The 2020 season starts next week and I cannot wait!
After a fantastic training camp in Spain, I’m feeling fresh and ready for a big season with UAE Team Emirates.
The camp was really busy - as well as the training, we had a lot of biometric and physical tests that measured everything from our power to our eye sight. It’s amazing to see the level of technology the team uses to get the best out of the riders. I’ve never seen anything like this in pro cycling, it really is next level.
We also got our new kits for 2020. They look very similar to 2019 so fans can easily pick us out in the peloton.
The camp was also a good chance for the whole squad to get together and it gave the new riders an opportunity to meet the team and back room staff.
Cycling is unlike most other team sports. Because everyone has a unique race schedule, we can go a whole year without seeing someone that we hung out with at the pre-season camp.
I know some of the new riders already and so far, they have settled in really well. The team puts a lot of trust in youth and this season we’ve got a really good balance between the young riders and the more experienced guys. We’ve also got a real mix of nationalities which brings a cool vibe to the dinner table in the evenings.
It’s nice to know you can speak to the riders who have been on the tour a lot longer than you. I’m always asking for tips about some of the races and the experienced guys offer advice on things like positioning and tactics. I always pay attention to them and know I need to, to keep improving.
There’s a really good atmosphere in the team right now and we’re all very optimistic about the season ahead.
First up for us is the Santos Tour Down Under, kicking the season off on Tuesday, January 21. I won stage 5 last year in my first WorldTour race for UAE Team Emirates, albeit under unusual circumstances. I came second but was promoted to first place after Lotto Soudal’s Caleb Ewan, who was first across the finish line, was relegated.
It was nice to have a victory under my belt, especially in my first race, but nobody wants to win like that. You want to cross the line first with your arms in the air and hopefully this year I will get to experience that a few times.
As a team, we are really looking forward to the season starting and also the Tour Down Under. We are keeping a close eye on what is happening in Australia at the moment and we are thinking of the people affected by the bush fires. As for the race itself, I see a few opportunities for the sprinters and myself. We have Diego Ulissi in the team who will be our man for the GC.
We face just over 900km of racing and more than 12,000km of climbing, but the race usually comes down to mere seconds. In 2017, Richie Porte, had one of the biggest winning margins and that was just 48 seconds. The time bonuses at the finish of each stage and at some of the sprints will become vital as there will be tough competition for the race with a lot of the riders eager for an early victory.
At the training camp, I sat down with the directors and planned which races I would be riding throughout the season. As a Belgian, I always looking out for the races in my home country as they are very special to me, they also suit my characteristics quite well. Normally, I’m good at the sprints and I’d like to perform in the classic races but it’s not always easy. After Australia, I will prepare for the spring classics. Then look to Paris-Nice, the Tour of Flanders and the Vuelta Espana – these are races that I’d like to perform well in.
My first season in the WorldTour was a good experience and I achieved quite a few podiums. It was about building up my experience in some of the big races and aiming for good results in the smaller ones. I got a lot of chances and a lot of trust was put in me from the team.
We will see what this season holds but it’s great to know I have the backing of my team and hopefully I can repay the faith put in me this season with a more wins.
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
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TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
Feeding the thousands for iftar
Six industrial scale vats of 500litres each are used to cook the kanji or broth
Each vat contains kanji or porridge to feed 1,000 people
The rice porridge is poured into a 500ml plastic box
350 plastic tubs are placed in one container trolley
Each aluminium container trolley weighing 300kg is unloaded by a small crane fitted on a truck
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
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The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
