عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Sports

Merlier Beats Sprint Rivals for Third UAE Tour Stage Win

The peloton leaving Al Dhafra Walk on the 141km desert run to Liwa © Giuseppe CACACE / AFP
The peloton leaving Al Dhafra Walk on the 141km desert run to Liwa © Giuseppe CACACE / AFP
TT
TT

Merlier Beats Sprint Rivals for Third UAE Tour Stage Win

The peloton leaving Al Dhafra Walk on the 141km desert run to Liwa © Giuseppe CACACE / AFP
The peloton leaving Al Dhafra Walk on the 141km desert run to Liwa © Giuseppe CACACE / AFP

Tim Merlier burst past a clutch of top sprinters to secure his third win of the UAE Tour on Saturday, winning the sixth and penultimate stage by a convincing margin.

The 31-year-old Belgian cut through the field from around 150 metres out and opened a 20-metre gap before easing off with his left arm raised in triumph at the Abu Dhabi Breakwater finish line.

In the overall standings, Jay Vine of UAE Team Emirates leads his Australian compatriot Ben O'Connor of Decathlon AG2R by 11 seconds, while American Brandon McNulty is third at 13sec.

Only 134 riders set off from the Louvre Abu Dhabi start line Saturday after British veteran sprinter Mark Cavendish pulled out sick.

"He doesn't feel good today, he has some fever," said Astana sports director Dmitry Fofonov. "So we took the decision not to start today because there is hot weather."

Cavendish will be back in action at the Tirreno Adriatico stage race in early March.

Sunday's UAE Tour finale features a 10km climb up Jebel Hafeet mountain which will decide the winner, with Spanish rider Pello Bilbao at 22sec in fifth one of the main men to watch out for.

Most Viewed

 
 
Sports

Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony: Saudi Team Highlights Cultural Heritage

Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
TT
TT

Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony: Saudi Team Highlights Cultural Heritage

Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)

Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, Chairman of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and his deputy, Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdulaziz, attended the opening ceremony of the 33rd Olympic Games in Paris.

Held outside the traditional stadiums for the first time in history, the ceremony featured a parade of the 206 participating countries on 100 boats traveling approximately 6 kilometers along the Seine River.

The Saudi show jumping team player, Ramzy Al-Duhami, and his colleague, the Saudi Taekwondo champion Dunya Aboutaleb, raised the Saudi flag at the opening of the world’s largest sporting event.

Al-Duhami expressed his pride in raising the Kingdom’s flag alongside his teammate, noting that it was a dream for any Saudi citizen. He wished success for the Saudi athletes in representing Saudi sports with distinction.

Aboutaleb, in turn, said he was honored to carry the Kingdom’s flag at the Olympic Games, stating: “I aspire to perform at a level that reflects the support and attention given to sports in the Kingdom.”

The Saudi athletes’ uniform was admired by the international media and the audience, who applauded the players the moment their boat appeared on the Seine River.

The designs for the opening ceremony were chosen through a national competition organized by the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee, with the participation of designers from across the Kingdom.

Out of 128 competing designers, the chosen uniform by Saudi designer Alia Al-Salmi featured traditional men’s thobes and bishts and brightly patterned thobe al-nashal for women, symbolizing the athletes’ pride in their homeland and cultural roots.

Mashael Al-Ayed, 17, will be the first Saudi athlete to compete, taking to the pool for the 200 meters freestyle swimming event on July 28. Al-Ayed is the first female swimmer to represent Saudi Arabia at the Olympics.