When the Tour de France gets underway in Florence on Saturday, the eyes of the cycling world will be on UAE Team Emirates star Tadej Pogacar and his chief rival, the two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard of Team Visma Lease A Bike.
Pogacar and Vingegaard, who jostled fiercely over the yellow jersey the past two years, are once again the leading contenders for the general classification title. Pogacar, the champion in 2020 and 2021, saw his title defence fade in 2022 after seeing several of his teammates drop out of the race, while his bid last year was hampered when a broken wrist in the April limited his preparation.
This year, it's Vingegaard who's in a fitness race after the Dane suffered multiple fractures in a fall in March. Given Vingegaard's situation and Pogacar's status as the world's best road cyclist – cemented after another formidable season so far – the Slovenian is the firm favourite to win the GC title.
However, the Tour de France is the most challenging race of the year, and no cyclist can win it alone, even an all-time great like Pogacar. The team around Pogacar will be vital to his hopes of winning his third Tour title, and UAE Team Emirates have assembled a strong line-up to give the Slovenian the best chance possible.
Ahead of Saturday's Grand Depart, here are the seven riders ready to give their all to support Pogacar over the next three weeks.
Adam Yates
The experienced Briton comes into the Tour as Pogacar’s right-hand man in the mountains off the back of an excellent start to 2024. He kickstarted his year with a dominant victory at the Tour of Oman, taking the general classification after storming victory on Stage 5.
Yates, who is in his second season with UAE Team Emirates, then produced one of the most dominant performances of the season at the Tour de Suisse. Alongside Portuguese teammate Joao Almeida, the pair crushed the rest of the field in producing a 1-2 finish on four successive stages.
His performances this season, coupled with his impressive podium finish at the Tour de France last year, make him a strong and reliable ally to Pogacar as well as putting himself in the frame for a successive podium finish when the Tour concludes in Nice on July 21.
Joao Almeida
Almeida heads into his first Tour de France in imperious form. Alongside Yates, Almeida laid down a marker to the rest of the field after a blistering performance at the Tour de Suisse. Securing two stage victories to go with two podium finishes, Almeida looks as strong as ever in the UAE Team Emirates jersey.
The former Portugal national champion is no stranger to Grand Tour racing, having secured his first stage victory at Giro D’Italia in 2023. Almeida’s role will be similar to that of Yates, upping the tempo and pace on the toughest climbs to act as a launchpad for Pogacar’s famous attacks. Almeida could even be among the podium contenders as the race enters the final week.
Juan Ayuso
Like Almeida, the talented Spaniard will be taking to the start line at this year's Tour de France for the first time in his young career. Ayuso has had a solid 2024 season, missing out on an impressive victory at Tirreno Adriatico to Tour de France champion Vingegaard.
He followed that up with a dominant victory at the Iztulia Basque Country, setting himself up nicely for the biggest race on the cycling calendar. As a strong time-trialist as well as super domestique, Ayuso has a strong chance at securing a stage victory at the Tour.
Alongside his teammates, Ayuso has been at altitude camp for several weeks getting acclimatized and forming the strategies that will give UAE Team Emirates the best chance of ending the Tour top of the podium.
Nils Politt
The German powerhouse, in his debut season with UAE Team Emirates, will have his work cut out at the Tour. Alongside Tim Wellens, the pair will be responsible for emptying their tanks in managing and controlling the peloton for UAE Team Emirates, nullifying any attacks or breakaways to ensure Pogacar and his weapons are in a position to strike.
Politt is no stranger to the Tour, having competed at the race seven times and securing a stage victory along the way. He heads into this year’s race having recently been crowned German time-trial champion.
Tim Wellens
Wellens, like several of his UAE Team Emirates teammates, recently secured national time-trial victory to back up a strong start to the 2024 season. In his second season with UAE Team Emirates, the Belgian has already proven himself as one of Pogacar’s favoured workhorses and has been alongside the Slovenian for may of his biggest wins, namely Strade Bianche this season.
