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Tuesday, September 22, 2026 | Daily Newspaper published by GPPC Doha, Qatar.

Tag Results for "Harold" (2 articles)

Team Jayco AlUla's Swiss rider Mauro Schmid celebrates on the podium after winning the 13th stage of the 113th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, 205,8 km between Dole and Belfort in eastern France, on July 17, 2026. (AFP)
Sport

Schmid wins Tour de France stage 13 as Pidcock closes in on overall leader Pogacar

* Swiss rider Schmid wins his first Tour de France stage* Pogacar remains in the overall lead, ahead of second-placed Vingegaard* Pidcock moves up to fourth in general classification after third-place finish in stage 13    Swiss cyclist Mauro Schmid edged Harold Tejada to win stage 13 of the Tour de France on Friday, as Briton Tom Pidcock finished third to move into the top four in the general classification, narrowing his gap with overall leader Tadej Pogacar.Four-time champion Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) was happy not to challenge for the stage and finished with the peloton more than seven minutes later, retaining a lead of three minutes and 36 seconds over second-placed Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) in the battle for the yellow jersey.Pidcock, who was 10th in the general classification coming into the stage, moved up to fourth, and sits four minutes and 15 seconds behind Pogacar. Remco Evenpoel is third, nine seconds ahead of Pidcock."I can't believe it. It was an incredibly hard day right from the start," said 26-year-old Schmid (Jayco-AlUla) after his maiden Tour de France stage win."The whole team was motivated to get into the breakaway. We’d tried several times over the last few days, but things hadn't gone according to plan until now. I felt good from the start, it was just full gas from the very first minute."Friday's stage, a 205.8km hilly ride from Dole to Belfort, had its first big attack about 40km in when a group of 37 riders broke from the peloton.PIDCOCK MOVES UP THE GENERAL CLASSIFICATION LADDERPidcock, whose Pinarello-Q36.5 team are continuing without Chris Harper after the Australian lost a part of his thumb following a crash during stage 10, stayed in the mix as the leading group grew to 57 riders.The peloton trailed by more than eight minutes going up to Ballon d'Alsace, the biggest climb of the day, about 30km from the finish line.Pidcock waited until the last kilometre of the climb to launch his attack, and was the first to reach the peak as he looked to capitalise on the long descent. But with 16km to go, it was Schmid and Tejada (XDS-Astana) who sped ahead.The chasing group led by Pidcock was 18 seconds behind the two breakaways going into the last two kilometres, but tried their best to close the gap as Tejada looked to get a solo finish.But Schmid responded with a perfectly timed attack that got him a photo-finish win over Tejada, as Pidcock crossed the line two seconds later.A tighter race for the yellow jersey will be the focal point again in Saturday's stage 14, a 155.3 km mountainous ride from Mulhouse to Le Markstein Fellering. 

Veteran cricket umpire Harold “Dickie” Bird walks onto the pitch at Headingley in Leeds before umpiring his last ever cricket match between Yorkshire and Warwickshire September 13, 1998. AFP
Sport

Former umpire ‘Dickie’ Bird dies aged 92

Former Test umpire Harold “Dickie” Bird, one of the most famous officials of his era, has died at the age of 92, Yorkshire County Cricket Club announced Tuesday.Bird stood in 66 Tests between 1973 and 1996 as well as 69 men’s one-day internationals, including three World Cup finals.His home county, Yorkshire, issued a statement saying Bird, “one of cricket’s most beloved figures”, had died peacefully at home.“Dickie Bird enjoyed an illustrious career as an international umpire, writing his name into history as the most famous and popular official in the game’s history,” the club said.Yorkshire said he had become a “national treasure, known not only for his umpiring excellence but also for his “eccentricities and warmth”.“He leaves behind a legacy of sportsmanship, humility, and joy – and a legion of admirers across generations,” the statement added.Bird had a modest playing career as a batter for Yorkshire and Leicestershire but made his name as an international umpire, wearing his trademark white cap.He was given a guard of honour at Lord’s by England and India players before his final Test.Bird, who sold more than a million copies of his autobiography, was named Yorkshire president in 2014.Geoffrey Boycott, the Yorkshire and England batting great, had an enduring friendship with Bird from their days playing for Barnsley Cricket Club in the 1950s.The 84-year-old summed up Bird’s quirky nature when he recalled how his friend used to insist on calling him Gerald, despite his protestations.“I would say, ‘My name’s not Gerald, it’s Geoffrey’,” Boycott wrote in the Telegraph. “It made no difference telling him because he would then say, ‘OK, put the gloves on for me Gerald’.“Dickie was a character and he was always fun. He was respected, admired and loved. He will be given a fond farewell.”‘One of the best’Barnsley, Bird’s hometown football club, held a minute’s applause in memory of the umpire before their League Cup tie against Brighton on Tuesday.Former England captain David Gower hailed Bird as “one of the best umpires ever to take the field”.“He certainly set himself high standards as an umpire, but that smile on his face at all times, whether he’s giving you out or not out, whatever he was doing out in the middle, you just knew that Dickie was in the place that he loved best,” Gower told the BBC.“He was just a very, very good umpire.“He had a sense of humour. He had the ability in his own very quirky and slightly barmy way of being able to get on with everyone.”Graham Gooch, another former England captain, fondly recalled Bird’s habit of becoming embroiled in unusual incidents during matches.“At Headingley once they had a leaking pipe, right where Dickie was standing,” said Gooch.“Coming up like a sprinkler. It could only happen to him,” Gooch added.