We decided with the team it's in my best interests to quit the race now and focus on the Olympics."

Meanwhile, Roglic, last year's runner-up, abandoned the Tour before stage nine after suffering multiple bruises when he crashed in stage three.

A heavily bandaged Roglic finished in a group 35 minutes down on Saturday, having already lost time on Friday. The Slovenian will now try to recover ahead of the Olympics later this month.

"We took the decision altogether with the team, it doesn't make sense to continue the way it was going at the end," said the Jumbo-Visma rider, who led last year's Tour until the penultimate stage. "Now we'll definitely try to recover and focus on new goals."

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There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at. 
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How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?

If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.

Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.

Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.

Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).

Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal. 

Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.

By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.

As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.

Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.

He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.” 

This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”

Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.

Updated: July 04, 2021, 11:28 AM`