UAE Team Emirates-XRG warmed up for the Tour de France in style after securing a double European triumph over the weekend.
At the Tour de Suisse, Portuguese rider Joao Almeida snatched victory from overnight leader Kevin Vauquelin by winning the Stage 8 time-trial in clinical fashion.
Almeida overturned a 33-second deficit to leapfrog Vauquelin to secure the title by finishing one minute and seven seconds ahead of the Frenchman in the overall standings.
Austrian Felix Gall finished 25 seconds behind Almeida on the day with Scotsman Oscar Onley third (+1min 11sec) and Vauquelin fourth (+1min 40 sec).
It was a second straight stage victory – and third in total – for Almeida who admitted to nearly blowing the final stage.
“I think I started too fast,” the 26-year-old said after the closing 10.1km uphill time-trial.
“I over-paced in the beginning. In the end, I hoped to have enough gas to push in the last kilometre, but in the end it was not necessary.
“It's a lesson: you should never give up,” added Almeida, who also triumphed at the Tour de Romandie in May. “Sometimes things go wrong and nothing is perfect, but you need to keep trying. We kept trying and we did it.”
Meanwhile, Filippo Baroncini sealed his first general classification triumph at the Baloise Belgium Tour, defending his overall lead on the final flat Stage 5 in Brussels.
The Italian moved into the violet leader’s jersey after Stage 4 in Durbuy and secured the title after finishing four seconds ahead of British rider Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quickstep), with the Belgian Jenno Berckmoes (Lotto) a further three seconds back in third.
“I came into the race in good shape from the Giro, so I knew if things went our way this week something was possible,” said Baroncini, 24, who saw teammate Sebastian Molano take second place on the final stage.
“The goal was to win with the team because Florian [Vermeersch] was also flying.
“Stage 4 was a great stage for me, the group stayed away, and while I didn’t win the stage, I was able to take the crucial time I needed in the GC.
“The team worked perfectly to defend the jersey so it was an excellent week overall.”
The double success meant UAE Team Emirates reached a major milestone by sealing a 50th win of the 2025 season with the Tour de France – set to begin in Lille on July 5 – looming on the horizon.
Leading the UAE charge will once again be Tadej Pogacar, who is looking to seal his fourth crown.
And the Slovenian looks in ominous form having just beaten old rival Jonas Vingegaard to win his first Criterium du Dauphine title, a victory that left Pogacar “super happy and proud”.
“We can go home happy to prepare for the Tour,” said the 26-year-old after finishing in the French Alps. “A lot of positives and all the negatives will turn into positives so it's all good.”
After securing a superb triple crown last season, there has been no signs of any let up from Pogacar in the current campaign which has seen him win the UAE Tour, Liege–Bastogne–Liege, Tour of Flanders, Strade Bianche, La Fleche Wallone and now the Dauphine.
And Almeida will now turn his attentions to helping his superstar teammate retain the Tour title.
“I'll have time to enjoy this win and I'll be ready for the Tour de France,” he said on Sunday. “I'll support Tadej Pogacar there and hope we can get more great wins.”
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results
6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh195,000 1,400m | Winner: ES Ajeeb, Sam Hitchcock (jockey), Ibrahim Aseel (trainer)
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m | Winner: Al Shamkhah, Royston Ffrench, Sandeep Jadhav
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 1,200m | Winner: Lavaspin, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
8.15pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,200m | Winner: Kawasir, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 1,600m | Winner: Cosmo Charlie, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
9.20pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m | Winner: Bochart, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 2,000m | Winner: Quartier Francais, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
ACC%20T20%20Women%E2%80%99s%20Championship
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Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Profile box
Founders: Michele Ferrario, Nino Ulsamer and Freddy Lim
Started: established in 2016 and launched in July 2017
Based: Singapore, with offices in the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand
Sector: FinTech, wealth management
Initial investment: $500,000 in seed round 1 in 2016; $2.2m in seed round 2 in 2017; $5m in series A round in 2018; $12m in series B round in 2019; $16m in series C round in 2020 and $25m in series D round in 2021
Current staff: more than 160 employees
Stage: series D
Investors: EightRoads Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Sequoia Capital India
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Sanju
Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani
Rating: 3.5 stars
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
