Cycling rivals ready to rock
Title contenders Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard were promising to steer clear of any scrapes to avoid picking up an early injury in the 21-day excursion around France.
Instead sprinters such as Belgium's Jasper Philipsen and Italian Jonathan Milan are the men to beat on a flat but frenetic opening run around Lille, where partying fans have been gathering this week.
After starts in Florence, Bilbao and Copenhagen, and with upcoming editions in Barcelona and Edinburgh, cycling's most prestigious race has an old school itinerary this year raced exclusively in France and favouring climbers.
But with the race starting in the northern city of Lille, fans from cycling-mad Belgium have been flooding across the nearby border.
They have come to cheer on Remco Evenepoel in his bid to reach further than his third man billing.
"I'll go all in all the way," promised the double Olympic champion.
Often described as the most beautiful stadium in the world, the Tour route roves across the north coast to the west of Brittany, before heading south through the Massif Central and the first mountain stage on day 10. "Everybody knows that's when the real race begins," said Evenepoel.
Team UAE's Pogacar starts as red-hot favourite with fans and bookmakers alike, and he can silence any remaining doubters by beating arch-rival Vingegaard of Visma. Pogacar has won three Tour de France and has 99 professional wins, so will almost certainly hit his century here, maybe in the first week.
"Jonas might be stronger in the mountains, so I'd better get ahead a bit early on with some bonus seconds," he said.
Glimpses of Pogacar and Vingegaard going head-to-head on the Alpine slopes or along the panoramic roads of the French Riviera provide tension, drama and sporting rivalry as enthralling as any involving the old-time legends.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
30 minutes ago
- Express Tribune
Djokovic marks 100th Wimbledon win as Krejcikova exits
Listen to article Seven-times champion Novak Djokovic scored his 100th match win at Wimbledon and led the march of the old guard into the last 16 on Saturday while an ailing Barbora Krejcikova's title defence ended in defeat and tears. World number one Jannik Sinner was at his ruthless best yet again as the Italian gathered momentum in his quest for a maiden All England Club title while American Ben Shelton and Australian Alex de Minaur announced themselves as dark horses. Djokovic is on an altogether different plane as he looks to capture his eighth title to match Roger Federer's record on the pristine lawns of London and his 25th major overall to surpass Margaret Court on the all-time list of champions. The 38-year-old showed exactly why Wimbledon could be his best chance of achieving the elusive targets when the 2023 and 2024 runner-up dismantled Davis Cup teammate Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3 6-0 6-4 in a little under two hours. A ton of victories put him among elite company as the sixth seed became only the third player to achieve that feat at the tournament after nine-times champion Martina Navratilova and Swiss great Federer. "Wimbledon is a favourite and a dream tournament for not just myself, but probably the majority of players. Growing up, most of the kids dream of playing here and winning here," Djokovic said. Done. Dusted. Djokovic. The seven-time #Wimbledon champion produces an incredible performance to defeat fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 Onto the next ➡️ — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 5, 2025 "I've been blessed to do it multiple times. Any history that I make in my favourite tournament, I'm blessed." Grigor Dimitrov, the Bulgarian 34-year-old, also scored his 100th match win across the four Grand Slams when he quelled the challenge of Austrian Sebastian Ofner 6-3 6-4 7-6(0). Joining him was fellow veteran Marin Cilic, the Croatian 36-year-old getting past spirited Spaniard Jaume Munar 6-3 3-6 6-2 6-4 to book a meeting with Italian 22nd seed Flavio Cobolli who took apart big-serving Czech teenager Jakub Mensik 6-2 6-4 6-2. While Cobolli may not be relishing a meeting with the tricky Cilic, his compatriot Sinner will welcome the chance to test his metronomic hitting against Dimitrov's elegant approach in what promises to be a classic. Sublime Sinner A sublime Sinner booked that clash with a 6-1 6-3 6-1 hammering of Pedro Martinez. The top seed, who has lost just 17 games in his first three matches, equalled the professional era record for fewest games dropped to make the Wimbledon fourth round along the way. "About the games lost, this is whatever," Sinner said, his grounded nature coming into sharp focus. "I'm not looking on these kind of records. I know everything can change very quickly from one round to the other." Sensazionale 🇮🇹 Lorenzo Sonego wins a five-set thriller in over five hours, defeating Brandon Nakashima 6-7(5), 7-6(8), 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(3)#Wimbledon — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 5, 2025 After the unexpected high of last year's title triumph, Krejcikova came crashing down when she was beaten 2-6 6-3 6-4 by American 10th seed Emma Navarro in a disjointed Court One contest. The distressed 29-year-old Czech, who has endured her share of injuries this season, was in tears as she prepared to serve to stay in the tournament at 3-5 in the deciding set before eventually crashing out. "It was tough, neither of us played our best tennis, she was dealing with some injuries and I was dealing with whatever I was dealing with," Navarro said, adding that it was difficult to focus when her opponent was struggling. "It's not easy to be composed. Part of you is saying just put a bunch of balls in the court and that's all you need to do. But then you trick yourself into not playing the way that you want to play." Krejcikova's exit and 2022 champion Elena Rybakina's 7-6(6) 6-3 defeat by Danish powerhouse Clara Tauson means a first-time women's champion will be crowned at the Grand Slam for the eighth consecutive year. Iga Swiatek will hope she can be the one after the five-times major champion secured a 6-2 6-3 victory over American Danielle Collins, whose compatriot Hailey Baptiste crashed to 18-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva 6-1 6-3. Shelton gave Americans something to smile about when the powerful left-hander made quick work of Hungarian lucky loser Marton Fucsovics 6-3 7-6(4) 6-2 while De Minaur swatted aside Dane August Holmgren 6-4 7-6(5) 6-3 to go through.
