Latest news with #Wellens
ARN News Center
21-07-2025
- Sport
- ARN News Center
Cycling: Wellens wins Stage 15 to underscore UAE's Tour control
Tim Wellens overpowered his breakaway companions in brutal fashion to claim victory on Stage 15 of the Tour de France, offering yet another sign of UAE Team Emirates-XRG's iron grip on the race. The Belgian national champion, one of defending champion and overall leader Tadej Pogacar's domestiques, jumped away from a leading group of six some 43 kilometres from the finish and never looked back, beating compatriot Victor Campenaerts (Visma-Lease a Bike) by 1:28. France's Julian Alaphilippe took third place, nine seconds further back. "It's a very special victory, everybody wants to ride the Tour but not everybody wins on the Tour de France," said Wellens. "Suddenly there was a big crash... I followed one move and I was in the breakaway. "I had an opportunity, I took it and I had legs to finish it." Wellens' master, Pogacar, still leads Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard by 4:13 in the overall standings, edging 169.3km closer to a fourth Tour title after the hilly ride between Muret and Carcassonne. German Florian Lipowitz sits in third place, 7:53 off the pace. "I'm actually happier than for any of my wins," said Pogacar, who added he was recovering from a sore throat. "With all the ice we're having (to cool down from the heat) and the air conditioning, half of the peloton has a sore throat, it's a pain." The top riders stayed quiet all day, Pogacar slowing down after Lipowitz and Vingegaard were caught up behind an early crash. It was a hectic stage with relentless attacks from riders looking to capitalise on the rare opportunity of a victory as flat and mountain stages are the exclusive domain of top sprinters and general classification contenders. The group who would fight for the win took shape after more than 100 kilometres and Wellens was not only the stronger rider, he was also the smartest. Having done very little in the breakaway - one of the perks of riding for the yellow jersey holder - Wellens attacked on a slightly uphill section, catching everyone off guard. The 34-year-old attacked and the chasing group quickly disappeared into the background as he sped to his maiden Tour de France win to complete his grands tours stage victory collection after prevailing in the Giro d'Italia in 2016 and 2018 and in the Vuelta a Espana in 2020.
Dubai Eye
21-07-2025
- Sport
- Dubai Eye
Cycling: Wellens wins Stage 15 to underscore UAE's Tour control
Tim Wellens overpowered his breakaway companions in brutal fashion to claim victory on Stage 15 of the Tour de France, offering yet another sign of UAE Team Emirates-XRG's iron grip on the race. The Belgian national champion, one of defending champion and overall leader Tadej Pogacar's domestiques, jumped away from a leading group of six some 43 kilometres from the finish and never looked back, beating compatriot Victor Campenaerts (Visma-Lease a Bike) by 1:28. France's Julian Alaphilippe took third place, nine seconds further back. "It's a very special victory, everybody wants to ride the Tour but not everybody wins on the Tour de France," said Wellens. "Suddenly there was a big crash... I followed one move and I was in the breakaway. "I had an opportunity, I took it and I had legs to finish it." Wellens' master, Pogacar, still leads Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard by 4:13 in the overall standings, edging 169.3km closer to a fourth Tour title after the hilly ride between Muret and Carcassonne. German Florian Lipowitz sits in third place, 7:53 off the pace. "I'm actually happier than for any of my wins," said Pogacar, who added he was recovering from a sore throat. "With all the ice we're having (to cool down from the heat) and the air conditioning, half of the peloton has a sore throat, it's a pain." The top riders stayed quiet all day, Pogacar slowing down after Lipowitz and Vingegaard were caught up behind an early crash. It was a hectic stage with relentless attacks from riders looking to capitalise on the rare opportunity of a victory as flat and mountain stages are the exclusive domain of top sprinters and general classification contenders. The group who would fight for the win took shape after more than 100 kilometres and Wellens was not only the stronger rider, he was also the smartest. Having done very little in the breakaway - one of the perks of riding for the yellow jersey holder - Wellens attacked on a slightly uphill section, catching everyone off guard. The 34-year-old attacked and the chasing group quickly disappeared into the background as he sped to his maiden Tour de France win to complete his grands tours stage victory collection after prevailing in the Giro d'Italia in 2016 and 2018 and in the Vuelta a Espana in 2020.
