Belgian rider Wout van Aert sprinted to victory in Stage 8 of the Tour de France at Lausanne on Saturday with defending champion Tadej Pogacar keeping hold of the leader's yellow jersey.
Van Aert, of the Jumbo-Visma team, won on a late incline ahead of Australia's pre-stage favourite Michael Matthews with Slovenian Pogacar finishing in third position.
This was a second stage win for van Aert, who also came second three times during the opening stages in Denmark, and extends his lead in the sprint points standings.
Pogacar also took a four-second bonus for his third place and extends his overall lead on Jonas Vingegaard at the top of the rankings.
“Before the Tour we had marked the Longwy and Lausanne stages for me,” said Van Aert.
“I'm very happy, very proud to finish off the work of the team. The climb was not too long. On the steepest parts I was on the limit but I knew the last 200-300 metres were flatter.”
The peloton left Dole in the Jura region under a cloud Saturday morning after Frenchman Geoffrey Bouchard from the AG2R team and Norwegian Vegard Stake Laengen from Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates tested positive for Covid and were withdrawn.
“It's a big scare, two riders infected, but this pandemic is here and we cannot risk riding ill,” admitted Pogacar.
“We test every two or three days. Yesterday we were all negative but Vegard had a sore throat overnight and he was positive this morning.”
Cowbell ringing roadside fans cheered the pack along the way to the Swiss border where they caught a glimpse of what is to come with the Alpine mountains rearing into view on the horizon.
An early fall caught Pogacar and third placed Geraint Thomas, while French climber Thibaut Pinot not only fell twice but also took a smack on the nose when a roadside food bag distributor got things badly wrong.
Denmark's Magnus Cort Nielsen of the EF team will ride Stage 9 in the polka dot jersey again while Tom Pidcock of Ineos will wear the white under-26's jersey, albeit as second placed man behind Pogacar.
Sunday Stage 9 runs from Aigle to Chatel le Portes du Soleil, an Alpine resort on the French-Swiss border, with over 40km of climbing on the 192km itinerary.
It reaches a high point of 1,778m at the Col de la Croix summit while a 15km six per cent gradient challenge up the Pas de Morgins awaits any tired legs before the Tour re-enters France for the final 10km.
The specs: 2019 Cadillac XT4
Price, base: Dh145,000
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged in-line four-cylinder engine
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 237hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 350Nm @ 1,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.7L / 100km
RESULTS
6.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,200
Winner: Miqyaas, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Rashed Bouresly (trainer).
7.05pm: Handicap Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Untold Secret, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
7.40pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Shanty Star, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly.
8.15pm: Handicap Dh190,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Alkaamel, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
8.50pm: Handicap Dh175,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Speedy Move, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm: Handicap Dh175,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Quartier Francois, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
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- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
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*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Afghanistan squad
Gulbadin Naib (captain), Mohammad Shahzad (wicketkeeper), Noor Ali Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
The biog
Name: Sari Al Zubaidi
Occupation: co-founder of Cafe di Rosati
Age: 42
Marital status: single
Favourite drink: drip coffee V60
Favourite destination: Bali, Indonesia
Favourite book: 100 Years of Solitude
Sting & Shaggy
44/876
(Interscope)
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
Premier League results
Saturday
Tottenham Hotspur 1 Arsenal 1
Bournemouth 0 Manchester City 1
Brighton & Hove Albion 1 Huddersfield Town 0
Burnley 1 Crystal Palace 3
Manchester United 3 Southampton 2
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 Cardiff City 0
West Ham United 2 Newcastle United 0
Sunday
Watford 2 Leicester City 1
Fulham 1 Chelsea 2
Everton 0 Liverpool 0
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets