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Irish Examiner
36 minutes ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Women's Tour de France: Squiban's perfect attack earns home favourite stage six win
Maëva Squiban from Brittany won stage six of the Tour de France Femmes after a 32km breakaway through the forestclimbs of the Livradois-Forez national park to Ambert. The 23-year-old held off the pursuing peloton of favourites on the final climb to claim the biggest win of her career and the second stage win for a French rider since the women's race was rebooted as the Tour de France Femmes in 2022. Squiban, riding for UAE Team ADQ, attacked alone, three kilometres from the top of the Col du Chansert, and maintained her lead on the fast descent, through the bonus sprint and into the finishing straight on the Boulevard Henri IV. 'When they told me I had a minute and a half [lead] I couldn't believe it,' she said. 'I mainly wanted to get a head start before the climb to the bonus sprint. Then I was hoping to be part of a small group from the bonus sprint to the finish.' Behind her, Kim Le Court was as good as her word at the bonus sprints and made every second count. The Mauritian took another four seconds, just ahead of the defending champion, Kasia Niewiadoma, to extend her overall lead. 'The goal was to control the race, and then see if the legs were there,' she said. 'After that, it was to take the remaining bonus seconds, as there was already a rider up ahead. 'We tried to close the gap to Squiban to try and get the stage, but it wasn't going to happen so tried to get a bit more time at the finish. I couldn't wish for it to be better, apart from maybe winning the stage.' The 29-year-old leads by 26 seconds from Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and by 30 seconds from Niewiadoma, who leap-frogged the pre-race favourite, Demi Vollering, into third place. The first mountain stage included 2,475m of altitude gain over four categorised climbs, including the first category Col du Beal, and provoked significant time gaps. Marianne Vos tumbled down the yellow jersey rankings, dropping from sixth to 29th. Although the rest of the favourites stayed together over the top of the 10km climb, Cédrine Kerbaol and Niewiadoma tried their hand on the descent, but were recaptured at the foot of the Col du Chansert, the platform for Squiban's solo attack. Vollering's FDJ-Suez team-mate Juliette Labous set off in pursuit in the closing kilometres, but it was not enough to draw out any initiatives from the main challengers. Ferrand-Prévot, gold medallist in Olympic mountain biking, has been a discreet presencesince showing an explosive acceleration on stage one. Her stealthy performance is fuelling French hopes that she may break the nation's 40-year Tour de France drought. The apparent anxieties from the FDJ-Suez team manager, Stephen Delcourt, over Vollering's chances may be heightened by the prospect of a French rider being guided to overall victory by his nemesis, Visma–Lease a Bike's Jos Van Emden, although the pair now appear to have ended their public feud. Friday's stage from Bourg-en-Bresse to Chambéry has less altitude gain, but is expected to inflict yet more pain as it crosses the summit of the 1,134m Col du Granier, 17km from the finish. With three mountain stages still to come, 132 of 154 starters remain in the race. Guardian
NBC News
4 days ago
- Sport
- NBC News
Tadej Pogačar 'speechless' after winning fourth Tour de France
Tadej Pogačar blasted his way to a fourth Tour de France victory on Sunday, besting rival Jonas Vingegaard by 4:24 across the famed Champs-Élysées finish line. Billed as a clash between two titans, this year's race was filled with ghosts of Pogačar's past, including the Hautacam, Mont Ventoux and the Col de la Loze climbs where he had lost significant time in previous Tours to Vingegaard. This year, Pogačar, of UAE Team Emirates XRG, conquered them all. 'Just speechless to win the Tour de France, this one feels especially amazing,' he said. 'Just super proud that I can wear this yellow jersey.' Vingegaard, of Denmark, suffered significant time losses early in the race beginning with his botched performance during the Stage 5 time trial. He crossed the finish 1:20 behind Pogačar, who continued to build a steady time gap that eventually became too large for Vingegaard to overcome. Despite launching attack after attack and maintaining an upbeat attitude during interviews, Vingegaard, of Visma–Lease a Bike, proved to be a mere mortal compared to Pogačar's superhuman prowess. 