arabnews.com - ’It’s a joke’ as Tour of Algarve riders take road to nowhere

’It’s a joke’ as Tour of Algarve riders take road to nowhere

With around 800m left on the opening stage, most of the peloton took a right-hand exit“It’s a joke! It’s completely ridiculous!” said Austrian rider Marco Haller PARIS: The Tour of the Algarve was branded as “ridiculous” and a “joke” on Wednesday when a pack of riders took the wrong road and completely missed the finish line.With around 800m left on the opening stage, most of the peloton took a right-hand exit, reserved for officials and team cars, at a roundabout instead of the left which headed to the finish.Only around 30 riders chose the correct route including Filippo Ganna who came home ahead of Frenchman Romain Gregoire and Jan Christen of Switzerland.However, their joy was short-lived as the stage was swiftly canceled and Ganna’s career wins total remains at 33.“It’s a joke! It’s completely ridiculous!” said Austrian rider Marco Haller who blamed the chaos on the lack of clear signage at the entry to the right-hand lane.“The diversion was not blocked off. As a result, the riders followed the motorcycle (of the organization).

De Minaur, Medvedev and Rublev advance to Qatar Open quarterfinals

DOHA: Four of the top-seeded players of the Qatar Open advanced on Wednesday to the quarterfinals of the tournament. Alex de Minaur, Andrey Rublev, Daniil Medvedev, and Jack Draper won their matches in straight sets. Top-seeded player Carlos Alcaraz can join them among the last eight later if he beats Italy’s Luca Nardi. Second-seeded De Minaur beat Botic van de Zandschulp by a double 6-4.

Bayern’s Kane says injury could keep him out against Frankfurt

PARIS: Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane said he was likely to miss Sunday’s Bundesliga game at home to Eintracht Frankfurt after he was replaced at half time in Bayern’s 3-2 aggregate Champions League victory over Celtic. Kane hit the bar in an otherwise quiet 45 minutes against the Scottish side. He later told reporters that he had suffered a calf problem. “We’ll have a scan tonight and then we’ll see.

Witness Stand gears up for Saudi Cup’s $2m 1351 Turf Sprint

LONDON: Urloxhey Stables is set for its first international flat runner as Witness Stand prepares to line up in the $2 million 1351 Turf Sprint at the Saudi Cup on Saturday.

Sabalenka thrashed in Dubai as Paolini’s title defense ends

DUBAI: World number one Aryna Sabalenka slumped to a 6-3, 6-2 loss against Denmark’s Clara Tauson in the last 16 of the Dubai Championships on Wednesday, as Jasmine Paolini’s title defense came to a painful end. Sabalenka, who beat the 38th-ranked Tauson on her way to last month’s Australian Open final, suffered a second straight premature exit after losing in her opening match in Qatar a week ago. Tauson broke Sabalenka’s serve six times and the Dane will go on to play Czech youngster Linda Noskova, who knocked out fifth seed Jessica Pegula in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals. The 22-year-old Tauson beat Noskova in the first round of the Australian Open.

Real Madrid’s Bellingham banned for two matches after dissent

MADRID: Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham was hit with a two-match La Liga ban on Wednesday by the Spanish football federation’s disciplinary committee after he was sent off for dissent. The England international was dismissed during the champions’ 1-1 draw at Osasuna on Saturday by referee Jose Munuera Montero. Bellingham, who insisted he had been expressing his frustration and not insulting the referee, will miss league matches against Girona and Real Betis on February 23 and March 2 respectively. The disciplinary committee said Madrid’s attempts to show that Bellingham had not insulted the official were “insufficient” to remove “the presumption of veracity of the referee’s report.” Bellingham had said his dismissal was due to a misunderstanding.

Who would WTA players choose to coach them from their closest rivals?

DUBAI: Last December, Novak Djokovic shocked the sports world by announcing he had hired his long-time rival and recently retired Andy Murray to be his coach.

Arab icons Al-Somah and Hamdallah fight for SPL’s all-time top scorer accolade

AUSTRALIA: While there will naturally be a lot of focus on the see-sawing title battle between heavyweights Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal, there is another heavyweight battle looming over the final months of the Saudi Pro League season.

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’It’s a joke’ as Tour of Algarve riders take road to nowhere

De Minaur, Medvedev and Rublev advance to Qatar Open quarterfinals

Bayern’s Kane says injury could keep him out against Frankfurt

Witness Stand gears up for Saudi Cup’s $2m 1351 Turf Sprint

Sabalenka thrashed in Dubai as Paolini’s title defense ends

Real Madrid’s Bellingham banned for two matches after dissent

Who would WTA players choose to coach them from their closest rivals?

Arab icons Al-Somah and Hamdallah fight for SPL’s all-time top scorer accolade