Pogačar crushes rivals in brutal uphill time trial, solidifies Tour de France lead
The brutal effort in the Pyrenees mountains was all about strength and stamina. It was just a painful experience offering no respite after already 12 grueling stages of racing. Riders first covered 2.9 km (1.8-mile) to reach the bottom of the climb to Peyragudes, a daunting 8-kilometer (5-mile) ramp with a steep gradient.
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Yahoo
15 minutes ago
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Mathieu van der Poel pulls out of Tour de France with pneumonia
MONTPELLIER, France (AP) — Mathieu van der Poel has withdrawn from the Tour de France ahead of Tuesday's stage up to the Mont Ventoux as he suffers from pneumonia, his team said. The versatile Dutchman, who wore the yellow jersey and won a stage during the opening week of the race, experienced 'symptoms of a common cold over the past few days,' his Alpecin-Deceuninck team said a few hours before Stage 16. Van der Poel's condition worsened 'significantly' during Monday's second rest day and was taken to an hospital in the southern city of Narbonne with a fever for further examinations. 'Medical tests revealed that Mathieu is suffering from pneumonia,' the team said. 'In consultation with the medical staff, it was decided that he can no longer continue the race. His health is the top priority, and rest and recovery are now essential.' Van der Poel will now rest for a week before further medical examinations determine the next steps in his recovery, his team added. ___ AP sports:
New York Times
17 minutes ago
- New York Times
Mathieu van der Poel abandons Tour de France after pneumonia diagnosis
Mathieu van der Poel has abandoned the Tour de France ahead of stage 16 after being diagnosed with pneumonia during the race's second day. The 30-year-old had been enjoying the best Tour of his career, having won stage two and worn the yellow jersey on two separate occasions. He also came within 750m of winning stage nine into Chateauroux. Advertisement Van der Poel had told reporters on Sunday that he was suffering with illness, but as race leader Tadej Pogacar explained in his press conference on the same day: 'Half of the bunch has sore throats and coughing, blowing their noses.' However, Van der Poel's Alpecin-Deceuninck team released a statement on Tuesday morning, reading: 'We regret to announce that Mathieu van der Poel is forced to abandon the Tour de France prematurely. 'Mathieu had been experiencing symptoms of a common cold over the past few days. Yesterday afternoon, his condition began to worsen significantly. The team doctor monitored him closely throughout the day. By the evening, Mathieu developed a fever and was taken to the 'Centre Hospitalier de Narbonne' for further examinations. 'Medical tests revealed that Mathieu is suffering from pneumonia. In consultation with the medical staff, it was decided that he can no longer continue the race. His health is the top priority, and rest and recovery are now essential. 'Mathieu will be required to rest for at least one full week. After this period, he will undergo further medical examinations to assess his recovery and determine the next steps in his rehabilitation.' We regret to announce that @mathieuvdpoel is forced to abandon the @LeTour prematurely. Mathieu had been experiencing symptoms of a common cold over the past few days. Yesterday afternoon, his condition began to worsen significantly. The team doctor monitored him closely… — Alpecin-Deceuninck Cycling Team (@AlpecinDCK) July 22, 2025 This had been an excellent season for the former world champion, who won two Monuments, Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix, in the spring. Van der Poel had been aiming to target the mountain bike world championships on September 14. Stage 16 will see the peloton climb Mont Ventoux, one of the most mythical climbs in French cycling. Pogacar currently holds a four minute and 13 second over Jonas Vingegaard after a dominant display in the Pyrenees. The race will move into the Alps during the second-half of the week, before finishing in Paris on Sunday.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Leeds United new boy Jaka Bijol on the Premier League, a busy summer, and the Tour de France
