ABU DHABI // Tom Dumoulin has set two targets for next year: he wants to keep his objective of winning a Grand Tour and an Olympic gold medal at Rio de Janeiro.
“Rio is certainly on my agenda but I hope it fits into my schedule,” he said when asked of his dual ambition during last night’s Abu Dhabi Tour’s pre-race news conference at Yas Marina Circuit.
Dumoulin is considered by many to be a cyclist to watch out for in next year’s Tour de France, and it has much to do with his performance this year in Vuelta a Espana — two races that, along with the Giro d’Italia, comprise the Grand Tours.
The Dutchman opened a few eyes by leading after six stages at Spain’s biggest race.
He held off former Tour de France winner Chris Froome to win Stage 9 on a difficult mountain course and regained the overall lead after Stage 17 when he won an individual time trial.
He took a six-second lead over Italy’s Fabio Aru after Stage 19 with a strong finish over cobblestones. But Dumoulin gave way on the last mountain stage to repeated attacks from Aru and was eventually dropped. He ended sixth overall when the race concluded in Madrid the next day.
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“I was surprised myself and many people in Vuelta a Espana,” Dumoulin said.
“I didn’t know it was possible for me to win a Grand Tour.
“I wanted to try it in a few years. It was already possible now, and it was surprising. It changes a lot for next season and next year.”
Dumoulin, 24, will be teaming up with Marcel Kittel for one last time — for the final race of the season in the Abu Dhabi Tour — with the German joining Etixx-Quick Step as a replacement for Briton Mark Cavendish.
“It is definitely pity that Marcel is leaving the team,” Dumoulin said.
“He is certain to always get lots of victories every season and only this season it was a tough year for him. Everyone likes him and it’s a pity that he is leaving. He is not a rider whom we can replace, you see.”
Dumoulin will be riding for the first time in Abu Dhabi and said the hot weather and the wide roads will present challenges.
“The whole environment is different for us here,” he said. “The roads are very wide and flat, but it will be very hot.
“It is a big change and the rider who has the experience of this heat will be the rider to win the race.
“I would like to end on high note with good legs and good result. But I don’t know as last I raced in Lombardia, and it was disappointing for me as I was tired.
“It was really difficult last week and month, but I hope to do really well here.”
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Specs
Engine: 2-litre
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 255hp
Torque: 273Nm
Price: Dh240,000
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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Rating: 1/5
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Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
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Company profile
Name: Fruitful Day
Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2015
Number of employees: 30
Sector: F&B
Funding so far: Dh3 million
Future funding plans: None at present
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
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Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
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What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
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RESULTS
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1,600m
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(trainer)
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Tomorrow 2021
Why are you, you?
Why are you, you?
From this question, a new beginning.
From this question, a new destiny.
For you are a world, and a meeting of worlds.
Our dream is to unite that which has been
separated by history.
To return the many to the one.
A great story unites us all,
beyond colour and creed and gender.
The lightning flash of art
And the music of the heart.
We reflect all cultures, all ways.
We are a twenty first century wonder.
Universal ideals, visions of art and truth.
Now is the turning point of cultures and hopes.
Come with questions, leave with visions.
We are the link between the past and the future.
Here, through art, new possibilities are born. And
new answers are given wings.
Why are you, you?
Because we are mirrors of each other.
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Together we are more powerful than we know.
We connect, we inspire, we multiply illuminations
with the unique light of art.
Ben Okri,
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Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
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Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
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The five pillars of Islam
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
