Ittihad Tangier are hoping to steal a march on their rivals with this deal.

BBC: Porto link-up for Moroccan club

It's ridiculous that the Tories have been able to steal a march on us on the green agenda.

BBC: INTERVIEW WITH: PETER HAIN

Others are worried that unless they encourage the adoption of more productive GM crops, other countries will steal a march on them.

ECONOMIST: Invasion of the transgenics

And as such, it remains a potent weapon in the hands of those populist Muslim leaders who want to steal a march on their opponents.

BBC: The many faces of Sharia

It might just help what is still at least one of the world's finest ensembles to steal a march on all those once largely ignorable competitors that are now snapping at its heels.

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It does seem, as the team predicted, to have been an advantage at times this season - in that Renault have been able to steal a march on the big teams by getting extra track time at individual races.

BBC: SPORT | Motorsport | Formula One | Renault

And much of the rise in profits and exports reflects a ferocious one-off squeeze on real wages that has allowed German companies to steal a march on less efficient competitors in France and Italy, but this is not a process that is indefinitely sustainable without far more liberalisation.

ECONOMIST: The German economy