Tadej Pogacar column: I am living a dream but Tour de France success must also go to UAE Team Emirates


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To be here wearing the yellow jersey of the Tour de France still hasn't sunk in yet. I'm speechless. I am very proud of this jersey that repays all the efforts made by the team up to this last phenomenal push to put me in yellow. I dreamed of winning this Tour since I was a boy and now it has come true.

I must say that the credit is not only mine, but of all the members of UAE Team Emirates and the sponsors who support us. The preparation this year was all focused on the Tour. It was a long period to prepare and it was well planned by my team - with the training camps, the training schedule during the lockdown, keeping the right mindset.

I came into this Tour in good shape. Unfortunately we lost a couple of teammates along the way, but we didn’t give up, we stayed positive.

The three weeks were just fantastic. Every day we had a great atmosphere and good attitude in the team, and it was a really amazing time. I tried to keep the mind relaxed and go with the flow stage by stage. We kept a good atmosphere on the bus before and after the stages. They kept my mind really focused and not stressed throughout the three weeks, that was really important.

It was quite a different time trial. If someone told me I would be in the position where I was at that day before the Tour, I would never have believed them. We had come here to the Time Trial for a reconnaissance, so I knew what we were going to do and I knew where to accelerate and where to manage the effort: I only had to think about pushing hard from start to finish. During the time trial I felt that I was going strong and this spurred me even more.

I thought beforehand that if I had a good day then probably, I would be close to [race leader Primoz] Roglic. He didn’t have the best day, so I was able to make up the time. I didn’t know that I had won the jersey until after he had crossed the line. I have a lot of respect for him as a rival and a friend. I know he’s disappointed at the moment but I’m sure we will have many great battles in the future.

I still can't believe that I am the youngest Tour de France winner since 1904 and its first from Slovenia. I had some good years with UAE Team Emirates where I won Tour de l'Avenir in 2018 and capped by three stages victories and a podium at Vuelta a Espana last year.

I feel happy at the moment with my team. Since I arrived at UAE Team Emirates, I felt part of the family. I have many friends in the team and there has always been a good atmosphere with the riders and the staff. That's also one of the main reasons why I recently renewed my contract with the team until 2024. UAE Team Emirates is a long-term project with some strong sponsors, and I am proud to be part of it.

I want to stay the same: humble, training hard, going to races with the same mindset and keeping up the good work that my team is doing. I need to thank my family, my girlfriend and all our fans in the UAE for supporting me every step of the way. My dream as a cyclist was to participate in the Tour de France, winning it definitely goes further.

Who has been sanctioned?

Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.

Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.

Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.

Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.

Madrid Open schedule

Men's semi-finals

Novak Djokovic (1) v Dominic Thiem (5) from 6pm

Stefanos Tsitsipas (8) v Rafael Nadal (2) from 11pm

Women's final

Simona Halep (3) v Kiki Bertens (7) from 8.30pm

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The specs

Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo

Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed

Power: 271 and 409 horsepower

Torque: 385 and 650Nm

Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000

ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand

UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

How it works

A $10 hand-powered LED light and battery bank

Device is operated by hand cranking it at any time during the day or night 

The charge is stored inside a battery

The ratio is that for every minute you crank, it provides 10 minutes light on the brightest mode

A full hand wound charge is of 16.5minutes 

This gives 1.1 hours of light on high mode or 2.5 hours of light on low mode

When more light is needed, it can be recharged by winding again

The larger version costs between $18-20 and generates more than 15 hours of light with a 45-minute charge

No limit on how many times you can charge