Tag Archives: cricket
American cyclist Phinney makes history in Dubai
American cyclist Phinney makes history in Dubai Adur Pradeep / 6 February 2014 World champion Tony Martin finishes fourth behind Olympic winner Lasse Norman Hansen BMC Racing Team’s Taylor Phinney of US on his way to victory in Dubai on Wednesday. — KT photo by Rahul Gajjar It was a historic moment for Dubai and Taylor Phinney on Wednesday. The American rode into cycling’s history books by winning the first stage on the inaugural Dubai Tour. Phinney’s stunning time trial helped him being the first ever recipient of the Dubai Tour’s blue jersey. Phinney, a former under-23 world time trial champion, averaged 50.29km/h in the 9.9km time trial to set a winning time of 12’03”, and guided his team BMC Racing one-two with team-mate Britain’s Steve Cummings finishing second. An excited Phinney (@taylorphinney) tweeted: “Hey that feels good! Huge honor to win the first stage here at @TourOfDubai. Thank you BMC for believing in me, and also for the fast bike!!” The first stage, named ‘The Down Town stage’ – the individual time trial – was held within the new city. World champion Tony Martin, who is competing in his first race after surgery in the winter, finished fourth, behind Garmin-Sharp’s Lasse Norman Hansen, winner of the 2012 Olympic omnium gold. Cummings also set an impressive time of 12’17, giving BMC a dream start. World number one Joaquim Rodriguez of Katusha, completed the course in 13’40”. “I thought I was going to beat my record of watts, I reached 490. I knew I was already in good condition as I’d worked well over the winter,” said. “If there’s an event that’s best for me, it’s anything around 12 minutes and below. I haven’t had many opportunities to ride short time trials since I’ve been pro — they seem to be phasing out short time trials and Prologues — so I was really happy when this course came out. It means a lot to win today,” Phinney said. “I’ve been thinking about this race since they came out with the race route weeks ago. I knew there would be some big names here. Specifically, Tony Martin is good in any time trial. especially on a road bike, so I’m overjoyed and relieved that I have won,” the 23-year-old said. While elaborating his strategy for the opening race, he said: “I decided to go early because of the weather report. It looked like the wind was going to build up. I hope it was the same conditions for everyone, but I don’t know. You want everyone to go at the same time, but it’s not easy when there are 125 of you.” Phinney, who claimed second place in an Argentine season warm-up last month, was quite happy with the start he got in Dubai. “After a disappointing 2013, I’ve had a good off-season. I’m fresh mentally and physically but I’ve also been training a lot. The team has a different approach this year: all the riders have individual goals, and I’m a goal-setting-type person, so I like that. Today was a big goal for me. I’m happy with the way my Dubai Tour has started.” But he is also quite aware about the challenges ahead. “The win is a big confidence booster for me. I thought I knew what I was capable of on a course like this, but I exceeded my expectations today. I haven’t won the Dubai Tour yet. There are a lot of variables in this race: wind, climbs on St 3, more wind on St 4. All I can do is take it day by day. There’s some strong competition here, but BMC has a good team, we have also Steve Cummings who is strong and in a good position, so I’m excited. It’s a short race but it’s going to be intense. A lot of things can happen over the next couple of days, we just have to stay calm, we have a good chance.” Mark Cavendish is among the riders taking part in the four-day race, which continues on Thursday with a 122km ride from Dubai to Palm Jumeirah. The second stage will cover a total of 122km, finishing at Palm Jumeirah on Thursday. The second stage, named ‘The Sport Stage’ runs through the area with the most important sports building in Dubai, including Hippodrome, the Olympic pool, the Al Qudra cycling path, the Autodrome and the amazing Golf Club. The third stage, the longest of the race at 162km, will go outside the city and through the desert to finish in Hatta. This stage will be called ‘The Nature Stage’. The fourth and final stage – 124km in length – will cross the old part of the city, passing alongside two of the most iconic Dubai buildings: the Burj Al Arab and the Burj Khalifa. This stage is known as ‘The Old Dubai Stage’. – pradeep@khaleejtimes.com Dubai Tour: On the right track The Dubai Tour first-stage got off to an overwhelming start on Wednesday afternoon. Khaleej Times photographers Juidin Bernarrd and Rahul Gajjar, along with agencies, capture some of the spectacular moments Italian cyclist Eugenio Alafaci, of Trek Factory Racing Team, rides past the Burj Al Khalifa. AFP Peter Velits, of BMC Racing Team negotiates a bend. AFP Evan Huffman, of Team Astana, during the 10 km Dubai Tour at Downtown Dubai. – KT photo by Juidin Bernarrd Fans cheers as Martin Tony of Team Omega Pharma-Quick Step nears the finish point at the DWTC.- KT photo by Rahul Gajjar Kittel Marcel of Giant-Shimano in action. KT photo by Rahul Gajjar A fan with Dinosaurs mask watches a cyclist go past. Ramunas Navardauskas of Team Garmin Sharp pedals on. – KT photo by Juidin Bernarrd Mark Cavendish, former World Champion, in action at Downtown Dubai. KT photo by Juidin Bernarrd For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Penalties for offering private tuitions in Sharjah