Business Recorder
6 hours ago
- Business Recorder
India's javelin hero Chopra leverages star power as crowds flock to self-titled event
BENGALURU: Olympic javelin star Neeraj Chopra headlined what was billed as India's inaugural world-class field competition on Saturday, living up to his goal of elevating domestic talent while also walking away with another gold medal. Chopra, who won gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and silver at the 2024 Paris Games, triumphed with a throw of 86.18 meters at the 12-athlete javelin Neeraj Chopra Classic event. He finished ahead of former world champion Julius Yego (silver) and Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage (bronze). 'The biggest target of the competition was to uplift the Indian athletes alongside the international ones. We got the best javelin throwers to this competition,' Chopra told reporters after winning the competition. The event drew more than 14,500 spectators - a figure that delighted Chopra, who has long championed greater public support for track and field events. 'We really wanted people to come and watch track and field,' said Chopra, who has single-handedly raised interest for athletics in India and has more than nine million Instagram followers. 'I always request people to come to the stadiums to cheer athletes as they work really hard. 'Track and field is one of the hardest sporting events. I request people to come and watch nationals as well… because our sport can only grow when people will come and watch us.' The event featured three rounds with six attempts per participant, narrowing the field to eight after the initial round of three throws. Among the five Indian competitors, three advanced to the second round including Chopra, outperforming international athletes such as former Olympic champion Thomas Rohler and the Czech Republic's Martin Konecny. 'We have been doing really well in the sport. They (Indian athletes) were quite happy to get a platform to play alongside the world champions,' the 27-year-old said. 'We also plan to add more events to this competition going forward, which will help the Indian athletes more.' Neeraj Chopra aims to give Indian athletics a boost with Classic meet Among the Indian athletes, apart from Chopra, Asian Athletics Championships silver medallist Sachin Yadav performed well, recording his best throw of 82.33m in the third attempt. 'Sachin could have performed better but he twisted his ankle in his opening throw. Overall, it was good. They will hopefully do well in the future. They are juniors and have time on their hand so will surely do better,' Chopra said.
Business Recorder
10 hours ago
- Business Recorder
‘Rarely been so angry': Bayern boss Kompany seethes over Musiala injury
ATLANTA: Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany said he was furious after Jamal Musiala sustained a horrific injury during the first half of their Club World Cup quarter-final defeat by Paris St Germain in Atlanta on Saturday. The 22-year-old Germany international was injured in added time before the break following a collision in PSG's penalty area. As Musiala challenged defender William Pacho for the ball, goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inadvertently rolled over Musiala's left ankle, twisting it at an alarming angle and leaving him lying in agony on the pitch. 'I've rarely been so angry at halftime, not against my players. There's many things in life that are important, much more important than this. But in the end, for these guys it's their life,' Kompany told reporters after the 2-0 loss. 'And someone like Jamal lives for this and he came back from a setback. And then it happens in the way it happens and you feel powerless… 'When I'm sat here next to you now, the thing that gets my blood still boiling at the moment, it's not the result. I understand this is football. But it's the fact that it happened to someone who, one, enjoys the game so much but also very important for us.' Bayern's medical team rushed on to the pitch as Donnarumma, visibly shaken, dropped to the ground with his hands on his head in disbelief at the severity of the injury. Players from both teams formed a circle around Musiala who was carried off the field on a stretcher. The German daily Bild reported he could be sidelined for up to five months. Milan sign Italy midfielder Ricci from Torino Bayern goalkeeper and captain Manuel Neuer said Donnarumma's dive was 'risky' and that he had spoken to his Italian counterpart after the incident. 'You just accept that your opponent might get injured. It could even be a teammate,' he added. 'So I went over to him and said: 'Don't you want – because it was half-time anyway – don't you want to go over there? Jamal is lying there, he'll probably stay in the hospital, he has a serious injury, and I think it's only right to go over there out of respect and wish him well and just say a little sorry.' 'After that, he went over to Jamal… Fairness is always important, and I would have reacted differently.' After the match, Donnarumma posted on Instagram: 'All my prayers and well wishes are with you Jamal.'
