The finest teams and riders in the world will be arriving in the country this week for the 2025 UAE Tour.
Ahead of the race that begins at Shams Solar Power Station near Madinat Zayed on Monday, here is everything you need to know.
What is it?
The UAE race is the third race of the season, contested over seven days and stages in what is the seventh edition of the event.
When is it?
The 2025 race starts with Stage 1 on Monday, February 17, before concluding on Sunday, February 23, with the seventh and final stage when the winner will be crowned.
What is the race route?
The route crosses much of the UAE and spans 1,013.2km. There will be four flat stages, two mountain stages and one individual time trial.
Monday, February 17: Stage 1: Shams Solar Power Station Stage (138km, sprint) – Shams Solar Power Station near Madinat Zayed to Liwa Palace.
Tuesday, February 18: Stage 2: Tudor Stage (12.2km, individual time trial) – Hudayriyat Island.
Wednesday, February 19: Stage 3: Ras Tourism Development Authority Stage (181km, mountain) – Ras Al Khaimah to Jebel Jais.
Thursday, February 20: Stage 4: Taqa Stage (181km, sprint) – Fujairah Qidfa Beach to Umm Al Quwain.
Friday, February 21: Stage 5: Dubai Sports Council Stage (160km, sprint) – American University in Dubai to Hamdan bin Mohammed Smart University.
Saturday, February 22: Stage 6: Modon Stage (165km, sprint) – Abu Dhabi Cycling Club to Abu Dhabi Breakwater.
Sunday, February 23: Stage 7: Burjeel Stage (176km, mountain) – Al Ain Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium to Jebel Hafeet.
Will there be any road closures while the race is on?
Yes, there will be some disruption throughout the race. To see how the road closures may affect your travel plans, refer to the gallery above.
Which teams and riders are competing?
There will be 15 UCI world teams taking part and five UCI pro teams.
Triple crown winner Tadej Pogacar will be leading the way for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, with the Slovenian making his first appearance at the race since he retained the title in 2022.
Reigning champion Lennart Van Eetvel is returning to defend his crown, while Michael Storer, who finished fourth overall in 2024, is also one to watch.
European champion and five-time stage winner Tim Merlier is among a strong sprinting line-up that also includes the likes of Olav Kooij, Dylan Groenewegen and Jonathan Milan.
Who are the past winners?
2019: Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo – Visma) Slovenia
2020: Adam Yates (Mitchelton–Scott) UK
2021: Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) Slovenia
2022: Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) Slovenia
2023: Remco Evenepoel (Soudal – Quick-Step) Belgium
2024: Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto – Dstny) Belgium
What do the coloured jerseys mean?
Red Jersey, general classification: Worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the leader of the general classification by time.
Green Jersey, points classification: Worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the fastest sprinter, who has obtained the best positions in each stage and intermediate sprints.
White Jersey, young rider classification: Worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the best young rider (U25) in the overall classification by time.
Black Jersey, intermediate sprint classification: Worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the rider who has gained more intermediate sprint points than any other rider.
Is the UAE Tour on television?
The entire race will be shown live on Abu Dhabi Sports and Dubai Sports.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Brief scores:
Manchester City 3
Aguero 1', 44', 61'
Arsenal 1
Koscielny 11'
Man of the match: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
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What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
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Empty Words
By Mario Levrero
(Coffee House Press)
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
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
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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.”
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