Race leader Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland receives assistance as he lies on the ground after a fall during the 159.5-kilometre third stage yesterday. Eric Gaillard / Reuters
Race leader Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland receives assistance as he lies on the ground after a fall during the 159.5-kilometre third stage yesterday. Eric Gaillard / Reuters

Chris Froome zooms to the front as others go boom



Chris Froome showed his strength on Monday – and took the race leader’s yellow jersey – with second place on a Stage 3 of the Tour de France marred by a high-speed crash.

The 159.5-kilometre third stage from Antwerp to the Mur de Huy was stopped for around 10 minutes due to a lack of medical cover after a 50kph crash involving leader Fabian Cancellara of the Trek team caused chaos around 80km from the finish.

The 1.3km finishing ascent was still to come and 2013 champion Froome (Team Sky) took to the front with 500m to go, followed by Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha).

Tony Gallopin (Lotto-Soudal) shadowed Rodriguez’s surge and Froome followed, too, before finishing second to the Spaniard.

It meant Froome gained valuable time over his rivals for the race victory, with Contador, defending champion Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and Nairo Quintana (Movistar) trailing the Briton.

Cancellara lost the yellow jersey just two road stages into the 21-stage race.

It was anything but a routine day as FDJ rider William Bonnet crossed wheels and tumbled over his handlebars. A domino effect followed, with several riders crashing to the Tarmac, and Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin), Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge) and Dmitry Kozontchuk (Katusha) joining Bonnet in abandoning the race. Confusion followed as race director Christian Prudhomme first neutralised the race, then Team Sky took to the front as racing was waved on.

Next, Prudhomme appeared once again, neutralising before stopping the race, as all the race medics were occupied treating the injured. There was a 10-minute delay and the ascent of the Tour’s first categorised climb, the category four Cote de Bhissau, was neutralised, with racing starting again when the peloton crested the summit.

Nibali’s Astana squad and Contador’s Tinkoff-Saxo team forced a small fracture in the peloton that Froome’s Team Sky closed.

Another opened up, with Cancellara caught on the wrong side.

He was not the only struggler, but the fast pace relented and the peloton converged again.

Positioning was important coming into the final ascent of the Mur de Huy and the jostling began apace up the penultimate climb, the Cote de Cherave. Froome, using his elbows as a shield, moved through to the front of the bunch and showed his form to take the overall lead.

It was another ideal day for Froome and Team Sky. After profiting from splits in the peloton to gain one minute 28 seconds on Nibali and Quintana on Sunday’s second stage, he gained 11secs on the pair yesterday and 18secs on Contador.

Tuesday’s 223.5km cobbled stage from Seraing to Cambrai is a different challenge for Froome, but at least now he has a head start.

Froome paid tribute to his teammates for helping him to avoid the crash, saying: “They just turned themselves inside out to keep me always at the front of the race. Today was treacherous, lots of crashes again.

“I just couldn’t be happier to be in yellow going into the cobbled stage tomorrow.”

Asked if he can hold on to the lead until Paris, Froome added: “I’m not banking on anything at this point, but I’d rather be in this position that I’m in now rather than having to make up time on yellow, so I’m really happy with the standings and just hope to get through these next few days without any major issues.”

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
THE BIO

Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren

Favourite travel destination: Switzerland

Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers

Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum

Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021

Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.

The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.

These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.

“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.

“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.

“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.

“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”

Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.

There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.

“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.

“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.

“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”

The Library: A Catalogue of Wonders
Stuart Kells, Counterpoint Press

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

TOURNAMENT INFO

Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier

Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November

UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi

Your Guide to the Home
  • Level 1 has a valet service if you choose not to park in the basement level. This level houses all the kitchenware, including covetable brand French Bull, along with a wide array of outdoor furnishings, lamps and lighting solutions, textiles like curtains, towels, cushions and bedding, and plenty of other home accessories.
  • Level 2 features curated inspiration zones and solutions for bedrooms, living rooms and dining spaces. This is also where you’d go to customise your sofas and beds, and pick and choose from more than a dozen mattress options.
  • Level 3 features The Home’s “man cave” set-up and a display of industrial and rustic furnishings. This level also has a mother’s room, a play area for children with staff to watch over the kids, furniture for nurseries and children’s rooms, and the store’s design studio.
     
The Scale for Clinical Actionability of Molecular Targets
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher:  Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5

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Scoreline

Abu Dhabi Harlequins 17

Jebel Ali Dragons 20

Harlequins Tries: Kinivilliame, Stevenson; Cons: Stevenson 2; Pen: Stevenson

Dragons Tries: Naisau, Fourie; Cons: Love 2; Pens: Love 2

Schedule for Asia Cup

Sept 15: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Dubai)

Sept 16: Pakistan v Qualifier (Dubai)

Sept 17: Sri Lanka v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 18: India v Qualifier (Dubai)

Sept 19: India v Pakistan (Dubai)

Sept 20: Bangladesh v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four

Sept 21: Group A Winner v Group B Runner-up (Dubai) 

Sept 21: Group B Winner v Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 23: Group A Winner v Group A Runner-up (Dubai)

Sept 23: Group B Winner v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 25: Group A Winner v Group B Winner (Dubai)

Sept 26: Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 28: Final (Dubai)

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