Tadej Pogacar will have more cycling history in his sights when he aims to become just the eighth rider to complete the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France double in the same season.
The Slovenian leads a strong UAE Team Emirates line-up at this year's Tour, starting on Saturday, and will be determined to go one better than the past two editions when he was denied the general classification title by Jonas Vingegaard and a formidable Team Jumbo Visma (now Team Visma Lease a Bike).
Pogacar, 25, is enjoying another stellar season ahead of his bid for a third Tour de France title, and unlike last year, there haven't been any untimely injuries to hinder his preparations. Instead, it's chief rival Vingegaard who's in a race against time to build his fitness ahead of the Grand Depart after the Dane suffered multiple fractures in a fall in March.
Ahead of the start of the Tour de France, here is a look at Pogacar's 2024 season so far.
Success in the Classics
The year began for Pogacar with the prestigious Classics. Strade Bianche at the start of March was first up for the Slovenian, and he made his intentions pre-race clear: Monte Santa Maria would be the place to attack. A demanding 11.9km climb over gravelled roads with 81km of racing left, a solo attack would seem audacious for anyone but Pogačar.
True to his word, he unleashed a relentless assault, leaving his opponents behind him as the fans were treated to a Pogacar masterclass. Victory in Strade Bianche marked his first triumph and set the tone for the next few months.
Transitioning to the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, Pogacar was ready to fine-tune his stage racing fitness for the upcoming Grand Tours. His form from Strade Bianche translated seamlessly, highlighted by a commanding win on top of Vallter 2000 on Stage 2. With visibility in the mountains non-existent – Pogacar appeared through the clouds with the peloton in his wake, to take the leader’s jersey.
Liege-Bastogne-Liege was next, a race that holds mixed memories for Pogacar. Having had to withdraw or abandon in the last two seasons, Pogacar returned to Liege emotionally charged and ready to fight for victory.
Sticking to the team’s plan, he attacked on the Cote de le Redoute with 34km remaining. Like Strade Bianche, no one could follow. It was another solo journey to the finish line, beating his nearest competitor Romain Bardet by one minute and 39 seconds. A visibly emotional Pogacar had won his second Liege-Bastogne-Liege, embracing his team at the finish line after marking his sixth monument win.
Giro d'Italia dominance
Pogacar was the overwhelming favourite on his Giro d'Italia debut and he emphatically lived up to the billing. Six stage wins, 20 days in the leader's pink jersey, and a winning margin of nine minutes and 56 seconds cemented his dominance after three weeks of Grand Tour racing.
His first of six wins came on Stage 2 when Pogacar conquered the mountain finish of Santuario di Oropa. Further control followed with a time-trial victory on Stage 7, where he outpaced the Italian Time Trial Champion Filippo Ganna by 16 seconds. The Slovenian strengthened his grip on the race with another win on Stage 8 before showcasing his stellar form once again with back-to-back victories on Stages 15 and 16.
Pogacar delivered another vintage performance on Stage 20, an arduous day featuring a double ascent of the famed Monte Grappa.
Donned in pink from head to toe and riding his pink bike, Pogacar asserted his superiority once more, leaving his challengers behind to win the penultimate stage by two minutes and seven seconds. As the team headed to Rome, they did so as Giro d'Italia winners following one of the most commanding Grand Tour performances of all time.
Pogacar's support cast in France
As Pogacar now focuses on the Tour de France, he will not be alone in his quest for greatness. He is joined by Adam Yates, who placed third at the Tour last year, as well as Juan Ayuso and Joao Almeida providing further support in the mountains. Yates and Almeida arrive in France after securing a 1-2 finish at the Tour de Suisse.
Marc Soler and Pavel Sivakov will provide help on all types of terrain, with Tim Wellens and Nils Pollitt rounding out a strong line-up. It is a team that has proven on several occasions, ready to support Pogacar through the challenges that the Tour will throw at him.
In unstoppable form and with a fine team providing vital support, Pogacar will once again be a leading contender this year. Having achieved history with his 2020 Tour triumph, becoming the youngest champion in 116 years and the first ever winner from Slovenia, the world's top-ranked cyclist has all the tools to achieve his third title.
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Mobile phone packages comparison
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
The specs: 2018 Infiniti QX80
Price: base / as tested: Dh335,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.1L / 100km
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%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3ECBDC%20real-value%20pilot%20held%20with%20three%20partner%20institutions%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPreparing%20buy%20now%2C%20pay%20later%20regulations%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPreparing%20for%20the%202023%20launch%20of%20the%20domestic%20card%20initiative%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPhase%20one%20of%20the%20Financial%20Infrastructure%20Transformation%20(FiT)%20completed%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Tottenham 4 (Alli 51', Kane 50', 77'. Aurier 73')
Olympiakos 2 (El-Arabi 06', Semedo')
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
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GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Leganes v Getafe (12am)
Levante v Alaves (4pm)
Real Madrid v Sevilla (7pm)
Osasuna v Valladolid (9.30pm)
Sunday
Eibar v Atletico Madrid (12am)
Mallorca v Valencia (3pm)
Real Betis v Real Sociedad (5pm)
Villarreal v Espanyol (7pm)
Athletic Bilbao v Celta Vigo (9.30pm)
Monday
Barcelona v Granada (12am)
Race card
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
7pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m
If you go…
Emirates launched a new daily service to Mexico City this week, flying via Barcelona from Dh3,995.
Emirati citizens are among 67 nationalities who do not require a visa to Mexico. Entry is granted on arrival for stays of up to 180 days.
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.”
UAE SQUAD
Omar Abdulrahman (Al Hilal), Ali Khaseif, Ali Mabkhout, Salem Rashed, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Zayed Al Ameri, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Khalid Essa, Ahmed Barman, Ryan Yaslam, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmin (Al Wasl), Adel Al Hosani, Ali Hassan Saleh, Majed Suroor (Sharjah), Ahmed Khalil, Walid Abbas, Majed Hassan, Ismail Al Hammadi (Shabab Al Ahli), Hassan Al Muharrami, Fahad Al Dhahani (Bani Yas), Mohammed Al Shaker (Ajman)
The Old Slave and the Mastiff
Patrick Chamoiseau
Translated from the French and Creole by Linda Coverdale
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
How it works
Each player begins with one of the great empires of history, from Julius Caesar's Rome to Ramses of Egypt, spread over Europe and the Middle East.
Round by round, the player expands their empire. The more land they have, the more money they can take from their coffers for each go.
As unruled land and soldiers are acquired, players must feed them. When a player comes up against land held by another army, they can choose to battle for supremacy.
A dice-based battle system is used and players can get the edge on their enemy with by deploying a renowned hero on the battlefield.
Players that lose battles and land will find their coffers dwindle and troops go hungry. The end goal? Global domination of course.
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
