RAS AL KHAIMAH // Yousif Mirza was a proud man on Wednesday after leading the 120-strong peloton, as a member of the breakaway group, into his hometown of Ras Al Khaimah on Stage 2 of the Dubai Tour.
Mirza, the Team UAE Abu Dhabi member who represented his country at the Rio Olympics last year, moved into the lead along with Mark Christian (Aqua Blue), Simone Andreetta (Bardiani-CSF), Jean-Pierre Drucker (BMC) and Peter Williams (One Pro Cycling) in the opening 20 kilometres of the 188km Ras Al Khaimah Stage, and the pack stayed in the clear until the final 11kms of the race.
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Read more
■ Stage 2: Chaotic finish, but Marcel Kittel wins again
■ Stage 1: Marcel Kittel praises teammates after win
■ Dubai Tour 2017: Map and courses for all five stages
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“I’m happy I spent the whole stage in the main breakaway,” Mirza said.
“It’s an honour for me to have exploited the opportunity, which had been given to me by the team’s sports director, to try to join the breakaway. We rode fast and we succeeded in obtaining a good gap on the peloton and we led the race until 10km to go.
“This stage meant a lot for me: leading a stage in my hometown, wearing the National champion jersey and racing for the Team UAE Abu Dhabi is something special.”
Mirza, 28, picked up six points on the day, finishing second to Drucker in the two Intermediate Sprints of Stage 2, and the Emirati is eighth on the Marcel Kittel-headed General Classification, 16 seconds behind the leader and defending champion.
“Only one regret: I would have loved to win at least one of the two intermediate sprints of the stage,” Mirza said.
“However, Drucker is a very fast rider and so I obtained two second places.
“If I’ll receive again the role of breakaway hunter from my sports director, I’ll try to attack again in the next stages.”
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What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
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Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESupy%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDani%20El-Zein%2C%20Yazeed%20bin%20Busayyis%2C%20Ibrahim%20Bou%20Ncoula%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFood%20and%20beverage%2C%20tech%2C%20hospitality%20software%2C%20Saas%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%20for%20six%20months%3B%20pre-seed%20round%20of%20%241.5%20million%3B%20seed%20round%20of%20%248%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBeco%20Capital%2C%20Cotu%20Ventures%2C%20Valia%20Ventures%20and%20Global%20Ventures%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
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Sunday
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Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
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Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
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- Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, chair of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate.
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What Super Bowl LIII
Who is playing New England Patriots v Los Angeles Rams
Where Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, United States
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