Tyler Farrar won yesterday's Tour de France third stage in Brittany — giving the United States an Independence Day victory at Tour de France.
Farrar became the first American to win a stage on the Fourth of July, dominating a sprint finish as teammate Thor Hushovd of Norway kept the yellow jersey.
It was the first Tour stage victory for Farrar, one of the world's best sprinters, and showcased the dominance of the Garmin-Cervelo team over the past two days at cycling's greatest race.
The 198-kilometre flat route from Olonne-sur-Mer to Redon in western Brittany favoured sprinters like Farrar, Mark Cavendish of Britain, Italy's Alessandro Petacchi, Tom Boonen of Belgium and Hushovd.
"I certainly would have taken it on any day," Farrar said of the stage victory. "But as an American, winning on the Fourth of July, it's the icing on the cake ... Lucky me."
As he crossed the finish line, Farrar held up his hands to make out a "W" with his fingers to honour Wouter Weylandt, the Belgian who died in a crash during the Giro d'Italia in May.
Cavendish's HTC-Highroad team had lined up to escort the British speedster to the finish from near the 4km mark, but by the last few hundred metres Hushovd and Farrar had zoomed ahead.
"To have the world champion and yellow jersey work for you to launch the sprint, it's crazy," Farrar said of Hushovd.
At the finish, the American nosed ahead of France's Romain Feillu, who was second, and Jose Joaquin Rojas, of Spain, in third. Farrar and a pack of riders clocked the same time: 4hours 40mins 21secs.
With his victory, Farrar became the first American to win a Tour stage since Levi Leipheimer placed first in the individual time trial in Angouleme in 2007.
The top standings did not change: Hushovd retains a split-second edge over Garmin-Cervelo teammate David Millar, of Britain, while Australia's Cadel of BMC is third, one second back.
Spain's Alberto Contador, the defending champion, who lost time on Saturday after getting entangled in a crash, is 69th overall - 1:42 behind the Norwegian leader.
Among other hopefuls for victory on the Champs-Elysees on July 24, Andy Schleck, the 2010 runner-up from Luxembourg and the leader of Leopard-Trek, is eighth overall, four seconds behind Hushovd. The Norwegian world champion Hushovd took the leader's shirt after Garmin-Cervelo won the team time trial on Sunday.
Cavendish last night hit out at sprint rival Feillu for "kamikaze" tactics.
Cavendish - stripped of 10 points gained in yesterday's intermediate sprint for clashing with Hushovd, with the yellow jersey rider also punished - was fifth and later complained of being impeded by Feillu on the final corner.
The 26 year old from the Isle of Man said: "I was fighting with Rojas into the last corner and kamikaze Feillu came flying in.
"I thought I was going to crash. I thought I was coming down.
"I was 40 metres behind coming out of the last corner with no speed whatsoever.
"I went full gas. I gained 40m and finished with the front four and I gained points - it just shows my form."
Frank Schleck, the Leopard-Trek rider, was happy yesterday not to have developed an allergic reaction after being stung inside his mouth when he swallowed an insect during Sunday's stage two. He said before yesterday's stage that he initially "panicked" before remembering previous similar experiences that helped calm him down.
Today's fourth stage is a 172.5km ride from Lorient to Mur-de-Bretagne.
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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.
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
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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World Cup warm up matches
May 24 Pakistan v Afghanistan, Bristol; Sri Lanka v South Africa, Cardiff
May 25 England v Australia, Southampton; India v New Zealand, The Oval
May 26 South Africa v West Indies, Bristol; Pakistan v Bangladesh, Cardiff
May 27 Australia v Sri Lanka, Southampton; England v Afghanistan, The Oval
May 28 West Indies v New Zealand, Bristol; Bangladesh v India, Cardiff
Jebel Ali Dragons 26 Bahrain 23
Dragons
Tries: Hayes, Richards, Cooper
Cons: Love
Pens: Love 3
Bahrain
Tries: Kenny, Crombie, Tantoh
Cons: Phillips
Pens: Phillips 2
