WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2021 12

East Riffa score big win over Malkiya set for season-opening ride Kingdom’s premier international cycling outfit set to compete in Tour de la Provence starting tomorrow

Seven-member team• named for UCI We had a super good Europe Tour event training camp with the whole team, and Four-stage race to now we are looking be• held in Provence forward to scoring East Riffa’s Mohammed Al Rumaihi, left, looks to make a play as he is region of France results in the first defended by Malkiya’s Yousri Arfaoui race of the season TDT | Manama TEAM BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS SPORTS TDT | Manama DIRECTOR ROLF ALDAG range off a Mohammed Al Ru- ast Riffa stormed back maihi cross. eam Bahrain Victorious, Efrom an early one-goal In the 78th minute, substi- the Kingdom’s leading shares the excite- deficit to register a resounding tute Yuri Jesus Messias, anoth- Tinternational cycling ment of his co-riders. He added: 4-2 victory over Malkiya last er Brazilian, made it 3-1 with outfit founded by His Majesty “I am excited but also a little night in the 2020/2021 Nasser a brilliant solo effort that saw the King’s Humanitarian Works nervous. That will be my first Team Bahrain Victorious riders during training last month (Photo: Team media) bin Hamad Bahrain Premier him evade the Malkiya defence and Youth Affairs representa- race with the new team, and it’s Football League. and send home a left-footed tive and Supreme Council for cliffs, finishing 174.6km later Haig and , also a race I haven’t done before. The match was originally low shot from outside the box. Youth and Sports chairman His in Manosque, the largest town Swiss Gino Mäder, Dutch Wout I think it will be a good race to part of the league’s eighth Fellow-sub Sami Mohammed Highness Shaikh Nasser bin and commune in the Alpes-de- Poels, Belgian and know how the team works and week of action but was post- Al Husaini then applied the Hamad Al Khalifa, has named a Haute-Provence in southeast- Briton . how I fit into the team. It’s also poned due to positive COVID-19 nail in the coffin in the 90th seven-member squad that will ern France. Bauhaus will aim for the win some rehearsal for some of the tests amongst East Riffa play- minute following some porous be competing in its first ride of The third stage of 153.9km is on stages one and four, Teuns big races coming up, especially ers. defending, needing only to tap the 2021 season. where the general classifica- will try to win stage two, and the UAE Tour, which will be my The victors conceded the the ball in right in the face of Getting underway tomorrow tion will most likely be decided Haig, Poels and Teuns will tar- first race directly after Tour de match’s first goal in the 22nd goal off a short pass from Al in France will be the sixth Tour with a mountain-top finish on get stage three with the moun- la Provence.” minute to Malkiya’s Isa Ab- Rumaihi. de la Provence. The road cycling Mont Ventoux. The climb will tain top finish. Sports director Rolf Aldag re- dulwahab Kaadhem, but did Malkiya were able to get a event is part of this year’s Union be an excellent rehearsal for “I’m motivated to race again, veals the strategy for the first well to respond with all four goal back in the third minute Cycliste Internationale (UCI) all the riders heading to Tour and the Tour de la Provence is a race of the season. “We had a of their goals coming after the of stoppage time with Kaad- Europe Tour, which is under the de France this season, where perfect start, with a few stages super good training camp with half-time interval. hem’s second, but it made little UCI Continental Circuits series. it features on Stage 11. The last that fit me very well,” comment- the whole team, and now we East Riffa were awarded a difference in the final result. The race is to be held in the 163.2km stage starts in Avignon ed Teuns before the race. are looking forward to scoring penalty in the 52nd minute fol- East Riffa came away Provence region of France, and and concludes the race at Salon- Poels is also looking forward results in the first race of the lowing a handball in the area. with their sixth win in eight it is set to feature four stages. de-Provence. to the first race of the season. He season,” he said. Brazilian professional Luiz matches as they improved to This year’s opening stage Team Bahrain Victorious has said: “I had a good winter and Team Bahrain Victorious is Fernando Correa Sales stepped 19 points to go second on the covers 182.3km, from Auba - prepared a strong line-up for successful training camp with supported by the Bahrain Eco- forward to take the spot kick table behind league leaders gne to Six-Fours-Les-Plages. their first challenge of the sea- the team. I believe we have a nomic Development Board, and made no mistake with his Riffa. Malkiya, on the other The