UAE Team Emirates rider Tadej Pogacar produced a devastating performance to win Stage 15 of the Giro d'Italia and extend his overall lead by more than three minutes.
The Slovenian had been the dominant force going into Sunday's 222-kilometre run from Manerba del Garda to Livigno and he obliterated his general classification rivals with a memorable ride that means the race is now his to lose with six stages remaining.
Having extended his lead on Saturday in a time-trial, this fresh triumph elevates him to overwhelming favourite after a day on which the men closest to him in the rankings had no answers.
Pogacar underlined his climbing credentials in the Italian Alps in what is the longest and arguably toughest stage of the race, which involved an altitude gain of 5,400 metres.
The two-time Tour de France winner attacked on the climb and chased down leader Nairo Quintana and overtook the Colombian with 1.9km to go before winning his fourth stage of this year's race by 29 seconds.
“I was angry with him,” joked Pogacar about the veteran Colombian. “This is a guy who never attacked and I was thinking why is he attacking now.”
Quintana, who won the 2014 Giro, finished second with Georg Steinhauser third, more than two and a half minutes behind the winner.
Pogacar is now a huge six minutes 41 seconds ahead of Ineos Grenadiers rider Geraint Thomas with Bora-Hansgrohe's Dani Martinez a further 15 second back with one week to go.
“Today was one of the best days – I would not say that it was the best day of my career but it was a really nice stage, really good route, nice climbs,” Pogacar said. “The team did a super good job. We had this stage in mind since December or whatever.
“I’m super happy that we kept it under control. It was a really strong breakaway, but I gave it my all in the 10 or 15km. I’m super happy that I can win a queen stage in Livigno, one of my favourite places in Italy.
“We had to be smart all day – we couldn’t let the break go too much and then we spoke on the last climb with the guys.
“Rafa did a super good job after the switchback with a tailwind, so everyone suffered on the wheel. I just tried to keep continuing, and I hoped for the gap, and then I opened the gap and continued to the top.
“I used to watch Quintana and [Chris] Froome attacking each other but always too close to the finish. I was always angry that he [Quintana] wouldn't attack from distance but today he did a good job.”
“We just let Pog go, let him do what he's gotta do,” said a pale Thomas afterwards. “I finished with Dani today. Let's see about next week.”
“In a way it's cat and mouse with me and Dani now,” he said of former teammate Martinez, who joined Bora in the close season.
Monday is a rest day and the Giro resumes on Tuesday with Stage 16 in the mountains, a 202km ride from Livigno to Santa Cristina Valgardena.
There are four mountain stages in the final week and two for the sprinters, including Stage 21 from Rome out to a Lido on the coast and back through all the sights of the Italian capital.
MATCH INFO
Alaves 1 (Perez 65' pen)
Real Madrid 2 (Ramos 52', Carvajal 69')
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
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The Al Barzakh Festival takes place on Wednesday and Thursday at 7.30pm in the Red Theatre, NYUAD, Saadiyat Island. Tickets cost Dh105 for adults from platinumlist.net
Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
MATCH DETAILS
Manchester United 3
Greenwood (21), Martial (33), Rashford (49)
Partizan Belgrade 0
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Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'
Rating: 1 out of 4
Running time: 81 minutes
Director: David Blue Garcia
Starring: Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Mark Burnham
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
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