Latest news with #Châteauroux
New York Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Tour de France stage nine: Van der Poel's epic breakaway, Merlier takes second win, will Almeida abandon impact Pogacar?
Belgium's Tim Merlier won his second stage at this year's Tour de France on Sunday, outsprinting Jonathan Milan and Arnaud De Lie in Châteauroux, but the real story of the day was an incredible day-long break from Alpecin-Deceuninck pair Mathieu van der Poel and Jonas Rickaert. The duo attacked from the flag in Chinon, with Van der Poel eventually hanging on until there were just 740 agonising metres of the 174-kilometre route remaining. Behind them, the periodic appearance of crosswinds made it a nervous day for the peloton, but an exciting one for anyone watching. It was the second-fastest stage in Tour de France history (an average speed of 50km per hour, behind stage four in 1999), which only makes the efforts of the Alpecin duo even more impressive. Route designer Thierry Gouvenou had criticised the riders for a lack of aggression after stage eight — he can have no complaints about how the ninth stage was tackled, especially with the daunting Bastille Day route to come on Monday. 💪 Big boys sprinting! 💪 Un sprint de costauds !#TDF2025 — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 13, 2025 Jacob Whitehead and Jordan Halford break down the key moments from the stage. Find all of The Athletic's Tour de France coverage here. Or follow Global Sports on The Athletic app via the Discover tab. Mathieu van der Poel is a locomotive engine of a rider, but even the locomotive engine had to make way for the power of the modern train. Having broken away alongside teammate Jonas Rickaert in the opening kilometre of Sunday's stage — the hottest and flattest of the race so far — the Dutchman was only caught with 740m remaining, after over 170km of toil in front of the peloton. Initially, it was unclear whether the Alpecin-Deceuninck duo were only targeting the sprint, which came after just 24km, but the pair pushed on afterwards to build up a significant lead. By the end of the first hour, they had a lead of five minutes and 34 seconds. Hey guys, let's go for a nice Sunday ride…#AlpecinDeceuninck — Alpecin-Deceuninck Cycling Team (@AlpecinDCK) July 13, 2025 'Mathieu is in a funny Sunday mood,' one member of the Alpecin staff texted at that moment. This has already been an outstanding Tour for Van der Poel, who won stage two and has worn yellow during two different stints, but Alpecin were daring to dream of another stage victory. Alarm bells were starting to ring in the peloton, but the fear of echelons began to significantly stimulate their chase. Soudal-Quickstep joined Uno-X Mobility and Lidl-Trek as crosswinds caught out Wout van Aert and Team Picnic-PostNL's Oscar Onley, but both managed to bridge the gap. With 35km left, both Visma Lease-a-Bike and UAE Team Emirates joined the effort. Advertisement The leaders' advantage fell to just 38 seconds with 24km to go, but with Wellens dropping back off the peloton and Van Aert out of the picture, panic was starting to spread among the sprinters' teams as an exhausted Rickaert pulled Van der Poel to within six kilometres of the line. Rickaert, the 31-year-old Belgian, deservedly won the combativity award for his efforts. Van der Poel combines brute power with grace on the bike — as he pushed alone for the win, his form remained perfect, with the only giveaway of his exertion coming from the suffering on his face. At points, it looked like the 2023 road cycling world champion might make it, but the false flat uphills on the run to the line cruelly drained his legs further. When he was finally caught, pride was apparent in Van der Poel's demeanour, alongside the devastation of not quite pulling off the heist. 🤩 Caught with less than a km to go after a huge effort, @mathieuvdpoel couldn't prevent the sprint. A look back at the last km of this 9th stage. 🤩 Repris à moins d'un km de l'arrivée après un énorme numéro, @mathieuvdpoel n'a pas pu empêcher le sprint. Retour sur le dernier… — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 13, 2025 'It's a bit of a disappointment,' he said afterwards. 'We didn't think we'd be so close. Jonas Rickaert's dream is to be on the Tour de France podium, so I was happy to help him get the combativity award. We came really close. We put up a good show.' 'I think I will go home tomorrow. My tour is done,' Rickaert joked after the stage. 'I was joking about starting with just the two of us. But he took it seriously.' Jordan Halford Over his two stage victories at this year's Tour, Tim Merlier's combined winning margin over Jonathan Milan has been little more than a single wheel, having won by a tire-rim on stage three into Dunkirk. Almost a week later, with Van der Poel caught, the sprinters' teams had to rapidly shift from the catch to the lead-out, leading to a slightly chaotic ending, despite the long, straight run-in to Châteauroux. In many ways, all expectations were inverted. Typically, Lidl-Trek's lead-out is considered superior to Soudal-Quickstep, but it was Merlier's Belgian squad who had strength in numbers at the end of the stage. Merlier is known as an expert wheel-surfer, but it was Milan who expertly escaped being boxed to nudge his rival off his own lead-out's wheel. And while Milan is considered to have the fastest top speed in the world, Merlier managed to come round him in the final metres with his superior speed endurance, claiming a third Soudal-Quickstep victory of the race — a third of all stages so far. Merlier was led out by teammate Bert Van Lerberghe, a school friend from over 15 years ago. 'It was really hard in the heat, and though the bunch was OK all day, sometimes they tried to force echelons, and in the last 60km there were no drinks,' said Merlier. 'The pacing was so high. 'But finally, me and Bert were together, and I was so much more confident with him in front of me. One moment I thought I was boxed, but I came out with 200 metres, went all in, and was so happy to come out with my second stage win.' Jacob Whitehead The Tour de France does not hit the mountains until tomorrow, but Tadej Pogačar already finds himself shorn of one of his key lieutenants. João Almeida, the yellow jersey's key superdomestique, and a podium contender himself, withdrew midway through stage nine, having fallen two days earlier on the road to Mûr-de-Bretagne. After the crash, UAE's team doctor stated that Almeida has a fracture to one of his left ribs, as well as several deep abrasions. On the long, hot road to Châteauroux, the pain from Almeida's ribs appeared too great. UAE are still one of the strongest teams at the race, but Pogačar will now need to lean more heavily on Adam Yates and Jhonatan Narváez, the next best climbers in his team. Almeida was climbing at a visibly higher level than that pairing, however, having won last month's Tour de Suisse, while he had been sitting seventh in the general classification pre-crash. Advertisement 'A really big loss. He had to abandon, but I totally understand his suffering on the bike,' said Pogačar post-stage. 'I can't imagine how much he was hurting. I have so much respect for him.' Visma Lease-a-Bike's support of Jonas Vingegaard, including Americans Matteo Jorgenson and Sepp Kuss, and Yates' twin brother Simon, is now notably stronger. Pogačar did not falter when Juan Ayuso withdrew from the 2024 Tour de France, but on that occasion, he had Almeida too. Almeida's absence will make it harder for UAE to control tough mountain stages and could open up the reigning champion to attacks — there is barely a flat metre on Monday's Bastille Day stage to Le Mont-Dore, so expect Visma to ride aggressively. Jacob Whitehead On driving into the central French city of Châteauroux, every road sign has an extra appendage. 'Cavendish City,' it reads, underneath the town's name. Approaching Châteauroux or Cavendish City, 30km to go 🔛 On s'approche de Châteauroux ou Cavendish City, encore 30km 👀#TDF2025 — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 13, 2025 Mark Cavendish won on the Tour's previous three visits here, including his first stage win in 2008, and his 32nd victory in 2021. On the Tour's only other visit here, in 1998, Mario Cipollini won the stage. The only winners here have been the all-time Tour de France stage win record holder (Cavendish with 35) and the all-time Giro d'Italia stage win record holder (Cipollini with 42). With that in mind, it was gratifying to see Merlier win in the European champion's jersey. It is a town of some sprinting heritage, but the Tour entered it on a day when course designer Thierry Gouvenou warned that sprint stages may not have a place at future editions of the race. Examples this year have been marred by nasty crashes or investigations from the commissaires. 'The sprinters' teams are cutting the branch they're sitting on,' he said. 'It won't last, because in the long run, there will be no more stages for sprinters.' Advertisement But perhaps Thierry was too hasty. This was a classic sprint stage — the course designer might not be too upset to be proven wrong — featuring a nail-biting breakaway, fair racing, and two of the world's fastest riders separated by inches. Sprint stages do have a place at the Tour de France — they just require careful management. Jacob Whitehead The second Monday of the Tour de France is ordinarily a rest day but this year it falls on July 14, Bastille Day. So, for France's national holiday, the race organizers have cooked up a monster of a stage through the Massif Central. Expect it to be baking hot and for multiple storylines to play out across the day. French riders, puncheurs, climbers and the race favorites will all have marked this stage down as potentially pivotal. Worth making time to watch the whole stage, if you can.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
João Almeida, a key teammate of Pogačar, exits Tour de France after rib fracture
CHATEAUROUX, France (AP) — João Almeida, a key teammate of Tour de France leader Tadej Pogačar, has abandoned the race. Almeida, who fractured a rib during Stage 7, was dropped early during Sunday's ninth stage between Chinon and Châteauroux, and UAE Team Emirates-XRG later announced over the race radio that the Portuguese rider had retired. Advertisement Almeida was caught in a high-speed crash earlier this week as riders scrambled for position at the front, 6 kilometers (4 miles) from the finish line. Almeida escaped without a concussion but his rib fracture finally proved to be too painful to carry on in the three-week race. Almeida finished fourth at the 2024 Tour de France and started this year's edition on the back of excellent preparations, having won the Tour de Suisse, Tour de Romandie and Itzulia Basque Country. Sunday's stage heads into central France on a 158-kilometer (98-mile) flat stage for sprinters. ___ AP sports: The Associated Press
Al Arabiya
3 days ago
- Sport
- Al Arabiya
João Almeida, a key teammate of Pogačar, exits Tour de France after rib fracture
João Almeida, a key teammate of Tour de France leader Tadej Pogačar, has abandoned the race. Almeida, who fractured a rib during Stage 7, was dropped early during Sunday's ninth stage between Chinon and Châteauroux, and UAE Team Emirates-XRG later announced over the race radio that the Portuguese rider had retired. Almeida was caught in a high-speed crash earlier this week as riders scrambled for position at the front 6 kilometers (4 miles) from the finish line. Almeida escaped without a concussion, but his rib fracture finally proved to be too painful to carry on in the three-week race. Almeida finished fourth at the 2024 Tour de France and started this year's edition on the back of excellent preparations, having won the Tour de Suisse, Tour de Romandie, and Itzulia Basque Country. Sunday's stage heads into central France on a 158-kilometer (98-mile) flat stage for sprinters.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Tour de France 2025: stage nine from Chinon to Châteauroux
Update: Date: 2025-07-13T10:30:26.000Z Title: Preamble Content: Hello and welcome back to the Guardian's Tour de France live blog. It's another flat stage today for the riders as they make their way from Chinon to Châteauroux over 174.1km of parcours. There's a low elevation gain of 1,400m, no categorised climbs and an intermediate sprint at 24km in. Châteauroux, which has been renamed 'Cavendish City' temporarily, is a sprinter's finish. Mark Cavendish won three times in the city and notably took the first of his record 35 wins here in 2008. So, unsuprisingly, it's going to be a day for the sprinters. Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) is fresh off a victory yesterday – can he repeat it in another bunch sprint? Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quick-Step) was unlucky yesterday, suffering a mechanical close to the finish and having to expend energy trying to get to the front of the pack before a rush for the line. Perhaps today is his day? Or Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) could get his first stage win of this Tour today? Oh, and we shouldn't forget Wout Van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike). I'd love to get your thoughts, so please email via the link above. Before the action starts at 1.10pm CEST (12.10am BST), here's a refresher of how yesterday played out:
The Independent
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Who is Gérard Depardieu? The rise and fall of disgraced French actor convicted of sexual assault
French acting legend Gerard Depardieu has rarely strayed far from controversy but his career and reputation now lie in ruins. The disgraced 76-year-old has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two women, in the most high-profile MeToo trial France has seen to date. He denied the allegations against him, but it is not the first time he has been accused of wrongdoing. Below we look at the turbulent career of one of France's most celebrated performers who met the Pope, dined with Princess Diana and has called Fidel Castro and Vladimir Putin a close friend. Who is Gerard Depardieu? Born the third of six children in a working-class neighbourhood in Châteauroux, France in 1948, Depardieu began life as a street hustler, trading stolen cigarettes and alcohol to American GIs to help his large family make ends meet. His father, Dédé, was an illiterate, alcohol-dependent sheet metal worker; his mother, Lilette, so crushed by poverty, once told him that she considered aborting young Gerard with a knitting needle. In his autobiography Ça s'est fait comme ça ('That's the Way it Was), he recounted robbing the graves of newly buried bodies, getting into fights and prostituting himself to passing lorry drivers. He spent three months in prison after stealing a car. School holidays were spent in the public toilets of Orly airport outside Paris, where his grandmother was an attendant. His early mystique was enhanced by the fact that he ran away from home at the age of 13 and took drama lessons at the behest of a psychologist who urged him to act out his traumas. Since then, Depardieu has won fame and fortune acting in more than 250 films since 1967. As a child, his nickname was Petarou – the little firecracker. As an adult, he was referred to by the late Marguerite Duras, who directed him in two films, as "a big, beautiful runaway truck of a man". In 1970, Depardieu married Élisabeth Guignot, with whom he had two children: actor Guillaume, who died from complications of drug addiction and a motorbike accident, and actress Julie. In 1992, after divorcing Guignot, he had a daughter, Roxane, with the model Karine Silla. From Obelix to Stalin - how Depardieu became the darling of French cinema Internationally, Depardieu is a huge cinematic figure– a Golden Globe winner and an Oscar nominee. Among his 250 film credits are lead roles as varied as dictator Joseph Stalin, a priest, a hunchbacked peasant, fictitious medieval warrior Obelix, a car salesman, a sculptor and a gangster. Depardieu has worked with revolutionary new-wave filmmakers such as François Truffaut, Agnès Varda, Marguerite Duras, Jean-Luc Godard and Claude Chabrol. His performance as the ungainly, big-nosed soldier with the romantic soul in Cyrano de Bergerac was praised by critics, winning the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival. And in Abel Ferrara's 2014 feature Welcome to New York he starred as a powerful politician accused of raping a maid in a New York hotel. Sex assault allegations and trial On Tuesday Depardieu was found guilty of trapping a woman he worked with with his legs before groping her in front of witnesses. In an interview with Mediapart, the 54-year-old set dresser said Depardieu made lewd comments, grabbed her forcefully, and had to be pulled away by bodyguards. A second woman, a 34-year-old assistant director, alleged she was groped both on set and in the street. The court sided with both women. The actor has been handed an 18-month suspended sentence, in line with the prosecution's requests, and could face a €75,000 (£62,000) fine. He will also be put on the sex offender register. Depardieu has denied all the allegations and will be appealing the decision. The verdict was welcomed by respresentatives of the victims. "It is the victory of two women, but it is the victory of all the women beyond this trial," said Carine Durrieu-Diebolt, the set dresser's lawyer. "Today we hope to see the end of impunity for an artist in the world of cinema. I think that with this decision we can no longer say that he is not a sexual abuser. And today, as the Cannes Film Festival opens, I'd like the film world to spare a thought for Depardieu's victims." What other controversies has Depardieu been embroiled in? The actor was reportedly blacklisted in Hollywood after being quoted by Time magazine in 1991 as saying he participated in his first rape at the age of nine and joined in other sexual attacks later because in his world "it was absolutely normal." Depardieu has denied making the comment, saying that he has too much respect for women to have ever assaulted them sexually. The actor, who was making a film on the island of Mauritius at the time the quotes surfaced issued a statement that said, "Of course, one can say I had sexual experiences at a very young age, but never rape. ... I am profoundly wounded by what has happened.' Depardieu subsequently accused Time of mistranslating the quote, insisting that he had admitted only to having witnessed rapes. "I have always been treated honestly and justly by the American press," Depardieu said later, expressing bewilderment over the charges. "I have a wife and children. I am not going to let myself be treated as a rapist." Anecdotes about Depardieu's marathon drinking bouts became infamous, and he confessed to drinking 14 bottles of wine a day. In 1998, Depardieu survived a high-speed motorbike crash when he was five times over the limit on the way to the shooting of Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar. No charges were filed against the 49-year-old actor, who underwent surgery to repair damage to his knee, which delayed the $45 million production. Parisian prosecutors dismissed a complaint by actor Hélène Darras, who claimed that he had groped and propositioned her on the set of the 2007 film Disco. The case was abandoned after exceeding the statute of limitations; a dozen other women also lodged allegations against the actor last year. Depardieu, then 75, denied any wrongdoing, and he has not been convicted in connection with any of the accusations against him. The actor was kicked off a flight to Dublin for urinating publicly in 2011. Depardieu apologised and fellow actor Edouard Baer attributed it to prostate issues. In 2014, there was another media storm after he cosied up to Vladimir Putin, who signed an executive order granting him Russian citizenship. He claims to have hit it off with Putin because 'we could both have ended up as hoodlums.' Mr Putin was apparently attracted to 'the fact that I had occasionally been picked up off the pavement dead drunk.'
