Hayden Wilde finally hit gold in Abu Dhabi on his sixth attempt, racing away to victory in the World Triathlon Championship Series opener at Hudayriyat Island on Saturday.
The New Zealander kicked off the final stretch of the run to win in 48 minutes and 21 seconds, snatching first place from Australian Matthew Hauser who was two seconds behind in second, and Portuguese Vasco Vilaca 18 seconds further down in third.
Wilde spent a month preparing at Hudayriyat Island, which he considers his second home away from his native town Taupo in north New Zealand.
“It’s my second home, I've been here for about four weeks, and you know they just welcomed me in with open arms and I've just been loving it here,” Wilde said of his first win in Abu Dhabi.
“I got a breakaway with one of my mates again and didn't really stick but we had some fun out there,” the Olympic double medallist said of his tussle with Hauser.
“I've raced Matt over the 5k many times and I saw his coach and he was like one more push and I'm like, I know for sure he's got one more push, so I just had to hold the pace and he was coming hot and I was just happy to hold on.
“I don't know how many of these World Series I'll do, but it's nice to be back and getting a win here for the first time.”
Hauser acknowledged that he 'just couldn’t hold on' at the end when Wilde launched for the final stretch.
“It's always tough getting second and it's tough to follow, especially when you're there the whole way,” he added.
“I felt really good out of the swim and felt really good on my bike, a new bike from Specialized, which was really nice around those corners and held its speed. But yeah, just couldn't hold on in the end.”
The 2020 World Championship silver medallist Vilaca joined them on the podium. The Portuguese took a lot of positives from the opening race of the world series.
“I'm very happy with the third place, first race of the season, very early, so I think it's a great start to the season,” he said.
“I'm quite happy to give it a go with these guys again. They really made me suffer today. I think the legs have woken up and we're ready to get into 2025.
“This new course, of course. The F1 course (Yas Marina in the previous years) is kind of legendary, but this track, I mean this whole island they've just finished building is amazing.”
Lisa Tertsch led a top three finish for Germany in the elite women’s race. The Olympic gold medallist in the mixed relay in Paris pipped her compatriots Nina Eim and Laura Lindemann in a sprint to the finishing line.
Leonie Periault of France, who stayed on with the leading group of four, just didn’t have the legs in the end.
“I'm happy with my execution (of the swim, cycling and run) but also I prepared really well, so, I just executed what I prepared for,” Tertsch said after completing the race in 54 minutes and 28 seconds.
“It was a cat and mouse game over the last lap but that's why it's racing, and everyone has to play their cards and go with what they're good at. I knew what I wanted to do in the end and so I went with my plan,” the 26-year-old Harvard graduate in economics said.
Eim finished second, just two seconds behind for her first podium of the World Series.
“It was a big goal for me to get on the podium one day and now I already achieved it in the first race of the season,” Eim said.
“I couldn't expect a better start to the season. I told myself the whole time, 'you can do this, you can do this, you want to get a podium', and the last km was really, really hard. I gave everything I had and I'm so happy that I got second.”
Results
Elite Men:
1. Hayden Wilde (NZL) 48min 21sec
2. Matthew Hauser (AUS) +00.02
3. Vasco Vilaca (POR) +00.18
4. Adrien Briffod (SUI) +00.34
5. Henry Graf (GER) +00.34
Elite Women:
1. Lisa Tertsch (GER) 54.28
2. Nin Eim (GER) +00.02
3. Laura Lindemann (GER) +00.03
4. Leonie Periault (FRA) +00.07
5. Tanja Neubert (GER) +00.18
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Profile box
Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
The schedule
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Specs
Price, base: Dhs850,000
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 591bhp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.3L / 100km
Profile of RentSher
Started: October 2015 in India, November 2016 in UAE
Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi
Based: Bangalore, India and Dubai, UAE
Sector: Online rental marketplace
Size: 40 employees
Investment: $2 million
TV: World Cup Qualifier 2018 matches will be aired on on OSN Sports HD Cricket channel
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Ferrari
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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