Al Rajhi takes over Dakar Rally lead after miserable stage for Lategan

Al Rajhi takes over Dakar Rally lead after miserable stage for Lategan
Driver Yazeed Al Rajhi and co-driver Timo Gottschalk compete during the ninth stage of the Dakar Rally between Riyadh and Haradh, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP)
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Updated 14 January 2025
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Al Rajhi takes over Dakar Rally lead after miserable stage for Lategan

Al Rajhi takes over Dakar Rally lead after miserable stage for Lategan
  • Lategan led the Dakar for the past week
  • Al Rajhi, like Lategan, has never won the Dakar

HARADH: Local driver Yazeed Al Rajhi took advantage of a miserable stage by South Africa’s Henk Lategan to grab the Dakar Rally lead in the Saudi Arabia desert on Tuesday.
Lategan led the Dakar for the past week, but errors and bad luck on the 357-kilometer ninth stage from Riyadh south-east to Haradh turned his overall lead of more than five minutes over Al Rajhi into a potentially decisive seven-minute deficit.
The rally has effectively two days and 400 kilometers remaining in the dunes of the Empty Quarter. The last day, Friday, is a ceremonial drive to the finish line in Shubaytah.
Al Rajhi, like Lategan, has never won the Dakar. This is the Saudi’s 11th attempt with a best finish of third in 2022. He’d been lying second since last Wednesday. The title race appears to be between only them.
Third-placed Mattias Ekström of Sweden and five-time champion Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar were about 25 minutes behind.

 


“It’s a bit of disaster to be honest,” Lategan said. “About 13 kilometers in we got lost. We thought we missed the waypoint but we actually had it. When we got lost we got one puncture and then toward the end we got another one and the wheel is actually flat. So, it was a messy, messy, messy day for us but it’s not the end of the world, we’re still in it.”
Lategan and navigator Brett Cummings were 11th on the stage and Al Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk third.
“We did a great job like we planned to,” Al Rajhi said. “We pushed well. We enjoyed it, that’s the most important. I hope everything goes well the next two or three days to win the Dakar ... I will fight to win. It won’t be easy.”
Al-Attiyah won the stage ahead of Belgium’s Guillaume de Mévius in under three hours to rise to one minute off third place overall.
His 49th car stage win, and first in the Dakar for Romanian manufacturer Dacia, lifted him to only one behind the record jointly held by Finland’s Ari Vatanen and France’s Stephane Peterhansel.
Sanders cushions motorbike lead
Australian rider Daniel Sanders bolstered his motorbike lead to nearly 15 minutes when closest challenger, Spain’s Tosha Schareina, crashed early.
The back wheel of Schareina’s Honda hit a rock and sent him flying only 20 kilometers in. He resumed racing but the nearly four minutes he finished behind Sanders dropped him in the general standings.
Schareina’s teammate Adrien van Beveren of France remained third, more than 20 minutes behind, while Sanders’ KTM teammate Luciano Benavides of Argentina strengthened his position in fourth place by winning his second successive stage.
Benavides, thanks to collecting time bonuses of nearly five minutes by opening the way, beat Van Beveren by nearly two minutes, and repeated his win into Haradh two years ago. Sanders was third after leading until about 70 kilometers from the end.
“I only got lost a couple of times ... and lost a little bit of time,” Sanders said. “I could have pushed and made some more (time) but it’s not too bad.”

 


Mexican flavour at LIV’s Adelaide stop as Rahm lurks

Mexican flavour at LIV’s Adelaide stop as Rahm lurks
Updated 59 min 56 sec ago
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Mexican flavour at LIV’s Adelaide stop as Rahm lurks

Mexican flavour at LIV’s Adelaide stop as Rahm lurks
  • Mexican pair Abraham Ancer and Carlos Ortiz joined Sam Horsfield in a three-way share of the lead at LIV Golf’s Adelaide stop on Saturday, with major champion Jon Rahm lurking four shots off the pace

