ABU DHABI // The last few steps to cross the finish line were important for everyone in the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon, but perhaps even more significant for Rob Woestenborghs.
Less than a year ago, he was in a coma after a horrible crash in a cycling race, with his chances of survival touch-and-go.
Yesterday, sealing an extraordinary recovery, the Belgian was back in the saddle for the men's elite competition of the capital's triathlon, finishing 28th out of 32 athletes.
In 2008, Woestenborghs was at the top of his game. He became the world champion in duathlon, an event similar to triathlon except that the swimming leg is replaced by a second running leg.
Then on May 10 2009, he was travelling at over 55kph in a bicycle race in the Netherlands when the rider in front of him stopped short.
Woestenborghs flew over his handle bars and smashed into a tree.
"It happened so fast," he said. "The next thing I knew I was laying down on the ground and I couldn't breathe. I felt everything slipping away."
Half an hour after he arrived at the hospital he fell into a coma. He had 22 broken bones and suffered serious damage to his spleen, liver, kidney and lungs. "The doctors didn't know if I would survive for the first three days. They were difficult."
Finally, after five days, he came out of the coma. But he thought he would never ride a bicycle again. For the first months he focused on his rehabilitation. Once his organs healed, he worked on strengthening his weakened muscles.
Incredibly, within nine months he was able to get back on his bike again, albeit with restrictions. "My wife doesn't let me do any bicycle-only races," he said. Instead, he focused on his first love, the triathlon.
He was determined to get back into the sport and marked his return in January by competing in the Half Ironman Triathlon in South Africa.
Woestenborghs had initially entered triathlons for fun, but in 2004 he decided to become a professional in the gruelling sport. "It is something you grow into," he said.
"At first you are racing and aiming for the front. Then you start to notice you are coming in between the guys who are professional. You want to get better every time and you have to go professional. Otherwise it is not a fair fight."
Although he is an osteopath by trade, the 33-year-old Belgian has competed in more than 100 races around the world.
His wife, Barbara, is an anaesthesiologist and lives in Belgium with their daughter. She tries to come to races but cannot attend all of them because she holds a full-time job. Although she wanted to be here, Abu Dhabi was just too far.
For him, Abu Dhabi is not just about the race, but the journey, too. "Whatever position I am in I was happy to be on the bike again."
Despite his accident, he finished yesterday's race in 7hrs12min53sec, only 38 minutes behind the winner, Eneko Llanos of Spain.
As he made those final steps to end the race, he was aware of how far he can still go. "It was," he said, "intense."
amcmeans@thenational.ae
Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.
The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?
My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.
The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.
So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.
SPECS
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Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
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START-UPS IN BATCH 4 OF SANABIL 500'S ACCELERATOR PROGRAMME
Saudi Arabia
Joy: Delivers car services with affordable prices
Karaz: Helps diabetics with gamification, IoT and real-time data
Medicarri: Medical marketplace that connects clinics with suppliers
Mod5r: Makes automated and recurring investments to grow wealth
Stuck: Live, on-demand language support to boost writing
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UAE
Eighty6: Marketplace for restaurant and supplier procurements
FarmUnboxed: Helps digitise international food supply chain
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Amwal: A Shariah-compliant crowd-lending platform
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The specs
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The five stages of early child’s play
From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:
1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.
2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.
3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.
4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.
5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.
Profile Idealz
Company: Idealz
Founded: January 2018
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Size: (employees): 22
Investors: Co-founders and Venture Partners (9 per cent)
