Evenepoel abandons Tour de France
BAGNERES-DE-LUCHON, France - Belgian Remco Evenepoel abandoned the Tour de France on Saturday during the 14th stage, a 182.6-km mountain trek from Pau to Superbagneres.
The Soudal-Quick Step rider, who was third overall, stepped off his bike and entered his team car midway through the ascent of the Col du Tourmalet, the first of four climbs on the day's menu.
Evenepoel had struggled in recent days, losing time in the first Pyrenean stage and in Friday's uphill individual time trial.
"Yesterday was bad, today was worse," the Olympic champion, who won the stage 5 individual time trial, said on Friday.
It got even worse on Saturday as the 25-year-old could not sustain the pace in the gruelling ascent to the Tourmalet (19km at 7.4%) as dozens of riders whizzed past him.
After giving his bottle to a child on the side of the road, Evenepoel threw in the towel, a year after finishing third overall on his Tour de France debut.
Evenepoel won the Vuelta a Espana in 2022. REUTERS
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore Mindef, SAF units among those dealing with attack on S'pore's critical information infrastructure
Asia How China's growing cyber-hacking capabilities have raised alarm around the world
Singapore Vessels from Navy, SCDF and MPA to debut at Marina Bay in NDP maritime display
Asia Autogate glitch at Malaysia's major checkpoints causes chaos for S'porean and foreign travellers
Singapore A deadly cocktail: Easy access, lax attitudes driving Kpod scourge in S'pore
Singapore 'I thought it was an April Fool's joke': Teen addicted to Kpods on news that friend died
Singapore Who decides when you can't? A guide on planning for end-of-life care
Singapore Why hiring more teachers makes sense, even with falling student numbers
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
3 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Spurs' Maddison to miss most of season due to ACL injury, says BBC
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Europa League - Semi Final - First Leg - Tottenham Hotspur v Bodo/Glimt - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - May 1, 2025 Tottenham Hotspur's James Maddison applauds fans during a break in play Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra/File Photo Tottenham Hotspur midfielder James Maddison will miss most of the new season after injuring his anterior cruciate knee ligament, Britain's BBC reported on Thursday. Maddison suffered the injury during a pre-season game against Newcastle United, also in the English Premier League, and was taken off on a stretcher. Manager Thomas Frank said it was the same knee the 28-year-old had injured before, the BBC reported. A knee injury in May forced Maddison to sit out the final part of last season. Spurs did not immediately respond to a request for comment. REUTERS
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Japan forward Doan joins Frankfurt in five-year deal
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox BERLIN -Eintracht Frankfurt have signed Japan forward Ritsu Doan on a five-year deal to 2030 from Freiburg, the Bundesliga club said on Thursday. The 27-year-old Doan, who has earned 57 caps with Japan, joins after three years at Freiburg where he scored 26 goals and set up another 23 in 123 matches. Frankfurt finished third in the league last season and will compete in the Champions League. 'Ritsu Doan has proved his real quality over recent years in the Bundesliga and brings with him the type of skills that will help us achieve our goals,' Eintracht board member for sport Markus Kroesche said in a statement. "He has gained plenty of international experience in a Japan jersey and his technique, speed and mindset certainly made him stand out in recent years when he was at Freiburg. We're delighted that Ritsu has signed with us.' Prior to the Bundesliga, Doan had spent four seasons in the Dutch league with Groningen and PSV Eindhoven. REUTERS
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Australia see another gold rush at Los Angeles 2028 after strong world championships
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Australia's Kaylee McKeown during the 4x100 medley relay final at the World Championships in Singapore on Aug 3. MELBOURNE – After a strong showing at the recently concluded World Championships in Singapore, Australia's head coach is confident that a golden generation of swimmers can deliver another big performance at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. While the United States edged Australia to top the Singapore standings with nine golds and 29 medals overall, Australia were cheered by the team's tally of eight golds among 20 medals. 'From a performance point of view, when you look at the medal table, it was a great outcome for us,' head coach Rohan Taylor told Reuters. Led by a crop of generational talents in their women's programmes, Australia has rivalled the United States' supremacy at the last two Olympics, scooping seven golds from the Paris Games pool after a team record haul of nine at Tokyo. The United States topped both Games meets, with nine golds at Paris and 11 at Tokyo. European nations are making inroads, particularly in men's events, but Australia's Olympic champions showed that they have lost none of their hunger since Paris. Backstroke queen Kaylee McKeown swept the 100m and 200m golds in Singapore in a repeat of the 2023 Fukuoka World Championships, while Mollie O'Callaghan grabbed a second women's 200m freestyle title and was instrumental in Australia's two freestyle relay golds. The evergreen Cameron McEvoy stormed to the men's 50m freestyle gold, becoming Australia's oldest world champion swimmer at 31. Australia invests heavily in swimming which has contributed about a third of its total Olympic medals and produced an honour roll of champions such as Ian Thorpe, Dawn Fraser and Emma McKeon. Taylor and his staff are tasked with keeping the good times rolling through to 2032 when Australia host the Olympics in Brisbane. Australia were missing big names in Singapore, including the resting four-time Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus and injured breaststroker Zac Stubblety-Cook, a former world champion. However, there were statement performances from lesser lights. The partially deaf Meg Harris claimed her first individual title in the women's 50 freestyle, having shared all her previous gold medals at global events with relay teammates. Teen talents Milla Jansen and Olivia Wunsch helped Australia win the women's 4x100m freestyle relay in the absence of Shayna Jack and the retired Emma McKeon. Lani Pallister gave American great Katie Ledecky a scare in the 800m freestyle, while beating Canada's irrepressible Summer McIntosh for the silver medal. Pallister's time of 8:05.98 shaved five seconds off her personal best and was the sixth fastest on record, marking her as a big threat to Ledecky's bid for a record-extending fifth Olympic gold in the event at LA. 'Ledecky is the greatest distance female... we've ever seen,' added Taylor. 'But at some point there'll be an athlete taking over and I'm sure Lani is motivated to do that.' For all the podium celebrations, Australia have work to do to ensure they can challenge the American supremacy at LA. The U. team's results in Singapore were probably affected by an outbreak of gastroenteritis at their pre-meet camp in Thailand. Australia made little impression in the men's backstroke and breaststroke and consequently had modest results in the medley relay events. The women were well-beaten for the 4x100m medley relay gold by the world record-setting US team, which cost silver medallists Australia their top spot on the medal table. Taylor said that Australia needed to develop more depth in men's backstroke and breaststroke across the board to strengthen their relay teams. 'If we keep building on that, we will always be around the mark,' he said. REUTERS
