2 months ago
PALOS DE LA FRONTERA, Spain (AP) — Matthew Brennan enhanced his status as the standout sprinter at the Spanish Vuelta by winning his fourth stage Tuesday in the 21-year-old British rider's Grand Tour debut.
Brennan was delivered to the front of the bunch with 100 meters left by an ideal leadout from Wout van Aert, his star teammate at Visma-Lease a Bike who already won two stages at this Vuelta.
Crossing the line, Brennan raised his right hand with four fingers out in a victory salute. Bryan Coquard was second and Vito Braet third. Van Aert was sixth at the end of a 181-kilometer (112.5 miles) ride in more blazing heat from Cortegana to Palos de la Frontera.
After 16 stages, overall leader Enric Mas retained his advantage in the red jersey of 2 minutes, 6 seconds ahead of Felix Gall. Primož Roglič is a further 4 second back in third.
Wednesday's stage is another flat ride into Seville before a 32.5-km (20.2-mile) time trial Thursday that could be key for Roglič.
#brennan #stages #Third
Brennan was delivered to the front of the bunch with 100 meters left by an ideal leadout from Wout van Aert, his star teammate at Visma-Lease a Bike who already won two stages at this Vuelta.
Crossing the line, Brennan raised his right hand with four fingers out in a victory salute. Bryan Coquard was second and Vito Braet third. Van Aert was sixth at the end of a 181-kilometer (112.5 miles) ride in more blazing heat from Cortegana to Palos de la Frontera.
After 16 stages, overall leader Enric Mas retained his advantage in the red jersey of 2 minutes, 6 seconds ahead of Felix Gall. Primož Roglič is a further 4 second back in third.
Wednesday's stage is another flat ride into Seville before a 32.5-km (20.2-mile) time trial Thursday that could be key for Roglič.
#brennan #stages #Third
3 months ago
Two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard will miss the rest of season as he continues his recovery from a broken collarbone sustained in this year's race.
On stage 15, the 29-year-old Visma-Lease a Bike rider was tackling a tight right-hand bend off a roundabout when his front wheel slid out, causing him to land on his shoulder.
The injury required surgery and ruled the Dane out of challenging for a third Tour victory, with Tadej Pogacar going on to win a record equalling fifth yellow jersey.
Vingegaard will be absent from September's UCI Road World Championships in Montreal, Canada, when Pogacar will go for a third straight world ******* le.
"After a long and intense racing period, a recovery period was planned after the Tour de France anyway," Vingegaard said.
#france #recovery #jonas #visma
On stage 15, the 29-year-old Visma-Lease a Bike rider was tackling a tight right-hand bend off a roundabout when his front wheel slid out, causing him to land on his shoulder.
The injury required surgery and ruled the Dane out of challenging for a third Tour victory, with Tadej Pogacar going on to win a record equalling fifth yellow jersey.
Vingegaard will be absent from September's UCI Road World Championships in Montreal, Canada, when Pogacar will go for a third straight world ******* le.
"After a long and intense racing period, a recovery period was planned after the Tour de France anyway," Vingegaard said.
#france #recovery #jonas #visma
3 months ago
SISTERON, France (AP) — Defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévôt pulled out of the Women's Tour de France ahead of Saturday's eighth and penultimate stage after feeling unwell.
The French rider's Visma-Lease a Bike team said on X that the decision to pull her out of the race was made after consultation with the team's medical staff.
"Unfortunately, Pauline was not feeling well this morning," the team said. "It has been decided that she will not start today. We wish Pauline a speedy recovery."
An Olympic champion in mountain biking at the Paris Olympics in 2024, she won the Women's Tour de France on her debut last year.
She was in 14th place overall heading into Stage 8, a flat 172-kilometer (107-mile) route from Sisteron in southeast France to Nice made for sprinters.
#tour #stage
The French rider's Visma-Lease a Bike team said on X that the decision to pull her out of the race was made after consultation with the team's medical staff.
"Unfortunately, Pauline was not feeling well this morning," the team said. "It has been decided that she will not start today. We wish Pauline a speedy recovery."
An Olympic champion in mountain biking at the Paris Olympics in 2024, she won the Women's Tour de France on her debut last year.
She was in 14th place overall heading into Stage 8, a flat 172-kilometer (107-mile) route from Sisteron in southeast France to Nice made for sprinters.
#tour #stage
3 months ago
The Tour de France Femmes begins in Lausanne, Switzerland on Saturday - but it's the race's first ascent of the iconic Mont Ventoux that is really exciting fans.
Riders will cover 1,175km across nine stages - the most since the event returned to the World Tour calendar as a stage race in 2022.