ADELAIDE: Mexican pair Abraham Ancer and Carlos Ortiz joined Sam Horsfield in a three-way share of the lead at LIV Golf’s Adelaide stop on Saturday, with major champion Jon Rahm lurking four shots off the pace.
Ancer nailed six birdies to a bogey in a five-under-par 67 in front of bumper crowds at a blustery Grange Golf Club, while his compatriot mixed five birdies and a bogey in his 68.
British overnight leader Horsfield birdied the last to card a 69 and ensure he stayed in the hunt heading into the final day, with all three nine-under after 36 holes.
“I just tried to stay patient and hit as many greens as possible. I knew the putter was feeling good,” said Ancer, who is gunning for a second LIV title after winning in Hong Kong last year.
“I have a lot of confidence when the greens are rolling nice and firm and fast, so I just try to put the ball in play and don’t get in too much trouble because you can make a lot of bogeys out here, especially with this wind.”
Ortiz, who is also looking for a second tour win after victory at Tucson in 2023, said the conditions were tough.
“I thought it was tricky. It was just a matter of keeping in play,” said Ortiz.
“Same thing tomorrow. Just try to put it in play and then give myself chances.”
The trio are three clear of Chile’s Joaquin Niemann and four ahead of Rahm, who birdied his final two holes, including a sensational chip-in from the bunker.
Fellow major champions Brooks Koepka and Henrik Stenson are a stroke further back.
Once again, bumper crowds produced a carnival atmosphere at the circuit’s most successful event, with more than 100,000 fans expected through the gates over the three-day tournament.
Former US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau and Niemann went to the turn in the lead.
But while Niemann kept his focus, DeChambeau imploded with five bogeys on the back nine to end six off the pace.
The LIV Tour’s 14-stop 2025 campaign teed off last week in Riyadh, where Adrian Meronk won the individual title and Rahm’s Legion XIII the team crown.


Al-Hilal slip up again following draw with Al-Riyadh

Al-Hilal slip up again following draw with Al-Riyadh
Updated 15 February 2025
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Al-Hilal slip up again following draw with Al-Riyadh

Al-Hilal slip up again following draw with Al-Riyadh
  • More ground lost in Saudi Pro League chase

RIYADH: Al-Hilal drew 1-1 with Al-Riyadh on Friday to slump to a second successive draw and lose ground on Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League.

Just six days after drawing 2-2 with Damac, the champions could not find a way to victory and they could fall four points behind Al-Ittihad if the Tigers win on Saturday.

It could have been worse as Al-Hilal could have been more than one goal down at the break.

Mohamed Konate hit the back of the net after 24 minutes. Sekou Lega swung over a beautiful cross from the left and Konate rose high in the area to head past Yassine Bounou. The effort, however, was ruled out for offside.

Konate did net in first-half added time, though, to give the visitors the lead. He ran onto a long ball, chested the ball down on the edge of the penalty area, and then lifted his shot into the back of the net with the classiest of finishes.

Al-Hilal’s players trudged off at the break with manager Jorge Jesus looking less than impressed.

The second half proved better for the hosts but Al-Riyadh had the ball in the net again just before the hour. This time it was Lega who finished smartly in the area but, once more, VAR intervened and it was no goal.

Just moments later, Al-Hilal were level with the sweetest of strikes. Marcos Leonardo’s defense-splitting pass found Salem Al-Dawsari arriving from the left and the winger took one touch inside the area and then slipped the ball past the goalkeeper with ease.

There was more pressure from the home team but they could not quite find the all-important winning goal.

Chances were missed but the home team seemed to have been given a route to victory when Abdulelah Al-Khaibari was ruled to have handled in the box. Referee Ivan Barton pointed to the spot but his decision was reversed following a VAR review.

That was that and Al-Hilal’s mini-slump continued.


Guenther clinches victory with last-ditch move at first Jeddah E-Prix race

Guenther clinches victory with last-ditch move at first Jeddah E-Prix race
Updated 15 February 2025
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Guenther clinches victory with last-ditch move at first Jeddah E-Prix race

Guenther clinches victory with last-ditch move at first Jeddah E-Prix race
  • Nissan’s Oliver Rowland beaten by dramatic last-lap charge

JEDDAH: Maximilian Guenther secured victory in the inaugural Jeddah E-Prix, overtaking Nissan’s Oliver Rowland at the last corner to claim his first win for DS Penske in round three of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

Guenther, who started from pole position for the first time since Jakarta 2023, initially led the race but lost places as drivers navigated Formula E’s debut Pit Boost mandatory pit stops.

Rowland, Taylor Barnard, and Mahindra Racing’s Nyck de Vries capitalized on early energy deployment, while Guenther took a more measured approach, conserving power for a late-race push.

That patience paid off. Setting the fastest lap on lap 27, the German driver fought back to second place before launching a dramatic last-lap charge. With a slight energy advantage, he seized his moment on the final chicane, making a decisive move to snatch victory from Rowland just before the chequered flag.

Guenther said: “This means everything to me. It’s the first win with my new team, DS Penske. It was a lot of hard work, a big race but an amazing outcome for us. We lost quite a few places around the pit stop window, but we just stayed calm and did our race. I didn’t expect to come back all the way.

“I thought a podium would have been good, but to do it in the end and to win it is an extra special feeling. I didn’t want to leave it until the last corner but there was no other option — Oli was doing a mega job today, a great race. I believed until the end.”

The victory marked Guenther’s first win since Tokyo last season and broke a 17-race streak in which the pole sitter had failed to convert the start into a victory.

Rowland, despite his disappointment, moved to the top of the Drivers’ Championship standings with 43 points, ahead of Antonio Felix da Costa. Porsche lead the Teams’ Championship by a slim three-point margin over DS Penske, while Nissan top the Manufacturers’ table.