Finding common interests with new colleagues is a crucial step in your integration with a new workplace. Jaka Bijol may have found that with Illan Meslier as he huddled around his phone on the team bus in the past few days. The Tour de France, cycling's most prestigious event, is currently unfolding around Meslier's home country. And not one, but two of cycling's greatest competitors are both from Slovenia, Bijol's home country. Advertisement Slovenia has a population of 2.1 million people, which is equivalent to Paris, but despite that tiny base, the country has caught lightning in a bottle twice, in the same era. Primoz Roglic, 35, has never won the Tour de France, but does have five titles across the sport's other two biggest events. Tadej Pogacar, meanwhile, may be 26, but he is already en route to his fourth Tour crown this month. The Slovenian is considered by many to already be the greatest cyclist in history. Is it any wonder Bijol, his compatriot, devours every stage of the great race when he can? 'I started watching with Primoz's successes,' he says. 'I would say it's maybe six or seven years. It grew from there. When Tadej was coming up it was hard for some Slovenians, who love Primoz, to accept. 'With Tadej, everything seems so easy — I would say he's the greatest in history. You see he loves what he does and everyone else respects him a lot.' Bijol is speaking to The Athletic after a morning of training in Germany, where Daniel Farke has taken Leeds United for a pre-season training camp. Unlike a nine-month football season, the Tour is only on for three weeks every year, so fans have to be committed to watching every day. Around Saturday's friendly with Manchester United, Bijol watched what he could. He doesn't think many of his team-mates understand the tactics of the sport, but Meslier took an interest when he saw the defender watching a stage on the team bus. 'When we played Man United, it was a big stage (in the Tour) as well,' he said. 'I watched it a little bit before and then I watched it at the end, after the game. I try to watch it for sure. 'You have to focus before the game, but for sure, I watch it every day when I can. For some, it's weird because they don't understand all the tactics and everything, but really, it's not more than (the tactics) in football.' Advertisement Bijol's been grafting with the rest of the team in Germany, having made his club debut on Saturday, but in the knowledge he won't make his competitive debut in next season's opener. When Everton visit on August 18, the centre-back will be suspended. In his final appearance for Udinese, Bijol received two yellow cards and was sent off. It may have happened in Serie A, but he and the club discovered last week he will still serve the suspension in the Premier League. 'Honestly, it's really disappointing for me because I really thought it wouldn't (carry over) — and it also wasn't even a red card, I would say,' he says. 'It's kind of crazy. I asked if we can do something about it, but it looks like I just have to accept it. 'There's still a lot of games left in the season. I'm sad to miss the first one, but there's going to be a lot of them left.' Bijol was the second of the club's new signings this summer. His transfer was announced on June 23. His Instagram account would show you he married his wife, Neza, on June 14. It's fair to say it's been a life-changing summer break for the 26-year-old. A career-defining transfer worth millions of pounds and a move to the UK cannot have been the easiest preparation ahead of the most important day of his and his wife's lives. 'It worked actually quite OK together,' he said. 'It's still a lot of stress in those few days. For sure, my wife was not so happy. 'It took a little bit of focus out of the wedding, but everything worked out really good. We managed to do that first and then focus on the transfer as well. It all turned out good, so I'm happy about it.' Bijol forms one quarter of what, on paper, looks like a formidable collection of Leeds centre backs. Vice-captain Pascal Struijk, Joe Rodon and fellow new arrival Sebastiaan Bornauw will all back themselves to be worthy of Premier League starts next term. Bijol came to West Yorkshire looking for a challenge like this. He sees the potential in Leeds and, though he admits he did not intimately know the club's history, he sees everything a footballer could want from this corner of the world. 'I didn't know a lot about Leeds, but I knew the basic stuff,' he said. 'It's a really big team, a successful team in the past that had some really good years, now recent years as well, of course, a relegation, but we know it's the hardest league in the world. Advertisement 'They're growing, they have a good vision now with the owners, with everyone inside the team. I see it as the club really has a lot of potential to grow still. 'The fanbase and everything around is the club is everything a footballer can wish for. It's a big challenge.' Top photo:
