
Rosemary Shrager: 'Cycle challenge is unbelievably rewarding'
Setting off from Ashford in Kent on Wednesday, Rosemary was joined by former Team GB Olympian sprinter Iwan Thomas, who said he was "massively proud" of her cycle.He added: "I could see how hard it was for her because it was hard for me and I only did half a day."I think this just shows you how strong the mind really is and what the body can do – I'm massively proud of Rosemary."Setting off from Cornwall on 1 June, Rosemary's cycle has taken her across the south coast, finishing near the White Cliffs of Dover on Wednesday.Having initially set out to ride 450 miles (724km), Rosemary added that detours and winding roads meant that she had, in fact, cycled closer to 500 miles (804km).The money raised from the ride will go to support food charities across the south of England and the route of the cycle, which is backed by the Hendy Foundation.
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The Independent
15 minutes ago
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Luke Rowe: ‘Cav should sleep with one eye open – Tadej Pogacar is coming for his Tour de France record'
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Pogacar's reign is different in that he pulls off virtuoso attacks even when his team don't have full control of the peloton, but there is that same sense that we already know who will be wearing yellow in Paris. 'You build up to the Tour de France for months and months,' says Luke Rowe, the Team Sky/Ineos Grenadiers road captain who marshalled Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal to glory in the yellow jersey. 'We talk about it all year, and what you hope doesn't happen is you hit the first mountain stage, and there's a clear divide between first and second. You hope they go toe to toe like they did a few years ago – one got the lead, the other got the lead, they're knocking lumps out of each other. But what you don't want to see is the first HC mountain top finish, and one of them attacks with 10k to go and distances the other by two minutes.' Pogacar tightened his grip with another win in the mountain time trial which followed, and added a few more seconds to his advantage by beating Vingegaard to some bonus seconds on Saturday. At 26, the Slovenian is on the brink of adding a fourth yellow jersey to a palmares which includes the Giro d'Italia, the world title and nine Monument Classics. He is the best cyclist of his generation. He might be the most dominant athlete on the planet right now. 'It's not just what he's won, it's how he wins it, and the diversity of the races he competes in. Whatever the terrain, he's one of the favourites. People sometimes compare Ineos to UAE and Poggy, but we were not close to what they're doing. We focused on one race a year. We won the Tour de France but we weren't that dominant. Poggy from UAE to Paris-Roubaix to Liege and goes bam, bam, bam, knocks seven shades of s*** out of everyone.' Alongside his podcast with Geraint Thomas and his punditry duties – Rowe will be part of TNT Sports' coverage for the final week of the Tour – he is a sporting director for French team Decalthon AG2R after hanging up the bike last year. So what would he choose now if he was on Visma's team bus: keep attacking Pogacar knowing it's doomed to fail? Or switch focus to stage wins and a podium place? 'I think their theory is, we will apply pressure any moment we can apply pressure over the course of three weeks. And the end result, they hope, is that in the third week, Poggy has a bad day in cracks. That's their battle plan and I think they have to continue to live by that battle plan, and their belief is that after 18 stages, Vingegaard deals with the fatigue better than Poggy does. They have to continue with that and hope that they do have a Poggy ' I'm dead ' situation [when Vingegaard cracked Pogacar on stage 17 in 2023]. That's what they're praying for, that's what they're banking on. 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Aged 26, he could run at a modest 2.5 stages per Tour and have the record sewn up by the time he's ready to ride off into the sunset. 'He's not going to be riding the Tour de France when he's 35 – maybe he will but I don't think so. But certainly until he's 31, 32, he could still be winning stages of the Tour, so it's vulnerable. If I was Cav, I'd be sleeping with one eye open.'


The Independent
15 minutes ago
- The Independent
Strictly winner Ore Oduba cries after falling victim to online scam
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