riders will start the second son. The roster for the Tour de strong line-up, and I’m curious Bapco, Batelco, National Bank effort. Eleven minutes later, hand, suffered their fifth loss stage in Cassis, a popular tour- la Provence features German to see how the first race of the of Bahrain and Alba, amongst Khalifa Isa Yusuf put East Riffa in nine outings and remained ist destination famous for its , Australians Jack year will turn out.” many others. ahead with a strike from close last with six points. Standings P W D L GD Pts Riffa 9 8 1 0 10 25 Barty bagels, Rafa magic at East Riffa 8 6 1 1 10 19 AFP | Melbourne Manama 9 5 2 2 6 17 Hidd 8 3 3 2 0 11 afael Nadal’s injured back Muharraq 9 2 3 4 0 9 Rdidn’t slow his bid for a re- Al Najma 9 2 3 4 -3 9 cord 21st title yes- Budaiya 9 2 3 4 -3 9 terday, as women’s world num- KNOW WHAT Al Ahli 9 2 2 5 -9 8 ber one romped Busaiteen 9 1 4 4 -1 7 to a 6-0, 6-0 ‘double bagel’ at the Malkiya 9 1 3 5 -10 6 Australian Open. On a day when women’s Daniil Medvedev, the champion also 2019 US Open finalist reached round two, but two- is raising hopes of a time winner Victoria Azarenka maiden Grand Slam lost after breathing problems, title with his unbeaten ‘Strange cat’: Kyrgios returns Nadal and Barty were the head- run, which includes serve in Djokovic feud line acts at the coronavirus-de- winning the Paris Mas- layed Slam. ters, ATP Finals and AFP | Melbourne Spanish great Nadal, who “It’s a strange one for me. I pulled out of last week’s ATP last week’s ATP Cup Rafael Nadal hits a return ick Kyrgios has hit back read his comments -– he said Cup with back problems, beat with Russia Nat criticism from Novak he doesn’t respect me off the Serbia’s Laslo Djere 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 After world number one No- And Greek fifth seed Stefanos Djokovic, describing the world court,” said Kyrgios, who has in one hour and 52 minutes on vak Djokovic eased through Tsitsipas made short work of en’s winner in 43 years. number one as “a very strange also previously blasted the a sun-kissed Rod Laver Arena. late on Monday, Russia’s Daniil French veteran Gilles Simon, “It felt great to be here,” she cat” after the Serb said he had 17-time Grand Slam winner “It’s been a tough 15 days for Medvedev extended his win- winning 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 in 92 min- said. “I tried to stick to my pro- little respect for the Australian as having “an obsession with me,” said the 2009 champion, ning streak to 15 matches with utes. cess and routine but I just want- off court. wanting to be liked”. whose back stiffness first flared an emphatic 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 victory “I think I played a spectacu- ed to have fun.” Kyrgios has waged a running “It actually would make during an exhibition match last over Canada’s Vasek Pospisil. lar match from the beginning Women’s champion Kenin battle with Djokovic, sparked complete sense to me if he month. The 2019 US Open finalist is to the end,” said the confident was less convincing and she by the Serb’s ill-fated Adria was like, ‘I don’t respect the “I needed to survive today and raising hopes of a maiden Grand 22-year-old. audibly vented her frustrations Tour exhibition series last year guy on the court’, because I that’s what I did. I’m happy to Slam title with his unbeaten during her 7-5, 6-4 win against as the coronavirus pandemic understand if he doesn’t agree be through and I think I did a run, which includes winning the Barty started Australian Maddison Inglis, raged. with some of my antics on the good job today. Straight sets is Paris Masters, ATP Finals and Barty also outclassed Monte- who is ranked outside the top Djokovic said in Mel - court that I’ve done in the past. what I needed.” last week’s ATP Cup with Russia. negro’s Danka Kovinic, losing 100. bourne over the weekend he “I’m not quite sure how you Nadal, 34, is attempting to Russian seventh seed An - only 10 points as she raced into Two-time major-winner had mixed views on Kyrgios, can’t respect me off the court,” outstrip his old rival Roger drey Rublev also continued his round two in just 44 minutes. Garbine Muguruza, who was who recently called him a he added. Federer, who is out with injury, winning start to the year with a With the win Barty, last year’s stunned by Kenin in last year’s “tool”, respecting his tennis “I feel like I’ve gone about and take sole ownership of the straight-sets victory over Ger- semi-finalist who sat out most final, had little trouble beating abilities but not his off-court things extremely well, espe- all-time record for Grand Slam man Yannick Hanfmann 6-3, of the 2020 season, ramped up Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan antics. cially during the pandemic.” titles. 6-3, 6-4. hopes of a first Australian wom- 6-4, 6-0.

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