Gulf Today
21-07-2025
- Sport
- Gulf Today
Wellens' stage win underscores Team Emirates' Tour control
AE Team Emirates XRG's Tim Wellens won a baking and hilly stage 15 of the Tour de France at Carcassonne on Sunday after a 45km solo rampage towards the walled citadel. Overall leader Tadej Pogacar held on to the overall lead with a 4min 13sec advantage on Jonas Vingegaard, who had to fight to catch up when caught behind an early mass fall. Wellens had been part of an early break which only really got away once the fall sent a shockwave though the race. It was a large and mixed group that was whittled down to five before the Belgian champion suddenly accelerated and caught the others napping. This was a fifth win for Team UAE with Pogacar previously having won four stages on a thoroughly dominant Tour for the team. Wellens was so far ahead at the finish line he had time to high five dozens of Belgian fans on the run in on the eve of Belgium's national holiday. 'This makes me happier than winning a stage myself,' said Pogacar. 'He helps me keep this thing every day,' he said pointing to the jersey. Having previously won stages on the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a Espana this triumph completes the set of stage wins on the three big tours for Wellens. 'Everybody wants to win a stage at the Tour de France, this is the special one,' said Wellens. 'I knew I was going to complete the trilogy and was enjoying the home straight with the fans. I'd been planning to lift the bike in the air, but I was so happy I forgot to do it' Alaphilippe red faced: The remaining 167 of 184 riders embarked towards Carcassonne on yet another nervy stage. After a mass fall early on with Florian Lipowitz and Vingegaard involved, the Pogacar group raced on, leaving two-time winner Vingegaard and a pack of 30 riders to exhaust themselves catching up. There was embarrassment for Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe, who celebrated at the line thinking he had won when in fact he was third. Sprinting for third place long after Wellens and Victor Campenaerts took the top two spots, Alaphilippe pipped Wout van Aert at the line. Poor Alaphilippe hung his head when his horrified compatriots told him. He had been part of the early fall, losing his race radio, and had no idea the stage had already been won, he explained. Pogacar entered the Pyrenees on Thursday trailing in second behind surprise yellow jersey Ben Healy but emerged with two more stage wins and a four-minute advantage at the top of the overall standings in his bid for a fourth Tour de France title. The defending champion said he had been ill. 'Half the peloton is coughing,' said Pogacar. 'I've got this red nose. It's because of all the ice packs and air conditioning I think, but I'm better now.' Monday is the final rest day before the 2025 edition soars into the Alps on Tuesday's stage 16 with the 15.8km ascent of Mont Ventoux at 7.9 percent gradient to its 1901m high summit. 'Mont Ventoux is for after the day off, so I don't want to talk about it now,' Pogacar said after the podium ceremony at Carcassonne. 'All I know is that Jonas will be attacking, I just don't want to think about it.' Earlier. Thymen Arensman of the Netherlands won the 14th stage after a superb solo ride in the 183-km (113-mile) mountain trek between Pau and Superbagneres on Saturday. The day belonged to Arensman, however, as the Dutchman went solo from the day's breakaway in the penultimate climb to the Col de Peyresourde (7.1 km at 7.8%) before his team car hit and knocked down a spectator amid the usual roadside chaos on the Tour. Arensman never looked back and held firm on his way up to Superbagneres (12.4 km at 7.3%) as Vingegaard attacked several times in an attempt to drop Pogacar. But the world champion did not flinch and easily beat his rival in the final metres to further cement his domination. Reuters
Boston Globe
21-07-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Tim Wellens wins Tour de France's 15th stage, teammate Tadej Pogačar maintains grip on yellow jersey
