Italian Jonathan Milan claimed his second victory in this year's Tour de France when he won a crash-disrupted sprint finish in the rain on Wednesday.
Milan triumphed in a 10-man sprint after the peloton was held up behind a massive crash with just one kilometre to go as riders went down on slippery roads in a chaotic finish at Valence in southeastern France.
UAE Team Emirates rider Tadej Pogacar crossed the finish line safely to retain the overall leader's yellow jersey and maintain a lead of 4 mins 15 secs over rival Jonas Vingegaard.
That means Pogacar secured his 50th yellow jersey aged just 26, something he described as “not too bad a stat”.
“Fairly quiet, it was still a hard day, not an easy one, and in the end, with the really bad weather and visibility, it was pretty hectic and I'm happy that we stay safe and finish the stage quite OK, looking to the next days,” said the Slovenian after a wet and wild finish.
“The bad weather is here, and also the next few days shouldn't be pretty good as well. For me, normally it suits me well, the coldish weather, but the more old I get, the more I prefer the sunshine.”
Frenchmen Quentin Pacher and Mathieu Burgaudeau as well as Jonas Abrahamsen of Norway and Italian Vincenzo Albanese broke away early but stood little chance against the collective power of the sprinters' teams.
With the peloton breathing down their necks, Abrahamsen went solo with 11km remaining, only to be reined in 4.3km from the line.
Milan was the strongest in the reduced sprint, edging out Jordi Meeus of Belgium and Denmark's Tobias Lund Andresen, who were second and third respectively.
“I'm really happy and without words, I have to say. I didn't survive alone, I survived always with the help of my teammates. Without them, I would not be here, maybe I would still be dropped on one of the climbs,” said green jersey holder Milan.
“Today was a really tough stage. We controlled from the beginning with the help of some other teams. When I dropped, they also helped me on the first climb, then did a good pace on the second one.
“It was a difficult final because of the weather, to be in first position on the roundabouts. It was a bit scary, but they helped me, supported me. It's a fantastic team victory, and I really have to thank them from the bottom of my heart. Super, super happy for all of us.
“They delivered me in the best position. I was focused, looking forward to it, and it's a really big achievement for all of us.”
Rival sprinter Tim Merlier was involved in the crash under the “flamme rouge” – the triangular red banner over the road signalling the final kilometre.
“The last 25 kilometres were really, really, fast,” said Merlier, who finished 25th, more than a minute behind. “I think I made a mistake. I took one roundabout on the wrong side and I lost a lot of positions. And then I knew I needed to move up. The moment I wanted to move up, I crashed.”
Thursday's Stage 18 is a brutal mountain trek between Vif and the Col de la Loze, one of the most feared ascents in the Tour de France.
“We can't get arrogant, we need to keep it simple and stay quiet,” added Pogacar. “I'm really looking forward to it. I have been beaten there before but I have good legs and maybe I'll get my revenge.”
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The years Ramadan fell in May
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE SQUAD
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan
Copa del Rey
Semi-final, first leg
Barcelona 1 (Malcom 57')
Real Madrid (Vazquez 6')
Second leg, February 27
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
Bookshops: A Reader's History by Jorge Carrión (translated from the Spanish by Peter Bush),
Biblioasis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULTS
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US PGA Championship in numbers
1 Joost Luiten produced a memorable hole in one at the par-three fourth in the first round.
2 To date, the only two players to win the PGA Championship after winning the week before are Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and Tiger Woods (2007, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational). Hideki Matsuyama or Chris Stroud could have made it three.
3 Number of seasons without a major for McIlroy, who finished in a tie for 22nd.
4 Louis Oosthuizen has now finished second in all four of the game's major championships.
5 In the fifth hole of the final round, McIlroy holed his longest putt of the week - from 16ft 8in - for birdie.
6 For the sixth successive year, play was disrupted by bad weather with a delay of one hour and 43 minutes on Friday.
7 Seven under par (64) was the best round of the week, shot by Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari on Day 2.
8 Number of shots taken by Jason Day on the 18th hole in round three after a risky recovery shot backfired.
9 Jon Rahm's age in months the last time Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the US PGA, in 1995.
10 Jimmy Walker's opening round as defending champion was a 10-over-par 81.
11 The par-four 11th coincidentally ranked as the 11th hardest hole overall with a scoring average of 4.192.
12 Paul Casey was a combined 12 under par for his first round in this year's majors.
13 The average world ranking of the last 13 PGA winners before this week was 25. Kevin Kisner began the week ranked 25th.
14 The world ranking of Justin Thomas before his victory.
15 Of the top 15 players after 54 holes, only Oosthuizen had previously won a major.
16 The par-four 16th marks the start of Quail Hollow's so-called "Green Mile" of finishing holes, some of the toughest in golf.
17 The first round scoring average of the last 17 major champions was 67.2. Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen shot 67 on day one at Quail Hollow.
18 For the first time in 18 majors, the eventual winner was over par after round one (Thomas shot 73).
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Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
Company%20profile
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Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
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The specs
Price: From Dh529,000
Engine: 5-litre V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 520hp
Torque: 625Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.8L/100km
More coverage from the Future Forum
The years Ramadan fell in May
Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
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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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE%20v%20West%20Indies
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The years Ramadan fell in May