Rowland said: “We had a plan before the race and we executed it pretty well. I’m a little bit disappointed because when I had such a gap, if I’d under-consumed a bit I’d have had enough energy to defend from Max. He caught me napping a little bit and I couldn’t do much in the last corner. Nevertheless, we scored some great points and on to tomorrow.”

NEOM McLaren’s Barnard completed the podium, celebrating a strong third-place finish after starting from P4.

He said: “Starting from P4, a podium was always my hope, but you never know how the race is going to play out. It was the first Pit Boost race as well, so to know that we’ve done the procedure that well as a team, I couldn’t be happier to be P3.”

With round four set to take place in Jeddah on Saturday, the championship battle remains fiercely competitive as the season continues to deliver thrills.


Leverkusen’s Boniface ‘happy’ despite unsuccessful Saudi move

Leverkusen’s Boniface ‘happy’ despite unsuccessful Saudi move
Updated 14 February 2025
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Leverkusen’s Boniface ‘happy’ despite unsuccessful Saudi move

Leverkusen’s Boniface ‘happy’ despite unsuccessful Saudi move
  • Rolfes said on Friday that Boniface was fully focused and did not feel his chance of a big move had passed
  • “He’s very good now and I think he’s happy”

LEVERKUSEN, Germany: Bayer Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface is “happy” and “focused” even though a potential January move to Saudi Arabia fell through last month, the German club’s sporting director Simon Rolfes said Friday.
Boniface was left out of training and one matchday squad in January while Leverkusen were set to receive up a reported $73.50m from Saudi side Al-Nassr, according to German media.
Instead, the Saudi club signed Aston Villa forward Jhon Duran.
Boniface, 24, returned to training with the defending Bundesliga champions and has scored two goals in three games, including an extra-time winner in Leverkusen’s German Cup quarter-final win against local rivals Cologne.
Rolfes said on Friday that Boniface was fully focused and did not feel his chance of a big move had passed.
“He’s very good now and I think he’s happy. He’s happy with the guys. That’s what I feel every day when I see him.
“He’s laughing in the locker room with the other crazy guys.
“They have a lot of fun together and he knows he has a bright future, so it’s not a once-in-a-lifetime chance.”
Rolfes, who brought Boniface to the club in the summer of 2023, did not comment on the reported transfer fee or salary, but said it was “normal” for a player and a club to consider big offers.
“He likes the club, the teammates, our ambitions, but for sure when it’s a certain amount in salary the player also starts thinking about it and I think that’s normal and there was never a problem.”
“Sporting-wise, we have no doubt about his quality,” Rolfes said, adding “Xabi (Alonso), myself and the club, we wanted to keep Victor but for a certain amount you have to be open to speak.”
Leverkusen, who qualified directly for the Champions League last 16 and are through to the final four of the German Cup, host league leaders Bayern Munich on Saturday.


Saudi Arabia receives Olympic Council flag in handover as it prepares to host 2029 Asian Winter Games in NEOM

Saudi Arabia receives Olympic Council flag in handover as it prepares to host 2029 Asian Winter Games in NEOM
Updated 14 February 2025
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Saudi Arabia receives Olympic Council flag in handover as it prepares to host 2029 Asian Winter Games in NEOM

Saudi Arabia receives Olympic Council flag in handover as it prepares to host 2029 Asian Winter Games in NEOM
  • Head of Kingdom’s delegation, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, minister of sports and president of Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, received flag from Timothy Fok

HARBIN, China: Saudi Arabia officially received the flag of the Olympic Council of Asia on Friday, marking the start of its preparations to host the 10th Asian Winter Games in 2029 — the first time a country in West Asia will stage the prestigious continental event.

The handover took place during the closing ceremony of the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, which hosted the Games this year.

The head of the Kingdom’s delegation, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, minister of sports and president of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, received the flag from Timothy Fok, vice president of the Olympic Council of Asia.

During the ceremony, organizers unveiled the official logo of NEOM 2029, which, according to a ministry statement, draws inspiration from NEOM’s mountainous landscape, symbolizing strength and ambition

The design incorporates dynamic shapes representing the energy and movement of winter sports, while the letter “A” connects the event’s identity to the Asian Winter Games and the region’s futuristic vision under NEOM’s “Future Rings” concept.

In a statement, Prince Abdulaziz welcomed all participating countries, pledging to deliver an exceptional and unforgettable tournament in NEOM.

“The Kingdom is witnessing a major transformation in the sports sector, thanks to the generous support and vision of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This has positioned Saudi Arabia as a leading destination for global and continental sporting events,” he said.

Prince Abdulaziz also thanked the Olympic Council of Asia, led by Raja Rhandir Singh, and to all Asian countries for their confidence in Saudi Arabia’s ability to host world-class sporting competitions.

The closing ceremony was attended by Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang and several prominent international sports figures.