Wellens will be sharing the load with Nils Pollitt in managing the peloton and breakaway, ensuring the team are able to dictate the race to best utilize the star-studded weapons at their disposal.
Pavel Sivakov
Pavel Sivakov is an experienced Grand Tour racer, with eight Grand Tours to his name in his career. Having joined the team from Ineos Grenadiers at the start of this season, Sivakov heads into this year’s Tour with the role of supporting the two workhorses in managing the peloton and breakaways, while also proving an invaluable asset to Pogacar and Co on the longer and more gradual climbs to set the foundation for the team.
A powerful rider, Sivakov will also come into his own on the flatter stages to ensure that the team are constantly posing a question and a threat to their competitors across the 21-stage race.
Marc Soler
Spaniard Marc Soler rolls into the Tour de France as an experienced statesman who has seen most things Grand Tour racing has to offer. In what will be the 13th Grand Tour of his career, Soler will be a cool and calm head in the peloton for the team, working alongside Sivakov on the flat as well as putting in the initial work on the longer and more challenging climbs.
Soler is coming into the race following a battling performance at the Criterium du Dauphine, again showcasing his form and reliability to the team. Pogacar will be relying on Soler to manage the group and ensure the race never gets away from the team.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
THE DRAFT
The final phase of player recruitment for the T10 League has taken place, with UAE and Indian players being drafted to each of the eight teams.
Bengal Tigers
UAE players: Chirag Suri, Mohammed Usman
Indian: Zaheer Khan
Karachians
UAE players: Ahmed Raza, Ghulam Shabber
Indian: Pravin Tambe
Kerala Kings
UAE players: Mohammed Naveed, Abdul Shakoor
Indian: RS Sodhi
Maratha Arabians
UAE players: Zahoor Khan, Amir Hayat
Indian: S Badrinath
Northern Warriors
UAE players: Imran Haider, Rahul Bhatia
Indian: Amitoze Singh
Pakhtoons
UAE players: Hafiz Kaleem, Sheer Walli
Indian: RP Singh
Punjabi Legends
UAE players: Shaiman Anwar, Sandy Singh
Indian: Praveen Kumar
Rajputs
UAE players: Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed
Indian: Munaf Patel
Mane points for safe home colouring
- Natural and grey hair takes colour differently than chemically treated hair
- Taking hair from a dark to a light colour should involve a slow transition through warmer stages of colour
- When choosing a colour (especially a lighter tone), allow for a natural lift of warmth
- Most modern hair colours are technique-based, in that they require a confident hand and taught skills
- If you decide to be brave and go for it, seek professional advice and use a semi-permanent colour
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
PRESIDENTS CUP
Draw for Presidents Cup fourball matches on Thursday (Internationals first mention). All times UAE:
02.32am (Thursday): Marc Leishman/Joaquin Niemann v Tiger Woods/Justin Thomas
02.47am (Thursday): Adam Hadwin/Im Sung-jae v Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay
03.02am (Thursday): Adam Scott/An Byeong-hun v Bryson DeChambeau/Tony Finau
03.17am (Thursday): Hideki Matsuyama/CT Pan v Webb Simpson/Patrick Reed
03.32am (Thursday): Abraham Ancer/Louis Oosthuizen v Dustin Johnson/Gary Woodland
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
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.”
The biog
Mission to Seafarers is one of the largest port-based welfare operators in the world.
It provided services to around 200 ports across 50 countries.
They also provide port chaplains to help them deliver professional welfare services.
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Step by step
2070km to run
38 days
273,600 calories consumed
28kg of fruit
40kg of vegetables
45 pairs of running shoes
1 yoga matt
1 oxygen chamber
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mozn%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mohammed%20Alhussein%2C%20Khaled%20Al%20Ghoneim%2C%20Abdullah%20Alsaeed%20and%20Malik%20Alyousef%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Riyadh%2C%20Saudi%20Arabia%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410%20million%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Raed%20Ventures%2C%20Shorooq%20Partners%2C%20VentureSouq%2C%20Sukna%20Ventures%20and%20others%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
- Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs
- Thursday 20 January: v England
- Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad:
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith
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
The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
