Italian Jonathan Milan claimed his second victory in this year's Tour de France when he won a crash-disrupted sprint finish in the rain on Wednesday.
Milan triumphed in a 10-man sprint after the peloton was held up behind a massive crash with just one kilometre to go as riders went down on slippery roads in a chaotic finish at Valence in southeastern France.
UAE Team Emirates rider Tadej Pogacar crossed the finish line safely to retain the overall leader's yellow jersey and maintain a lead of 4 mins 15 secs over rival Jonas Vingegaard.
That means Pogacar secured his 50th yellow jersey aged just 26, something he described as “not too bad a stat”.
“Fairly quiet, it was still a hard day, not an easy one, and in the end, with the really bad weather and visibility, it was pretty hectic and I'm happy that we stay safe and finish the stage quite OK, looking to the next days,” said the Slovenian after a wet and wild finish.
“The bad weather is here, and also the next few days shouldn't be pretty good as well. For me, normally it suits me well, the coldish weather, but the more old I get, the more I prefer the sunshine.”
Frenchmen Quentin Pacher and Mathieu Burgaudeau as well as Jonas Abrahamsen of Norway and Italian Vincenzo Albanese broke away early but stood little chance against the collective power of the sprinters' teams.
With the peloton breathing down their necks, Abrahamsen went solo with 11km remaining, only to be reined in 4.3km from the line.
Milan was the strongest in the reduced sprint, edging out Jordi Meeus of Belgium and Denmark's Tobias Lund Andresen, who were second and third respectively.
“I'm really happy and without words, I have to say. I didn't survive alone, I survived always with the help of my teammates. Without them, I would not be here, maybe I would still be dropped on one of the climbs,” said green jersey holder Milan.
“Today was a really tough stage. We controlled from the beginning with the help of some other teams. When I dropped, they also helped me on the first climb, then did a good pace on the second one.
“It was a difficult final because of the weather, to be in first position on the roundabouts. It was a bit scary, but they helped me, supported me. It's a fantastic team victory, and I really have to thank them from the bottom of my heart. Super, super happy for all of us.
“They delivered me in the best position. I was focused, looking forward to it, and it's a really big achievement for all of us.”
Rival sprinter Tim Merlier was involved in the crash under the “flamme rouge” – the triangular red banner over the road signalling the final kilometre.
“The last 25 kilometres were really, really, fast,” said Merlier, who finished 25th, more than a minute behind. “I think I made a mistake. I took one roundabout on the wrong side and I lost a lot of positions. And then I knew I needed to move up. The moment I wanted to move up, I crashed.”
Thursday's Stage 18 is a brutal mountain trek between Vif and the Col de la Loze, one of the most feared ascents in the Tour de France.
“We can't get arrogant, we need to keep it simple and stay quiet,” added Pogacar. “I'm really looking forward to it. I have been beaten there before but I have good legs and maybe I'll get my revenge.”
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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.”
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
SERIE A FIXTURES
Friday Sassuolo v Benevento (Kick-off 11.45pm)
Saturday Crotone v Spezia (6pm), Torino v Udinese (9pm), Lazio v Verona (11.45pm)
Sunday Cagliari v Inter Milan (3.30pm), Atalanta v Fiorentina (6pm), Napoli v Sampdoria (6pm), Bologna v Roma (6pm), Genoa v Juventus (9pm), AC Milan v Parma (11.45pm)
