Charlotte Kool of Team DSM clinched the opening stage of the inaugural UAE Tour Women on Thursday after a dramatic day of crashes and a sprint finish at Dubai Harbour.
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Kool completed the 109km sprint stage in two hours, 47 minutes and 14 seconds to lead a Dutch one-two with Lorena Wiebes of Team SD Worx in second, and UAE Team ADQ’s Chiara Consonni third.
“This is what I trained hard for, to win such a sprint even when not everything went well is amazing,” Kool said after taking the leader's red jersey.
“We did pretty well as a team,” she added after the opening day of the only World Tour race in the Middle East, which started from Port Rashid.
“We were there together in all the key moments, and they looked after me the whole day. They had confidence in me, and that gives me wings.
“We will go again tomorrow. The course will be different, the wind may also play a different role, but I can’t wait to sprint again.”
The day was marred by several crashes, including two within the last 4km, but the peloton arrived at the 750m finishing straight for a mass sprint.
“There were a lot of crashes, it was really chaotic, and we lost some strong riders,” Kool added.
“I had a bit of a miscommunication with my teammate on the last straight, but I just had a really, really good sprint and made it all up again. I was not really looking to Lorena [Wiebes] but just doing my own thing, but it sure feels good to be in front of her.”
The first crash took out Matilde Bertolini (BePink) who eventually had to withdraw. Silvia Persico and Eugenia Bujak (both UAE Team ADQ) also went down but were able to continue.
With 4km to go, a big crash in the middle of the peloton held up many riders including Kim De Baat (Fenix-Deceuninck), Tamara Dronova (Israel Premier Tech Roland), Ilaria Sanguineti (Trek-Segafredo), Sarah Roy (Canyon-SRAM), Alice Barnes (Human Powered Health) and several of Kool’s DSM teammates.
Another 10 riders, including Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo), Persico, and Emilia Fahlin (FDJ-SUEZ), went down with 2.7km to go, but were given the stage winner’s time because of race rules.
Friday's day two is a 133km sprint stage from Al Dhafra Fort to Al Mirfa.
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INDIA SQUADS
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Rohit Sharma (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Los Angeles, from Dh4,975 return, including taxes. The flight time is 16 hours. Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Aeromexico and Southwest all fly direct from Los Angeles to San Jose del Cabo from Dh1,243 return, including taxes. The flight time is two-and-a-half hours.
The trip
Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic’s eight-day Whales Wilderness itinerary costs from US$6,190 (Dh22,736) per person, twin share, including meals, accommodation and excursions, with departures in March and April 2018.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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