As I crossed the Paris-Nice stage five finish line last week, I realised a goal that I have been working towards my entire life. The countless hours of training all came to fruition as I reached the finish in Saint-Sauveur-de-Montagut for a first stage win on the World Tour. With my arms aloft and wearing a smile from ear to ear, a huge wave of emotion came over me as I thought about all the different people that have contributed to getting me to where I am today.
Growing up in Phoenix, Arizona, I found myself on a bike from as early as I can remember. My parents have been an enormous influence on not only my career but also my life. They were incredibly supportive and sacrificed a lot for me growing up; driving me across the United States to compete in races all-year round.
My father himself is an avid cyclist, so looking back it was no surprise that I was racing from a young age. I have fond memories of us riding together in my younger years, and still cherish the chance to get out on the saddle with him when I’m back home in Phoenix.
Entering my third year at UAE Team Emirates, I knew this would be a huge opportunity to start the season strong and get my first win with the team on the board.
We had a great team-building camp in Dubai and Abu Dhabi back in October where we were able to really bond as a team and get to know all the new faces that were brought in. The camaraderie and team-spirit in our group is clear to see, and a massive factor in our early success this season - 36 podiums and 18 wins already and we’re only in March!
The great team on the road is supported by a great team that work tirelessly behind the scenes. We are very lucky to be supported by the best staff in the world – from coaches to mechanics to nutritionists and masseurs. We have all the tools to be successful as a team, so it’s just about sticking together and trusting each other to get the job done. We’re in for one hell of a season!
The camaraderie is a massive factor in our early success this season - 36 podiums and 18 wins already and we’re only in March
From a personal point of view, winning my first stage on the World Tour was the greatest moment of my career to date. Attacking with almost 40km to go on the Col De La Mure was a gamble, so to finish nearly two minutes ahead of the next rider was a dream come true. It’s hard to put into words the feeling afterwards. It was unbelievable!
I had worked my whole career for this moment, so it has made me even hungrier and more determined to keep churning out stage wins and helping the team.
The win felt even more special as I was thinking about pulling out of the race on the morning of it. I had a bad crash on the second day, my energy levels were depleted, and I was pretty banged up, but as the stage went on, I started to feel better and better and more confident.
As a team, it was a great race. Winning a stage, Joao Almeida winning the white jersey and the team taking home the team classification award represented a really strong performance from everyone involved.
We have some big races coming up like the Tour of the Basque Country, Vuelta Espana, and obviously the Tour De France which has been a dream of mine since I first clipped on my helmet and sat on the saddle. We’ve made a great start and have no intentions of slowing down.
I’m learning from some of the best riders in the world and representing a fantastic country on the world stage, it’s very special and I’m immensely grateful. Thank you to all our fans in the UAE for your support up to now, and I can’t wait to produce more wins in the future with the UAE flag on my jersey.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch
Power: 710bhp
Torque: 770Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 2.9 seconds
Top Speed: 340km/h
Price: Dh1,000,885
On sale: now
SPEC SHEET
Display: 10.9" Liquid Retina IPS, 2360 x 1640, 264ppi, wide colour, True Tone, Apple Pencil support
Chip: Apple M1, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Memory: 64/256GB storage; 8GB RAM
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, Smart HDR
Video: 4K @ 25/25/30/60fps, full HD @ 25/30/60fps, slo-mo @ 120/240fps
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR, Centre Stage; full HD @ 25/30/60fps
Audio: Stereo speakers
Biometrics: Touch ID
I/O: USB-C, smart connector (for folio/keyboard)
Battery: Up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi; up to 9 hours on cellular
Finish: Space grey, starlight, pink, purple, blue
Price: Wi-Fi – Dh2,499 (64GB) / Dh3,099 (256GB); cellular – Dh3,099 (64GB) / Dh3,699 (256GB)
Paris Can Wait
Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