'Battling against Jonas was a tough experience, but I must say to him respect and big, big congratulations to him for his fight and incredible race,' Pogačar said. As of Sunday, two-time Tour winner Vingegaard has finished runner up to Pogačar three times. He will next take on the Vuelta a España, Spain's grand tour, in August. His teammate, Belgian rider Wout van Aert, won Sunday's rainy stage that featured three climbs around Montmartre instead of the traditional ceremonial ride into Paris. Van Aert stunned onlookers in the last kilometer around the hill, known for its artistic history and the Sacré-Cœur basilica, as he dropped Pogačar in a final attack on the steepest section. 'We came to this tour with ambition to also win the yellow jersey but the strongest rider in the race and biggest rider on the road won,' said van Aert. 'I'm proud of how we raced as a team, how we kept trying every day.' German climber Florian Lipowitz, of Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe, finished third in the general classification, coming in 11:09 behind Pogačar, and taking home the white jersey for best young rider. His podium finish is all the more impressive considering this was his Tour debut. He was meant to be riding in a supportive role for teammate and Tour veteran Primož Roglič from Slovenia. But in the end, Lipowitz, who is 11 years younger than 35-year-old Roglič emerged as the stronger rider. And Roglič, who has crashed out of several grand tours in recent years, appeared happy to just finish the race. Indeed, this year's Tour was filled with unforgettable performances by the next generation of emerging talent. Few people could have predicted the rise of Irish climber Ben Healy, who wore the yellow jersey for two days early in the race after launching strong attacks based purely on instinct. His team, EF Education-EasyPost, came into the race without its team leader, Richard Carapaz, but Healy quickly stepped into the role. He took the Stage 6 win and was awarded with the Tour's 'Super Combative' prize for what his team described as 'exploits' on the road. 'It is one thing to achieve what you set out to achieve; it is another to do it with a smile,' team sports director Charly Wegelius said in a statement. Italian sprinter Jonathan Milan, of Lidl–Trek, dominated in the green jersey for much of his Tour debut. The contest for points classification appeared to open in Stage 3 when the reigning champion, Jasper Philipsen, of Alpecin–Deceuninck, was thrown over his handlebars during an intermediate sprint. The Belgian fastman was forced to abandon with a fractured collarbone and at least one broken rib. Milan and teammate Quinn Simmons, from Durango, Colorado, soon began a relentless campaign to best the remaining sprinters and succeeded. Simmons, donning his iconic handlebar mustache and American flag road champion's jersey, was seen at the front of the peloton nearly every day for three weeks. He proved to be the perfect lead out man for Milan, who wouldn't let rain or crashes slow him down. In the end, Milan edged out Pogačar in the final points classification and Simmons proposed to his girlfriend — she said yes! — after crossing the finish line.
5 days ago
- Sport
Cycling great Vos wins 1st stage of women's Tour de France with brilliant late attack
PLUMELEC, France -- Cycling great Marianne Vos won the opening stage of the women's Tour de France with a brilliant late attack on Saturday. The 38-year-old Dutchwoman overtook her Visma–Lease a Bike teammate Pauline Ferrand-Prévot approaching the line, and then held off Mauritian rider Kim Le Court in the closing meters of a grueling uphill finish. Ferrand-Prévot looked set to win the stage, but the Frenchwoman attacked too early from 600 meters and could not withstand the late surge from Vos, who punched the air with her left fist as she crossed the line. Moments later, Vos hugged an exhausted-looking Ferrand-Prévot, the Paris-Roubaix winner. 'I didn't now if Pauline was still hanging in the finish, but in the end I sprinted a bit with Kim,' Vos said, praising her teammate's effort. 'I'm really grateful to the team and to Pauline.' The hilly 78.8-kilometer (48.9-mile) route from Vannes to Plumelec in Brittany featured two small climbs and was completed in 1 hour, 53 minutes, 3 seconds by Vos — a multiple world champion, a former Olympic road race champion and a silver medalist at last year's Paris Games. Former Olympic time-trial silver medalist Marlen Reusser was one of 10 riders to crash some 30 kilometers from the end. She continued for a while but was clearly struggling and had to abandon the stage. Sunday's second stage from the port city of Brest to Quimper stays in Brittany and is slightly more hilly and longer at 110.4 kilometers. The nine-stage race, which ends Aug. 3, began a day before the end of the men's Tour, set to be won for a fourth time by Slovenian star Tadej Pogačar by a comfortable margin. The women's race could be far closer. Last year provided the smallest winning margin in the history of the women's and men's races, with Polish rider Kasia Niewiadoma beating 2023 champion Demi Vollering by four seconds, and Pauliena Rooijakkers only 10 seconds off the pace in third place. ___