'I knew that I had to enjoy the moment,' Wellens said. 'I kept riding 'till the finish line because I wanted a big gap to fully enjoy it and maybe put my bike in the air after the finish. But I was so happy to win that I forgot to do it.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Pogačar and his closest general classification rivals, Jonas Vingegaard and Florian Lipowitz, finished in a large group 6:07 behind Wellens. It meant the Slovenian rider maintained his overall lead of 4:13 over Vingegard and 7:53 over German rider Lipowitz. Advertisement Sunday's 105-mile stage from Muret to the medieval city of Carcassonne got off to a chaotic start with a crash in the peloton affecting Alaphilippe, Lipowitz, and many others. It appeared to be caused by a cobbled traffic island that caught at least one rider by surprise. Alaphilippe looked to have hurt his left shoulder, but all continued racing. Advertisement Pogačar, who'd raced ahead, was told over the radio to try and calm the bunch so Vingegaard and Lipowitz could resume contact. By the time the peloton got back together, it was about 40 seconds behind a 15-rider breakaway including Wellens. Wellens was in a four-man leading group with Campenaerts, Michael Storer, and Quinn Simmons as they climbed the 1.8-mile, 10.2 percent incline Pas du Sant. 🤩🇧🇪 🤩🇧🇪 — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) Carlos Rodríguez, Warren Barguil, Aleks Vlasov, and Alexey Lutsenko were chasing, and Wellens waited for the trailing group to catch up before he attacked with 27 miles to go, knowing his rivals would find it hard to react with the downhill to come. 'On the last climb of the day I felt really good,' Wellens said. 'I saw the others also felt really good, but I knew I had to go solo and at the top of the climb I found my moment.' Third-placed Alaphilippe celebrated after beating Van Aert and Laurance in a sprint to the line, thinking he'd won the stage, only to be told that two riders had finished ahead of him. After being involved in a crash early in the race that knocked out his radio, Julian Alaphilippe (right) thought he won the 15th stage, but was actually third, just ahead of Carlos Rodríguez. Thibault Camus/Associated Press Raphaël Meyer, team manager of Alaphilippe's Tudor Pro Cycling Team, explained that the rider's radio was damaged in the early crash and so they were unable to communicate with him during the stage. The race finishes next weekend in Paris. Monday offers riders the second rest day of the Tour.
The Sun
21-07-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Wellens wins Stage 15 to underscore UAE's Tour control
TIM WELLENS overpowered his breakaway companions in brutal fashion to claim victory on Stage 15 of the Tour de France, offering yet another sign - if one was needed - of UAE Team Emirates-XRG's iron grip on the race. The Belgian national champion, one of defending champion and overall leader Tadej Pogacar's domestiques, jumped away from a leading group of six some 43 kilometres from the finish and never looked back, beating compatriot Victor Campenaerts (Visma-Lease a Bike) by 1:28. France's Julian Alaphilippe took third place, nine seconds further back. 'It's a very special victory, everybody wants to ride the Tour but not everybody wins on the Tour de France,' said Wellens. 'Suddenly there was a big crash... I followed one move and I was in the breakaway. 'I had an opportunity, I took it and I had legs to finish it.' Wellens' master, Pogacar, still leads Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard by 4:13 in the overall standings, edging 169.3km closer to a fourth Tour title after the hilly ride between Muret and Carcassonne. German Florian Lipowitz sits in third place, 7:53 off the pace. 'I'm actually happier than for any of my wins,' said Pogacar, who added he was recovering from a sore throat. 'With all the ice we're having (to cool down from the heat) and the air conditioning, half of the peloton has a sore throat, it's a pain.' The top riders stayed quiet all day, Pogacar slowing down after Lipowitz and Vingegaard were caught up behind an early crash. It was a hectic stage with relentless attacks from riders looking to capitalise on the rare opportunity of a victory as flat and mountain stages are the exclusive domain of top sprinters and general classification contenders. The group who would fight for the win took shape after more than 100 kilometres and Wellens was not only the stronger rider, he was also the smartest. Having done very little in the breakaway - one of the perks of riding for the yellow jersey holder - Wellens attacked on a slightly uphill section, catching everyone off guard. The 34-year-old attacked and the chasing group quickly disappeared into the background as he sped to his maiden Tour de France win to complete his grands tours stage victory collection after prevailing in the Giro d'Italia in 2016 and 2018 and in the Vuelta a Espana in 2020.
