The embattled Tour de France champion says an Achilles tendon injury had curtailed his winter schedule, but he says he is now ready to face his rivals for the famed yellow jersey when cycling’s most prestigious race begins next week.
Injury
“I had a problem that I’ve never spoken about. This winter I had an Achilles problem, which I have now thankfully got over,” Nibali said. Nibali put an end to his season drought by winning the Italian national road race crown for the third time on Saturday thanks to a commanding performance on the way to the race’s uphill finish at Superga, outside Turin. As well as ending his stretch without a victory, it gave him the opportunity to wear the Italian tricolour jersey for the rest of the season. A week before the Tour de France start in Utrecht, the privilege comes in timely fashion.
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Victory
“I needed this win, it’s done me a lot of good. It’s liberated me from a lot of the pressure I’ve been under,” said Nibali, whose Astana team came close this season to being banned from the sport after a string of failed doping tests in the team and its Continental set-up. Italians now hope it will be enough for Nibali — only the sixth rider to win all three Grand Tours after Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Alberto Contador — to deflect the challenge of three formidable rivals in the July 4-26 race.
Rivals
The 2013 Tour de France champion Chris Froome, Spain’s two-time winner Contador and Colombian climbing sensation Nairo Quintana are vying to topple Nibali this July. Froome (five victories) and Contador (four) have been busy winning key races and Quintana, with two wins this season, has been training hard in the mountains of Colombia as Nibali struggled through a mostly underwhelming season.
Struggle
Nibali managed only 16th place in the Tirreno-Adriatico in March — a race he won in 2012 and 2013 — and then finished 10th in the Tour of Romandie. At the Criterium du Dauphine, Nibali’s best result was a second-place finish on the mountainous sixth stage behind Rui Costa. “At the Dauphine, I wasn’t strong enough to deal with the fatigue and I also made a few mistakes,” Nibali said.
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Director: Christian Carion
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Rating: 2/5
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ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
LUKA CHUPPI
Director: Laxman Utekar
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Cinema
Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Kriti Sanon, Pankaj Tripathi, Vinay Pathak, Aparshakti Khurana
Rating: 3/5
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 10
Sector: AI, software
Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million
Funding stage: Series A
Where to submit a sample
Volunteers of all ages can submit DNA samples at centres across Abu Dhabi, including: Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec), Biogenix Labs in Masdar City, NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City, NMC Royal Medical Centre, Abu Dhabi, NMC Royal Women's Hospital, Bareen International Hospital, Al Towayya in Al Ain, NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
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Squad
Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)