Fox Sports
5 days ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Cycling great Vos wins 1st stage of women's Tour de France with brilliant late attack
Associated Press PLUMELEC, France (AP) — Cycling great Marianne Vos won the opening stage of the women's Tour de France with a brilliant late attack on Saturday. The 38-year-old Dutchwoman overtook her Visma–Lease a Bike teammate Pauline Ferrand-Prévot approaching the line, and then held off Mauritian rider Kim Le Court in the closing meters of a grueling uphill finish. Ferrand-Prévot looked set to win the stage, but the Frenchwoman attacked too early from 600 meters and could not withstand the late surge from Vos, who punched the air with her left fist as she crossed the line. Moments later, Vos hugged an exhausted-looking Ferrand-Prévot, the Paris-Roubaix winner. 'I didn't now if Pauline was still hanging in the finish, but in the end I sprinted a bit with Kim,' Vos said, praising her teammate's effort. 'I'm really grateful to the team and to Pauline.' The hilly 78.8-kilometer (48.9-mile) route from Vannes to Plumelec in Brittany featured two small climbs and was completed in 1 hour, 53 minutes, 3 seconds by Vos — a multiple world champion, a former Olympic road race champion and a silver medalist at last year's Paris Games. Former Olympic time-trial silver medalist Marlen Reusser was one of 10 riders to crash some 30 kilometers from the end. She continued for a while but was clearly struggling and had to abandon the stage. Sunday's second stage from the port city of Brest to Quimper stays in Brittany and is slightly more hilly and longer at 110.4 kilometers. The nine-stage race, which ends Aug. 3, began a day before the end of the men's Tour, set to be won for a fourth time by Slovenian star Tadej Pogačar by a comfortable margin. The women's race could be far closer. Last year provided the smallest winning margin in the history of the women's and men's races, with Polish rider Kasia Niewiadoma beating 2023 champion Demi Vollering by four seconds, and Pauliena Rooijakkers only 10 seconds off the pace in third place. ___ AP sports: in this topic
Winnipeg Free Press
5 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Cycling great Vos wins 1st stage of women's Tour de France with brilliant late attack
PLUMELEC, France (AP) — Cycling great Marianne Vos won the opening stage of the women's Tour de France with a brilliant late attack on Saturday. The 38-year-old Dutchwoman overtook her Visma–Lease a Bike teammate Pauline Ferrand-Prévot approaching the line, and then held off Mauritian rider Kim Le Court in the closing meters of a grueling uphill finish. Ferrand-Prévot looked set to win the stage, but the Frenchwoman attacked too early from 600 meters and could not withstand the late surge from Vos, who punched the air with her left fist as she crossed the line. Moments later, Vos hugged an exhausted-looking Ferrand-Prévot, the Paris-Roubaix winner. 'I didn't now if Pauline was still hanging in the finish, but in the end I sprinted a bit with Kim,' Vos said, praising her teammate's effort. 'I'm really grateful to the team and to Pauline.' The hilly 78.8-kilometer (48.9-mile) route from Vannes to Plumelec in Brittany featured two small climbs and was completed in 1 hour, 53 minutes, 3 seconds by Vos — a multiple world champion, a former Olympic road race champion and a silver medalist at last year's Paris Games. Former Olympic time-trial silver medalist Marlen Reusser was one of 10 riders to crash some 30 kilometers from the end. She continued for a while but was clearly struggling and had to abandon the stage. Sunday's second stage from the port city of Brest to Quimper stays in Brittany and is slightly more hilly and longer at 110.4 kilometers. The nine-stage race, which ends Aug. 3, began a day before the end of the men's Tour, set to be won for a fourth time by Slovenian star Tadej Pogačar by a comfortable margin. The women's race could be far closer. Last year provided the smallest winning margin in the history of the women's and men's races, with Polish rider Kasia Niewiadoma beating 2023 champion Demi Vollering by four seconds, and Pauliena Rooijakkers only 10 seconds off the pace in third place. ___ AP sports:
