My cycling journey has been very different to most currently riding on the UCI World Tour.
Thinking back to my upbringing in New Zealand, cycling was always prominent. I remember being in school and having to choose a winter sport – most people went down the rugby and cricket route, but for me, it was always going to be mountain biking. Being in the outdoors and that adventurous feeling was really attractive. From there, I fell into road cycling and happened to be quite good at it!
I remember transitioning from amateur to professional cycling and being amazed at the jump in level. The similarities were clear between the two; important factors to high performance like nutrition, recovery, hydration, and training schedules are still crucial as an amateur, there’s just an even bigger spotlight on them at the professional level.
Especially at UAE Team Emirates, who are the cream of the crop of UCI World Cycling. The standard here is so high that the levels of professionalism are unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
Thinking back to some early wins in my career, I was victorious at the National Time Trial and Road Race event. These are certainly memorable for me and something I look back on with pride. Whilst they weren’t necessarily personal victories, it opened doors for me in Europe, and my name certainly became known within the peloton. However, I was competing in a really strong generation of cyclists, so it made it harder for me to stand out on my own when racing within a team.
As the years progressed and opportunities started to become scarcer, I sort of accepted that my professional cycling journey had run its course. I felt content with this, and it actually led to some of the best form of my career due to the absence of stress or worry.
I started to compete across several countries, with Asia becoming a regular location in my racing calendar. I was churning out consistent performances over a period of time, and ultimately the legs I had were what got me into this team. While I came through the MyWhoosh platform, there was still vigorous testing when I arrived here, which thankfully I passed!
The MyWhoosh platform is relatively unknown around the world but is certainly becoming more and more prominent. My journey with the program began through a friend in Christchurch. Initially, I struggled to get to grips with the platform, but after three or four races, I became instantly hooked and it was super rewarding.
Some riders will respond to it better than others. The events differ from road racing as you’re always 100 per cent fresh. It’s not like riding on the tour and heading into day seven of an event and feeling fatigued. MyWhoosh racing sees you put out peak numbers all the time. I describe it as the hardest Classic or one-day event on the Tour…just packed into a 1-hour race!
Focusing on the 2023 season with UAE Team Emirates, the Tour Down Under was my first World Tour race. It was close to home and the stages weren’t super long, so it was nice. I wasn’t coming into the event off a big base of training due to getting the call up to the team quite late and having only really competed in MyWhoosh races. However, with the group we had at the Tour, and Jay (Vine) being so strong, it meant we were in a good position to work together and to our strengths to produce an awesome result. All in all, it was a dream scenario.
I’m really looking forward to competing in some longer stage races during the season. I think these best suit my skillset as a rider as I have quite a big engine and aerobic capacity. Harder days in the saddle are often the ones I respond best to.
Lastly, to the people of the UAE, it is an honour to represent you as part of UAE Team Emirates. I’m super stoked for the season and the potential victories we can secure for all of our fans!
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others
Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.
As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”
Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.
“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”
Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
LIVING IN...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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The Outsider
Stephen King, Penguin
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
