PARIS // The Austrian cyclist Bernhard Kohl, who finished as best climber and third overall on the Tour de France in July, failed a dope test during the race, his team manager has confirmed.
"I had a phone call from Bernhard Kohl and he admitted he was notified with the news of a positive test. The substance is EPO CERA," his Gerolsteiner team manager Hans-Michael Holczer said.
Kohl is the second Gerolsteiner rider to fail a dope test on the 2008 Tour de France after the German rider Stefan Schumacher, who won the two time trials in the race, also tested positive for CERA (Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator).
The positive tests of Kohl, Schumacher and Italy's Leonardo Piepoli this month are the result of the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) retroactively testing blood samples for the new type of erythropoietin (EPO).
The AFLD's Chatenay-Malabry laboratory has developed a more effective blood test to find CERA, which had been difficult to detect through urine samples.
Another World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) approved laboratory in Lausanne, Switzerland, has implemented another test for CERA and blood samples from the Tour are also tested in Switzerland.
AFLD head Pierre Bordry said the Lausanne laboratory was also being used to analyse blood samples from the Tour that were taken on July 3, 4 and 15.
The news of Kohl's positive test is another blow for cycling in Germany, whose state TV left last year's Tour after it was announced that Patrick Sinkewitz had tested positive for testosterone.
"I think it is time for me to leave cycling," said Holczer, who had built his Gerolsteiner team on a strong anti-doping stance.
Gerolsteiner, a mineral water distribution company based in Germany, had already said they were leaving the sport at the end of the season, with Kohl having struck a deal with the Belgian team Silence-Lotto.
During the Tour, the Italian Riccardo Ricco, the Spaniards Moises Duenas Nevado, Manuel Beltran, Kazakh Dmitri Fofonov and Jimmy Casper of France failed tests, although the latter was cleared by the French federation last month.
*Reuters
Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
* JP Morgan Private Bank
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
Captain Marvel
Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn
4/5 stars
‘FSO Safer’ - a ticking bomb
The Safer has been moored off the Yemeni coast of Ras Issa since 1988.
The Houthis have been blockading UN efforts to inspect and maintain the vessel since 2015, when the war between the group and the Yemen government, backed by the Saudi-led coalition began.
Since then, a handful of people acting as a skeleton crew, have performed rudimentary maintenance work to keep the Safer intact.
The Safer is connected to a pipeline from the oil-rich city of Marib, and was once a hub for the storage and export of crude oil.
The Safer’s environmental and humanitarian impact may extend well beyond Yemen, experts believe, into the surrounding waters of Saudi Arabia, Djibouti and Eritrea, impacting marine-life and vital infrastructure like desalination plans and fishing ports.
'Gold'
Director:Anthony Hayes
Stars:Zaf Efron, Anthony Hayes
Rating:3/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Company: Olive Gaea
Started: 2021
Co-founders: Vivek Tripathi, Jessica Scopacasa
Based: Dubai
Licensed by: Dubai World Trade Centre
Industry: Climate-Tech, Sustainability
Funding: $1.1 million
Investors: Cornerstone Venture Partners and angel investors
Number of employees: 8
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The Kingfisher Secret
Anonymous, Penguin Books
