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.
"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."
Fund-raising tips for start-ups
Develop an innovative business concept
Have the ability to differentiate yourself from competitors
Put in place a business continuity plan after Covid-19
Prepare for the worst-case scenario (further lockdowns, long wait for a vaccine, etc.)
Have enough cash to stay afloat for the next 12 to 18 months
Be creative and innovative to reduce expenses
Be prepared to use Covid-19 as an opportunity for your business
* Tips from Jassim Al Marzooqi and Walid Hanna
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
500 People from Gaza enter France
115 Special programme for artists
25 Evacuation of injured and sick
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Jetour T1 specs
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Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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1.
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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7.
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Singapore
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8.
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Australia
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9.
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Saudi Arabia
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10.
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South Korea
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