Penalties for offering private tuitions in Sharjah Afkar Abdullah / 6 February 2014 Sharjah Education Zone issues circular imposing tough penalties against teachers offering private tuitions. Private tuitions can affect the quality of education provided at schools and add to the financial burden of parents. — Photo used for illustrative purposes Following several complaints from parents about teachers offering private tuitions to students, the Sharjah Education Zone issued a circular imposing tough penalties against such teachers. Offering tuitions to students is strictly prohibited by the Ministry of Education, as it affects the quality of education provided at schools and adds more financial burden on parents. Some teachers reportedly force students to inform their parents that they would have to take tuition classes citing lack of time to complete the syllabus in class. Mona Shuhail, Deputy Director of the Sharjah Education Zone, said they received several complaints from parents about tuitions being offered to their children in private schools. Based on the regulations of the Ministry of Education, the authority issued the circular and distributed it to all private and public schools in Sharjah. The circular warned teachers that giving private tuitions would result in tough penalties including warnings, fines and dismissal. “The education zone recently fined some private schools which were found promoting private tuitions for its students after schools hours,” Shuhail said. If a teacher is found violating regulations, a written warning is first issued, and if the teacher repeats the offence, the zone instructs the school to terminate the teacher’s services. “The practice (of promoting tuitions), which is increasing at private schools, affects education development and the financial budgets of parents,” she said. Hessah Al Khajah, Director of Private Schools at the Sharjah Education Zone, said parents and teachers are equally responsible for the practice. Al Khajah urged schools managements to take all efforts to combat it so as to improve the quality of education. The zone had earlier introduced ‘education strengthening classes’ at a little extra charge to combat private tuitions. School principals Khaleej Times spoke to said “poor teaching processes” at some schools force parents to opt for private tuition classes. “Some parents can’t afford to pay for private tuitions in addition to the annual school fees,” one principal said. – afkarali@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Over 1.2 million visited Global Village during DSF
Over 1.2 million visited Global Village during DSF Lily B. Libo-on / 6 February 2014 International entertainers at the village during the month-long DSF included American street performer, Todd Various; drummers from Kerala and the Level Up acrobatic dance show. Over 1.2 million families and tourists experienced shopping, fun and entertainment at the Global Village, Dubai’s leading family entertainment and cultural destination, during the month-long Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF), which ended on February 2. Kuwaiti couple Talal and Fatima Al Jaber said every year they take their four children to the Global Village for the fun rides, shopping and dining experience which they cannot experience in their country. The Global Village, with its numerous pavilions, food outlets, amazing shows and fun fair, provides wholesome entertainment for the whole family. —KT photo by Juidin Bernarrd Their eldest son, Midhat, likes everything at the Global Village, from the variety of food to the amazing shows, toys and clothes — everything is delightful. “I love all the rides. My sisters, brother and I go for all of them. So nice.” The Dubai Shopping Festival Parade comprising 700 performers makes it the biggest parade of its kind in the Middle East, the international shows and the numerous performances taking place at the 30 pavilions have all enthralled visitors from within the UAE and abroad. International entertainers at the village during the month-long DSF included American street performer, Todd Various; drummers from Kerala and the Level Up acrobatic dance show. Ahmad Hussein, Director of Operations at the Global Village, said the village recorded some 95,000 tourists and residents visiting it last Friday, January 31, the last weekend before DSF ended. “We are extremely pleased with the number of visitors during the Dubai Shopping Festival. We made sure there was some activity for everyone to enjoy during this special time of the year. The sheer range and number of unique entertainment and cultural shows made the Global Village more attractive this year. The festival itself is a great opportunity for the public and the private sector to work together, and brings together a unique experience between shopping and entertainment,” Hussain said. Visitors to the Global Village also experienced the excitement during DSF with the park hosting the Dubai Shopping Festival Raffle Draw. The daily raffle saw lucky winners walk away with two brand new cars — Infiniti QX60 and G25 — as well as a cash prize of Dh100,000. For February, special promotional packages have been introduced for families. Entry will be free for children below the age of 12 every Monday, or Family Day, and there will be a discount of Dh10 on food for every Dh60 spent at its most popular restaurants. A mix of cultural and modern entertainment offerings this February include the Fairy Tales on Ice, which is being done in a specially designed rink just beside the World Culture Stage. Plays such as Aladdin and Cinderella will be performed there. Monday saw the story of Pinocchio being performed in the Fairy Tales on Ice. Visitors can also enjoy the high flying six-man All Star Dunkers, the rhythmic Argentinian Gauchos performance, Level Up and the Chinese Unicyclists on the World Culture Stage. — lily@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
