UAE Team Emirates star Tadej Pogacar said he was excited to be back "on home soil" as he lined up to defend his UAE Tour title in the opening race of the International Cycling Union (UCI) World Tour season.
The only WorldTour race in the Middle East will be flagged off with a 185-kilometre sprint-stage in Madinat Zayed on Sunday.
“I am very excited to be back in the UAE and start my 2022 season by racing on home soil,” Pogacar, a two-time winner of the Tour de France, said at the launch ceremony on Saturday.
“Firstly, I am happy to be with UAE Team Emirates, one of the fastest developing cycling teams in the world. On every occasion I am here in the UAE, I feel the tangible development of cycling.
“We are ready and trained well for the UAE Tour. We will defend with all our might to preserve the title.”
Pogacar, 23, was runner up behind Adam Yates in the UAE Tour in 2020 and reversed that result in 2021.
“It means a lot to me to have won this race last year, as I’m riding for the UAE team,” the Slovenian said.
“Every year, I see more people cycling here. I’ll try to win the title again. My winter was really good. I went to Sierra Nevada in Spain where I unfortunately got Covid but it was not serious.
“I just had four days off the bike, so I’m prepared for the first race. We also have Pascal Ackermann for the sprints, Mikkel Bjerg for the TT, and a real composed team for GC with Rafal Majka and George Bennett as well. We’ll try to do our best every day.”
Joao Almeida and Maximiliano Richeze are the other two members of the UAE Team Emirates.
The UAE Tour has drawn 17 of the 18 WorldTour teams - the only absentees being Cofidis - and they will be joined by three-second division outfits: Alpecin-Fenix, Bardiani-CSF-Faizane, and Gazprom-RusVelo.
Pogacar main rivals appear to be former Giro d’Italia winner Tom Dumoulin (Jumbo-Visma), Volta Valenciana winner Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe), Vuelta a Espana podium finisher Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious) and Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers).
The UAE Tour is also set to host a sprint battle with four potential bunch finishes on offer, and with almost all of the world’s fastest finishers in the lineup including Mark Cavendish (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl), Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal), Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe), Dylan Groenewegen (BikeExchange-Jayco), Elia Viviani (Ineos Grenadiers) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix).
As for the time trial, it’s hard to look past world champion Ganna repeating his triumph on the corresponding stage last year.
“We’re back after one year,” Ganna said at the pre-race conference. “Every time it’s special coming here. Every TT is different, we’ll need to do a really big effort in this one.
“I hope my legs are ready to do it. From the two TTs I’ve already won this year, I know I’m in good shape.”
Pogacar too is expected to be strong in the time trial on stage three and the two mountain top finishes on stage four and stage seven.
One of the all-rounder’s closest challengers is likely to be Ineos Grenadiers rider Yates, with the Briton hoping to stay within touching distance of Pogacar on stages four and seven.
The climber only missed out on the title after Pogacar posted a superior time trial. However, a core part of the battle may come down to the effectiveness of their respective teams.
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Five ways to get fit like Craig David (we tried for seven but ran out of time)
Start the week as you mean to go on. So get your training on strong on a Monday.
Train hard, but don’t take it all so seriously that it gets to the point where you’re not having fun and enjoying your friends and your family and going out for nice meals and doing that stuff.
Think about what you’re training or eating a certain way for — don’t, for example, get a six-pack to impress somebody else or lose weight to conform to society’s norms. It’s all nonsense.
Get your priorities right.
And last but not least, you should always, always chill on Sundays.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
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Price: From Dh650,000
Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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.
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
Company%20profile
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It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.