Soudal–Quick-step's Belgian rider Tim Merlier won the first stage of the UAE Tour on Monday, pipping Caleb Ewan of Lotto Dstny in a thrilling sprint finish.
The two riders finished shoulder to shoulder prompting a 10-minute delay as the race organisers pored over the photo finish in a bid to split them.
They opted against calling a dead heat and gave Merlier, 30, the win by the slimmest of margins.
Mark Cavendish of Astana-Qazaqstan joined them on the podium taking third spot ahead of Jumbo-Visma’s Olav Kooij on a tough day for the riders, who had to overcome tricky crosswinds on the 151-kilometre flat route from the Al Dhafra Fort to Al Mirfa.
Merlier was led by his teammate Bert Van Lerberghe into the final corner but he had Ewan parked on his wheel as he kicked for the line.
Ewan drew level close to the finishing line, but he could not get past Merlier. Cavendish was further back after struggling to find a clear run at the line in their slipstream.
STAGE%201%20RESULTS
%3Cp%3E1)%20Tim%20Merlier%20(Soudal-Quick-Step)%2C%203h%2017%E2%80%99%2035%E2%80%9D%3Cbr%3E2)%20Caleb%20Ewan%20(Lotto%20Dstny)%20same%20time%3Cbr%3E3)%20Mark%20Cavendish%20(Astana%20Qazaqstan%20Team)%20same%20time%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EGeneral%20Classification%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E1)%20Tim%20Merlier%20(Soudal%20Quick-Step)%203%3A17%3A25%3Cbr%3E2%20-%20Caleb%20Ewan%20(Lotto%20Dstny)%20%2B4%22%3Cbr%3E3%20-%20Luke%20Plapp%20(Ineos%20Grenadiers)%20%2B5%22%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Merlier's teammate and compatriot Remco Evenepoel, who won last year's Vuelta a Espana, is sixth overall thanks to a bonus after finishing eighth on the day.
“I was not sure,” Merlier said afterwards. “I know I did a good jump in the end, and I knew when I started my sprint that it was a good sprint.
“But Caleb was coming from the wheel and you know he's a dangerous guy if he is in the wheel. In the end it was really close.
“It was a hard race. When the race is hard, I’m one of the strongest in the end and I believe I can win. We did a good job as a team, and also for the general classification.”
It was a disappointing start for the UAE Team Emirates in their home race.
With Tadej Pogacar absent, new signings Adam Yates and Jay Vine have allowed pre-race favourite Evenepoel to gain an early advantage.
Tuesday's second of seven stages is a team time-trial over 17.2km up the coast in Khalifa Port.
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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
LIVERPOOL SQUAD
Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Georginio Wijnaldum, James Milner, Naby Keita, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Joe Gomez, Adrian, Jordan Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana, Andy Lonergan, Xherdan Shaqiri, Andy Robertson, Divock Origi, Curtis Jones, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Neco Williams
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
'Nightmare Alley'
Director:Guillermo del Toro
Stars:Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara
Rating: 3/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
NATIONAL%20SELECTIONS
%3Cp%3E6.00pm%3A%20Heros%20de%20Lagarde%3Cbr%3E6.35pm%3A%20City%20Walk%3Cbr%3E7.10pm%3A%20Mimi%20Kakushi%3Cbr%3E7.45pm%3A%20New%20Kingdom%3Cbr%3E8.20pm%3A%20Siskany%3Cbr%3E8.55pm%3A%20Nations%20Pride%3Cbr%3E9.30pm%3A%20Ever%20Given%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Tips%20for%20travelling%20while%20needing%20dialysis
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EInform%20your%20doctor%20about%20your%20plans.%C2%A0%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EAsk%20about%20your%20treatment%20so%20you%20know%20how%20it%20works.%C2%A0%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPay%20attention%20to%20your%20health%20if%20you%20travel%20to%20a%20hot%20destination.%C2%A0%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPlan%20your%20trip%20well.%C2%A0%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EXare%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJanuary%2018%2C%202021%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPadmini%20Gupta%2C%20Milind%20Singh%2C%20Mandeep%20Singh%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20Raised%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2410%20million%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E28%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eundisclosed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMS%26amp%3BAD%20Ventures%2C%20Middle%20East%20Venture%20Partners%2C%20Astra%20Amco%2C%20the%20Dubai%20International%20Financial%20Centre%2C%20Fintech%20Fund%2C%20500%20Startups%2C%20Khwarizmi%20Ventures%2C%20and%20Phoenician%20Funds%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
STAGE%201%20RESULTS
%3Cp%3E1)%20Tim%20Merlier%20(Soudal-Quick-Step)%2C%203h%2017%E2%80%99%2035%E2%80%9D%3Cbr%3E2)%20Caleb%20Ewan%20(Lotto%20Dstny)%20same%20time%3Cbr%3E3)%20Mark%20Cavendish%20(Astana%20Qazaqstan%20Team)%20same%20time%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EGeneral%20Classification%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E1)%20Tim%20Merlier%20(Soudal%20Quick-Step)%203%3A17%3A25%3Cbr%3E2%20-%20Caleb%20Ewan%20(Lotto%20Dstny)%20%2B4%22%3Cbr%3E3%20-%20Luke%20Plapp%20(Ineos%20Grenadiers)%20%2B5%22%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