That includes the stage-seven slog up one of the most iconic climbs in the sport's history - to the telecommunications and meteorological tower on the top of Provence's Mont Ventoux.
Ventoux has been an iconic mountain stage for the men's Tour for generations, won by legendary figures such as Eddy Merckx, Marco Pantani and Chris Froome.
Alongside in-form rivals such as the Netherlands' Demi Vollering of FDJ-Suez United, last year's winner Pauline Ferrand-Prevot of Visma Lease a Bike will be hoping to steal a march.
#france #femmes #switzerland #saturday
Riders will cover 1,175km across nine stages - the most since the event returned to the World Tour calendar as a stage race in 2022.
That includes the stage-seven slog up one of the most iconic climbs in the sport's history - to the telecommunications and meteorological tower on the top of Provence's Mont Ventoux.
Ventoux has been an iconic mountain stage for the men's Tour for generations, won by legendary figures such as Eddy Merckx, Marco Pantani and Chris Froome.
Alongside in-form rivals such as the Netherlands' Demi Vollering of FDJ-Suez United, last year's winner Pauline Ferrand-Prevot of Visma Lease a Bike will be hoping to steal a march.
#france #femmes #switzerland #saturday
4 months ago
July 5: Stage 2 - Team Visma | Lease a Bike's Jonas Vingegaard wearing the Yellow jersey before the start of stage 2 of the Tour de France.
4 months ago
Tadej Pogacar took a big step towards winning the Tour de France for a record-equalling fifth time with a dominant victory on stage six, regaining the leader's yellow jersey.
The defending champion established a lead with ease on the iconic Col du Tourmalet during the first 186.2km mountain stage of the three-week race.
Pogacar, 27, is aiming to become the joint-most successful rider in the Tour's history, alongside Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain.
Between launching his attack five kilometres from the top of the Tourmalet to the summit of the climb, UAE Team Emirates-XRG's Pogacar gained 30 seconds over his main rival Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark - and a devastating one minute 45 seconds over Belgium's Remco Evenepoel of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and young French hope Paul Seixas of Decathlon CMA CGM.
Pogacar eventually crossed the line of the stage from Pau to Gavarnie-Gedre two minutes 38 seconds ahead of Visma-Lease a Bike's Vingegaard, with Pogacar's team-mate and chosen lead domestique Isaac del Toro of Mexico a further 19 seconds down, along with Evenepoel and Seixas.
The defending champion established a lead with ease on the iconic Col du Tourmalet during the first 186.2km mountain stage of the three-week race.
Pogacar, 27, is aiming to become the joint-most successful rider in the Tour's history, alongside Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain.
Between launching his attack five kilometres from the top of the Tourmalet to the summit of the climb, UAE Team Emirates-XRG's Pogacar gained 30 seconds over his main rival Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark - and a devastating one minute 45 seconds over Belgium's Remco Evenepoel of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and young French hope Paul Seixas of Decathlon CMA CGM.
Pogacar eventually crossed the line of the stage from Pau to Gavarnie-Gedre two minutes 38 seconds ahead of Visma-Lease a Bike's Vingegaard, with Pogacar's team-mate and chosen lead domestique Isaac del Toro of Mexico a further 19 seconds down, along with Evenepoel and Seixas.
4 months ago
Defending Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar took victory on stage three of the Tour de France with a late acceleration to the line following a 195.9km route from Granollers to Les Angles.
The Slovenian also acquired the overall lead and yellow jersey after the stage winner's bonus points took him level on time with Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard of Visma-Lease a Bike, who had been in yellow since Saturday's opening stage.
Pogacar took control with around half a kilometre to go, taking Vingegaard and French darling Paul Seixas of Decathlon-CMA CGM by surprise with a blistering attack.
Pogacar was led up the final category three climb by Sunday's stage winner and UAE Team Emirates-XRG team-mate Isaac del Toro of Mexico, who Pogacar had shepherded over the line the previous day while very clearly holding back his own pace.
On a sweltering hot day in the Pyrenees on the border between northern Spain and southern France, fans had been told to stay away from the area around Les Angles at the finish because of wildfires.
The Slovenian also acquired the overall lead and yellow jersey after the stage winner's bonus points took him level on time with Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard of Visma-Lease a Bike, who had been in yellow since Saturday's opening stage.
Pogacar took control with around half a kilometre to go, taking Vingegaard and French darling Paul Seixas of Decathlon-CMA CGM by surprise with a blistering attack.
Pogacar was led up the final category three climb by Sunday's stage winner and UAE Team Emirates-XRG team-mate Isaac del Toro of Mexico, who Pogacar had shepherded over the line the previous day while very clearly holding back his own pace.
