UAE Team Emirates rider Joao Almeida has said the Giro d'Italia will be his main goal next season after being forced to withdraw from this year's race with Covid-19.
The Portuguese cyclist was firmly in general classification contention at the grand tour in May, wearing the white jersey for leading young rider and occupying a podium place, before news of his positive test meant he needed to pull out of the race prior to Stage 18.
It was a heartbreaking end to what had been a superb tour for Almeida, but he is determined to chase down glory when he returns to the Giro next year.
“I want to focus on the Giro again,” Almeida told The National during his participation in the Adnoc Accelerator Program at Hudayriat Island in Abu Dhabi at the weekend.
Sharing the team's goals for next season, Almeida added: “We are going to do everything to challenge every race we participate in as a team.
"We had a pretty good year but I was expecting a little more in the Giro, but unfortunately I had Covid, but the team doesn’t depend on me alone. Overall I learned a lot and had some good results.”
Despite the Giro setback, it was a successful season for Almeida, who won the Portuguese national road race championship, won the white jersey at Paris–Nice, and claimed podium finishes at Vuelta a Burgos and Volta a Catalunya, winning stages in both races.
Almeida was in the UAE to attend the launch of the Adnoc Accelerator Program, a training camp created to identify and develop the next generation of Emirati cycling talent.
The program offers promising Emirati cyclists the opportunity to train under the tutelage of the UAE Team Emirates’ high performance coaching staff and to compete alongside the two-time Tour de France winning team.
“I like to be in the program and be part of the UAE Team Emirates family," Almeida said. "It’s important to find new talents in the UAE as the future depends on the young athletes.”
As the program progresses, the size of the group will be reduced down to the top riders. These elite cyclists will then race alongside UAE Team Emirates riders in a road race to Al Wathba to determine who will be the ultimate winner.
The winner will receive a year-long development program with UAE Team Emirates, which will include access to UAE Team Emirates coaches and nutritionists, and the opportunity to attend official training camps throughout 2023, starting with a 10-day winter camp in Spain in December.
“For me, it’s something that I wanted to do for a long time to scout for potential local cyclists and to put a program of this kind from the support we have,” UAE Team Emirates trainer Kevin Poulton said.
“This program is made up of a series of challenges both indoor and outdoor to selects the cyclist that has the most potential. We are looking at the best rider, and it can be two different riders as the best climber or the best sprinter who will have the best potential to be in in these two categories.”
“The winner of this program will receive personal coaching, camps attending races and so on. It’s all about finding the potential and getting them to ride outside in Europe and the United States, and then bring that experience back to the country.
“If we find the right person, he would certainly find him as a potential to be in the UAE Team Emirates roster.”
UAE Team Emirates rider Yousif Mirza - the UAE's leading Emirati cyclist - said the program is an opportunity to develop talent and believes it can provide the platform to discover more talent in the country.
“When I first started in cycling, we didn’t have such programmes and the facilities,” he said. “I’m glad that our younger generation will benefit from this programme and many more opportunities and incentives to pursue as full time race riders.
“It’s amazing to see how much cycling has grown in the Middle East since UAE Team Emirates were formed.
“I was at Hudayriat Island three weeks ago and saw a bare land in front of the Abu Dhabi Cycling Club. When I came for the program I saw a new mountain bike track in that spot, that’s how rapid the development is taking place.”
FIGHT%20CARD
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Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
LEAGUE CUP QUARTER-FINAL DRAW
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Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
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On sale: now
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
THE POPE'S ITINERARY
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
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Torque: 1,000Nm
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Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.
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Excellence in Education: World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) (Qatar)
Outstanding Arab Woman: Balghis Badri (Sudan)
Scientific and Technological Achievement: Mohamed Slim Alouini (KSA)
Young Entrepreneur: Omar Itani (Lebanon)
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Asia Cup 2018 Qualifier
Sunday's results:
- UAE beat Malaysia by eight wickets
- Nepal beat Singapore by four wickets
- Oman v Hong Kong, no result
Tuesday fixtures:
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- UAE v Oman
- Nepal v Hong Kong
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UAE Tour 2020
Stage 1: The Pointe Palm Jumeirah - Dubai Silicon Oasis, 148km
Stage 2: Hatta - Hatta Dam, 168km
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Stage 4: Zabeel Park - Dubai City Walk, 173km
Stage 5: Al Ain - Jebel Hafeet, 162km
Stage 6: Al Ruwais - Al Mirfa, 158km
Stage 7: Al Maryah Island - Abu Dhabi Breakwater, 127km
Results
2.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m
Winner Lamia, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
3pm Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,000m
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Winner MH Tawag, Bernardo Pinheiro, Elise Jeanne.
4pm Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 2,000m
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5pm Sharjah Marathon (PA) Dh70,000 2,700m
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Company%20Profile
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World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final
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Company name: Farmin
Date started: March 2019
Founder: Dr Ali Al Hammadi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: AgriTech
Initial investment: None to date
Partners/Incubators: UAE Space Agency/Krypto Labs
