Some of the world's best cyclists and teams will head to Saudi Arabia at the start of next year after organisers announced the dates for the rebranded AlUla Tour.
Formerly known as the Saudi Tour, the race returns for a fourth edition and takes place from January 30 to February 3. It will be organised by the Ministry of Sport and The Royal Commission for AlUla in cooperation with the Saudi Cycling Federation and the International Cycling Union (UCI).
The AlUla Tour will welcome more than 119 cyclists from 17 teams across the globe, including elite UCI World Tour teams, UCI Continental teams, and Saudi Arabia’s brightest cycling prospects. The race will be held as part of the AlUla Moments sporting season.
The five-stage tour is part of the UCI Asia Tour and is classed as a category 2.1 event.
Saudi Arabia has hosted seven professional cycling tours since its inaugural race in 1999. In 2020, the Saudi Tour joined the UCI Asia Tour.
The confirmed line-up of teams, riders and stages for the 2024 AlUla Tour will be announced at the end of this year.
“The AlUla Tour has emerged as a major local, regional and international event in recent years. We look forward to welcoming the sport’s best cyclists in one of the sport’s most unique locations; showcased to the world," said Abdullah bin Ali Al Wathlan, chairman of the Saudi Cycling Federation and vice chairman of the Arab Cycling Federation.
"The AlUla Tour, alongside our global cycling partners, are creating a legacy in this country with more and more people getting access to a sustainable sport that is inspiring people to move, be active and [stay] healthy.”
Alongside the Saudi Cycling Federation, the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) is creating opportunities through cycling across all levels. This includes two mass participation rides alongside the AlUla Tour for juniors and the wider public. RCU has also created environmentally friendly initiatives through local bike tracks, hubs, desert biking tours, mountain biking options and electric bikes at Hegra.
“The new AlUla Tour promises to take cycling to another level this year. Welcoming the sport’s elite talent and teams on the UCI Asian Tour across five challenging stages showcases the best of AlUla as a sporting destination," said Phillip Jones, RCU chief tourism officer.
"We are just about to open our brand new 45km bike track for road cyclists which is set to be one of most stunning dedicated cycling routes in the world. We really believe AlUla has the potential to become the cycling capital of Saudi Arabia as we create more opportunities for people to watch, be inspired and ride with one the country’s fastest growing sports.”
The AlUla Tour is one of the ‘Sports Events’ festivals on this season’s AlUla Moments calendar, which also includes the AlUla Trail Race (January 11-12), AlUla Desert Polo (January 17-20), and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Endurance Cup 2024 (February), with more to be announced.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
WOMAN AND CHILD
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Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
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Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
How The Debt Panel's advice helped readers in 2019
December 11: 'My husband died, so what happens to the Dh240,000 he owes in the UAE?'
JL, a housewife from India, wrote to us about her husband, who died earlier this month. He left behind an outstanding loan of Dh240,000 and she was hoping to pay it off with an insurance policy he had taken out. She also wanted to recover some of her husband’s end-of-service liabilities to help support her and her son.
“I have no words to thank you for helping me out,” she wrote to The Debt Panel after receiving the panellists' comments. “The advice has given me an idea of the present status of the loan and how to take it up further. I will draft a letter and send it to the email ID on the bank’s website along with the death certificate. I hope and pray to find a way out of this.”
November 26: ‘I owe Dh100,000 because my employer has not paid me for a year’
SL, a financial services employee from India, left the UAE in June after quitting his job because his employer had not paid him since November 2018. He owes Dh103,800 on four debts and was told by the panellists he may be able to use the insolvency law to solve his issue.
SL thanked the panellists for their efforts. "Indeed, I have some clarity on the consequence of the case and the next steps to take regarding my situation," he says. "Hopefully, I will be able to provide a positive testimony soon."
October 15: 'I lost my job and left the UAE owing Dh71,000. Can I return?'
MS, an energy sector employee from South Africa, left the UAE in August after losing his Dh12,000 job. He was struggling to meet the repayments while securing a new position in the UAE and feared he would be detained if he returned. He has now secured a new job and will return to the Emirates this month.
“The insolvency law is indeed a relief to hear,” he says. "I will not apply for insolvency at this stage. I have been able to pay something towards my loan and credit card. As it stands, I only have a one-month deficit, which I will be able to recover by the end of December."
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
