Alexander Kristoff provided UAE Team Emirates with the perfect start to the Abu Dhabi Tour.
The Norwegian European champion won the 189-kilometre opening Al Fahim stage from Madinat Zayed to Adnoc School in a thrilling bunch finish on Wednesday.
Kristoff edged out Andrea Guardini of Bardiani-CSF and Mitchelton-Scott rider Caleb Ewan to cross the line in four hours, 48 minutes and 24 seconds. Elia Viviani, winner of the Dubai Tour, had to settle for fourth ahead of Briton Dan McLay of EF-Drapac.
“In the final (sprint), I lost my rhythm and I lost lead-out man Roberto Ferrari, but then I found Caleb Ewan in the end and I know he’s fast,” Kristoff said.
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Read more:
Mark Cavendish out of Abu Dhabi Tour after shoulder injury sustained in crash
Abu Dhabi Tour: UAE Team Emirates focused on supporting Kristoff in sprints
Fabio Aru determined to 'get off on the right foot' in UAE Team Emirates debut
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“He started to really go for the sprint but I was in the draft and then managed to come round and hold on in the headwind all the way to the line.
“It’s a great win for me and the team, on home ground. It takes the pressure off now and it’s a really nice feeling. I’m really proud to get the win, my second win of the season. It’s a great feeling to start off like this in a new team.”
Stage 1 panned out according to the strategy predicted by Rui Costa, the UAE Team Emirates leader and defending champion of the Abu Dhabi Tour, when he spoke to The National at the pre-race conference on Tuesday.
“The first three stages of the race suit Alexander and we are all going to support him to win the sprint stages,” the Portuguese rider had said.
Kristoff, who won the final stage of the Tour of Oman five days ago, demonstrated the confidence his teammates had in him as he powered his way to victory.
“I want to thank all my teammates for helping me to achieve this result,” he said. “I felt good in Dubai, I came close to winning, I felt good again in the hills in Oman but I had to wait for the last stage of Oman to win my first race of the season.
“I wanted to make a three week block of racing in the Middle East because I’m usually good after a Grand Tour. It’s part of my build up to the classics.
“Normally, a race like today with tailwind and headwind but very few crosswinds it's not easy for me to beat all the pure sprinters but the slightly uphill end suited me.
“I’m delighted to ride with the Red Jersey tomorrow. I’ll have another two chances for a bunch sprint finish but the GC is more important for the team. However, the time trial makes it more difficult for us to win the Abu Dhabi Tour this year but we’ll try.”
Ewan, 23, felt he launched his sprint too early but explained he was forced into going early.
“I didn’t want to hesitate against the headwind because I’d lose all my speed,” the Australian said. “It was probably about 50m earlier than I hoped to have gone but I just had to hit out and try to hold on. It was a little bit too long for me. I’ll come for revenge tomorrow. I feel very good. I must not repeat the same little mistake again.”
Earlier in the day, Team Dimension Data suffered a huge blow before the official start of the race when their lead rider, Mark Cavendish, had to withdraw from the race following a crash at the neutral zone.
Cavendish initially re-joined the main field, but pulled out five kilometres later.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
SHAITTAN
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVikas%20Bahl%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAjay%20Devgn%2C%20R.%20Madhavan%2C%20Jyothika%2C%20Janaki%20Bodiwala%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Switch%20Foods%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Edward%20Hamod%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Plant-based%20meat%20production%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2034%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%246.5%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20round%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Based%20in%20US%20and%20across%20Middle%20East%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
SERIE A FIXTURES
Friday Sassuolo v Torino (Kick-off 10.45pm UAE)
Saturday Atalanta v Sampdoria (5pm),
Genoa v Inter Milan (8pm),
Lazio v Bologna (10.45pm)
Sunday Cagliari v Crotone (3.30pm)
Benevento v Napoli (6pm)
Parma v Spezia (6pm)
Fiorentina v Udinese (9pm)
Juventus v Hellas Verona (11.45pm)
Monday AC Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)
if you go
The flights
Flydubai flies to Podgorica or nearby Tivat via Sarajevo from Dh2,155 return including taxes. Turkish Airlines flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Podgorica via Istanbul; alternatively, fly with Flydubai from Dubai to Belgrade and take a short flight with Montenegro Air to Podgorica. Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Podgorica via Belgrade. Flights cost from about Dh3,000 return including taxes. There are buses from Podgorica to Plav.
The tour
While you can apply for a permit for the route yourself, it’s best to travel with an agency that will arrange it for you. These include Zbulo in Albania (www.zbulo.org) or Zalaz in Montenegro (www.zalaz.me).