Tadej Pogacar stretched his lead in the Giro d'Italia on Saturday winning the mountainous 152km Stage 8 to notch his third success of this year's race.
A day after claiming the lengthy individual time-trial in Perugia, the 25-year-old UAE Team Emirates leader paced himself up the 14km final climb along with an elite clique before producing his trademark late kick to the 1,425m altitude finish line in the Abruzzo region.
Pogacar also won the second stage, a summit finish at the Sanctuary of Oropa in Piedmont.
In his bid to win the Giro and Tour de France in the same season he now leads title rivals Dani Martinez by 2min 40sec and Geraint Thomas in third by 2min 58sec with the pair close on his heels on the second mountain stage in the 21-day race.
Australia's AG2R man Ben O'Connor at 3min 39sec and Belgian Visma rider Cian Uijtdebroeks at 4min 02sec round out the top five in the overall standings.
The Slovenian two-time Tour de France champion is taking part in the Giro for the first time and hopes to emulate Italy's Marco Pantani who won the double in 1998.
"My team won this one in a way," said Pogacar, who was paced all the way by teammate Rafal Majka.
The race continues Sunday with a largely flat 214km stage nine to the southern port city of Naples on a route open to attacks from the same kind of one-day specialists that lit up stage six on the Tuscan gravel.
"Sunday will be easier for us and we could do with some breathing space now," said Pogacar, known for his all-in style and desire to rack up stage wins.
Ineos leader Thomas had a more poised approach to the art of negotiating the 21-day long-haul and said he was more than happy after the climb.
"I felt much better today, it's like night and day," said the veteran, hoping to find his peak in the ultra-mountainous third week.
Thomas was just 2 seconds adrift on the day after being paced by young teammate Thymen Arensman.
Dutch outfit Visma lost another of their chief riders to injury when Christophe Laporte failed to show up for the start. He fell hard when hitting a gutter on Stage 5.
The Visma team are reeling from injuries to double Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard and one-day expert Wout van Aert.
Stage 8 results
1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) 4hrs 02mins 16secs
2. Dani Martinez (Col/Bora-hansgrohe) Same time
3. Ben O'Connor (Aus/Decathlon)
4. Antonio Tiberi (Ita/Bahrain-Victorious) +2secs
5. Geraint Thomas (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) Same time
Overall standings
1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) 28hrs14mins 42secs
2. Dani Martinez (Col/Bora-hansgrohe) +2:40
3. Geraint Thomas (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) +2:58
4. Ben O'Connor (Aus/Decathlon) +3:39
5. Cian Uijtdebroeks (Bel/Team Visma) +4:02
SPECS
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The%20specs
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Scores in brief:
Boost Defenders 205-5 in 20 overs
(Colin Ingram 84 not out, Cameron Delport 36, William Somerville 2-28)
bt Auckland Aces 170 for 5 in 20 overs
(Rob O’Donnell 67 not out, Kyle Abbott 3-21).
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
HAJJAN
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Abu%20Bakr%20Shawky%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cbr%3EStarring%3A%20Omar%20Alatawi%2C%20Tulin%20Essam%2C%20Ibrahim%20Al-Hasawi%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
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.”
Opening Rugby Championship fixtures:Games can be watched on OSN Sports
Saturday: Australia v New Zealand, Sydney, 1pm (UAE)
Sunday: South Africa v Argentina, Port Elizabeth, 11pm (UAE)
Teams in the EHL
White Bears, Al Ain Theebs, Dubai Mighty Camels, Abu Dhabi Storms, Abu Dhabi Scorpions and Vipers
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EHigh%20fever%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EIntense%20pain%20behind%20your%20eyes%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ESevere%20headache%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ENausea%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EVomiting%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ESwollen%20glands%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ERash%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIf%20symptoms%20occur%2C%20they%20usually%20last%20for%20two-seven%20days%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