On a sweltering hot day in the Pyrenees on the border between northern Spain and southern France, fans had been told to stay away from the area around Les Angles at the finish because of wildfires.
4 months ago
July 5: Stage 2 - Team Visma | Lease a Bike's Jonas Vingegaard wearing the Yellow jersey before the start of stage 2 of the Tour de France.
4 months ago
The 2026 Tour de France is officially underway, kicking off with Stage 1 on Saturday, July 4, at the Grand Départ in Barcelona, Spain. Over the next three weeks, the world’s most prestigious cycling race will cover 21 stages, traversing challenging terrain across several countries.
A total of 184 riders representing 23 teams lined up at the start in Barcelona, each aiming to take an early lead and position themselves for the race ahead. Among the competitors is Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogačar, the reigning champion, who returns to defend his ******* le and pursue a third consecutive Tour de France victory.
The opening stage featured a Team Time Trial spanning the first 12.1 miles of the race. Each rider’s individual time was recorded as they crossed the finish line, but the winner of Stage 1 was determined by the fastest combined team time. This year, Jonas Vingegaard’s Visma-Lease a Bike team claimed victory with a time of 21 minutes and 47 seconds.
Here is the leaderboard after Stage 1.
More: 2026 Tour de France: How to watch, schedule, stages for cycling's top race
A total of 184 riders representing 23 teams lined up at the start in Barcelona, each aiming to take an early lead and position themselves for the race ahead. Among the competitors is Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogačar, the reigning champion, who returns to defend his ******* le and pursue a third consecutive Tour de France victory.
The opening stage featured a Team Time Trial spanning the first 12.1 miles of the race. Each rider’s individual time was recorded as they crossed the finish line, but the winner of Stage 1 was determined by the fastest combined team time. This year, Jonas Vingegaard’s Visma-Lease a Bike team claimed victory with a time of 21 minutes and 47 seconds.
Here is the leaderboard after Stage 1.
More: 2026 Tour de France: How to watch, schedule, stages for cycling's top race
4 months ago
As Tadej Pogacar arrived in Barcelona seeking a record-equalling fifth Tour de France ***** le, the man he currently shares four such ***** les with quietly faded out of the sport.
Chris Froome rarely got the plaudits Pogacar has received, but won seven Grand Tours, including four yellow jerseys, in a stunning period of dominance that in many ways paved the way for the Slovenian.
It was followed by a rather grimmer second act. Froome was never really the same following his horror crash in 2019, his body irreparably altered by smashing into a wall at 54kmph; then came another sickening crash last year, which had near-fatal consequences. As he conceded in a low-key interview with Belgian broadcaster Sporza, "That was not the way I wanted it to end. But even then, I knew it was over."
It was a muted, sad finish to a starry career. Froome's successor as the dominant Grand Tour rider of his generation – increasingly, of all time – has burned far brighter, but the cautionary tale the Brit offers is that this sort of success can vanish all too quickly. And in cycling, as in any sport, upsets can still happen – few would have predicted that Jannik Sinner, the most overwhelming favourite at the French Open since Rafael Nadal in 2009, would utterly implode.
Cycling has moved on since Froome's era. Visma-Lease a Bike, and latterly UAE Team Emirates-XRG, have taken the "Sky train" model of churning through domestiques, and have run with it, creating an unstoppable monster that controls stages from start to finish – and hoovers up every promising young talent from smaller teams, like the Manchester City of cycling.
Chris Froome rarely got the plaudits Pogacar has received, but won seven Grand Tours, including four yellow jerseys, in a stunning period of dominance that in many ways paved the way for the Slovenian.
It was followed by a rather grimmer second act. Froome was never really the same following his horror crash in 2019, his body irreparably altered by smashing into a wall at 54kmph; then came another sickening crash last year, which had near-fatal consequences. As he conceded in a low-key interview with Belgian broadcaster Sporza, "That was not the way I wanted it to end. But even then, I knew it was over."
It was a muted, sad finish to a starry career. Froome's successor as the dominant Grand Tour rider of his generation – increasingly, of all time – has burned far brighter, but the cautionary tale the Brit offers is that this sort of success can vanish all too quickly. And in cycling, as in any sport, upsets can still happen – few would have predicted that Jannik Sinner, the most overwhelming favourite at the French Open since Rafael Nadal in 2009, would utterly implode.
Cycling has moved on since Froome's era. Visma-Lease a Bike, and latterly UAE Team Emirates-XRG, have taken the "Sky train" model of churning through domestiques, and have run with it, creating an unstoppable monster that controls stages from start to finish – and hoovers up every promising young talent from smaller teams, like the Manchester City of cycling.
