Cycling: Olympic champion Evenepoel pulls out of Tour de France - Omni sports
The double Olympic champion was third in the overall standings and had won stage five in the 21-stage race, but appeared exhausted after Friday's uphill time trial.
The Soudal Quick-Step rider won both the Olympic road race and time trial gold in Paris, shortly after finishing third at the 2024 Tour de France and claimed the best young rider's white jersey.
But an accident in Brussels in December involving a postal delivery van scuppered the 25-year-old's preparation for this year's Tour.
The opening stages were contested near the Belgian border, but Evenepoel lost a minute of the first day after being caught in a cross wind split.
This tactical error deprived him of a golden chance of taking the leader's yellow jersey in the first week, where he would pulverise the field on a 33km time trial.
The team will now base its attention around fellow Belgian rider Tim Merlier, who has already won two sprint stages on this Tour.
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
Follow us on:
Short link:
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al-Ahram Weekly
2 hours ago
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Defending 200m champ Haughey out of swimming worlds with injury - Omni sports
Four-time Olympic medallist Siobhan Haughey pulled out of the World Aquatic Championships in Singapore with a back injury on Monday, leaving the Hong Kong swimmer unable to defend her women's 200m freestyle title. The 27-year-old Haughey won freestyle silver in the 100m and 200m at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and took bronze in the same two events in Paris last year. "I have pulled out of the world championships in Singapore due to an ongoing back injury," Haughey posted on social media on Monday. "I'm sad to miss out on the opportunity to compete against the best in the world, but right now I have to do what's best for me," said Haughey, who took a four-month break from the sport at the beginning of this year and has only competed once since. "As elite athletes, we're trained to push through the pain and fatigue to keep going," she wrote. "Yet at certain moments, the brave and hard thing to do is to take care of your body and wait patiently. Luckily I have an incredible team supporting me." Haughey also won the 200m freestyle at the Doha world championships last year. She had been entered in the 100m and 200m free at the World Aquatic Championships in Singapore, where the pool swimming events will take place from July 27 to August 3. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.) Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Al-Ahram Weekly
3 hours ago
- Al-Ahram Weekly
45 year-old Venus Williams to end 16-month layoff in Washington - Omni sports
Venus Williams will make her return from a 16-month layoff at this week's DC Open, the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion saying Sunday she is not sure of anything beyond that. The 45-year-old American overcame a serious health scare last year and after enjoying a visit to Wimbledon decided to accept a wildcard into the US capital tournament, the first hardcourt tuneup for the US Open. "I think I know what I want to do, but I don't always want to talk about it," Williams said. "I'm just here for now. And who knows? Maybe there is more. I hold my cards close, but at the moment, I'm focused just on this." Williams will open against 23-year-old American Peyton Stearns, ranked 34th in the world. Stearns won her only WTA title last year on clay at Rabat. The older sister of 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams has not played since a first-round loss at Miami last year. "My personal goal is to have fun I think right now and enjoy the moment, not put too much pressure on myself," Venus Williams said. "I don't know if I define success at this moment in any sort of way other than believing in myself and sticking to my process. That's not easy to do, especially after a layoff. So those are my goals." Venus Williams, the 2000 Sydney Olympic singles champion, has won five Wimbledon singles titles and two US Open crowns. The most recent of her 49 WTA titles came in 2019 at the Taiwan Open. That was the last year she played a full tour schedule. "I definitely feel I'll play well," Williams said. "I'm still the same player. I'm a big hitter. I hit big. This is my brand. "So it's about hitting big and actually putting it in. So this will be my effort. Put it in the court. That's my main goal." A year ago, tennis was far from the most important thing on her mind. "Yeah, my health journey was very scary. You know, this time a year ago I was preparing to go to surgery," she said. "There was no way for me to play tennis or play the US Open... I was just trying to get healthy. "In this last year, I have been through a lot physically, so to come back and be able to play and hopefully enjoy myself is a great opportunity." Fun of the challenge Williams was feeling well enough to accept a wildcard and a visit to Wimbledon added some inspiration. "I had been hitting the ball and of course I love the game and the hard courts. It's my favorite surface, what I feel comfortable on. so all those different factors," Williams said of her choice to play in Washington. "When I went to Wimbledon this year, I was there for a day and it was so beautiful and exciting. I remembered all the times that I had, and of course the adrenaline, all those things. "I think just the pure fun of playing the game, the fun of the challenge, overcoming. Those things are very exciting." The seven Slam singles titles by Williams match the rest of the Washington field, which includes four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka of Japan. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.) Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
CairoScene
8 hours ago
- CairoScene
From El-Gamaliya to the Olympics: The Story of Boxer Mohamed Reda
From El-Gamaliya to the Olympics: The Story of Boxer Mohamed Reda From Cairo's backstreets to the Olympics in Athens, Mohamed Reda opens up about discipline, family, and the academy where he now trains a new generation to dream with grit. Here is a conversation with Olympic boxer Mohamed Reda, written by someone whose dad has been telling this story for years... Growing up, my dad never ran out of stories about school pranks, scraped report cards, and friends who became family. But one story always stood out. He had a friend, a real friend, who went on to become an Olympic silver medallist in boxing. The guy's name was Mohamed Reda. For years, I thought the story might be exaggerated, until I looked him up and found out he's real, he's famous, and he runs a professional boxing academy in Cairo. And eventually, I got the chance to sit with him for an interview. My dad was probably more excited than Reda himself when I told him. Reda welcomed me with the same calm energy that has shaped his whole career. 'I'm a son of El-Gamaliya, Haret El-Maghrabaleen, to be specific,' he said. 'That neighbourhood taught me that being a man doesn't come from how you look. It's how you carry yourself. People there helped each other just because it was the right thing to do. That's what I grew up around. That's what shaped me.' He grinned. 'Also, I still remember that foul cart on the corner. Mornings with foul and chilli oil… nothing like it.' His entry into boxing wasn't really planned. 'It looked like a coincidence. My coach lived in our neighbourhood and wanted to do my dad a favour. But the moment I put those gloves on, something clicked. I felt like I'd found something I didn't know I was looking for.' Reda still remembers the first real match. The nerves, the smell of sweat, the shouting coach, the shaky legs. 'It was at Darb Al-Ahmar Club, my first championship. Everything about that day stayed with me. That was the first time I felt like I'd started writing my name in the sport.' He's worn gloves with the Egyptian flag stitched into them. When I asked what that meant, his answer was simple. 'Every time I put them on, I felt the weight of the country. You carry more than your own goals. It's an honour. A responsibility.' In 2004, he won silver for Egypt in the Athens Olympics. We chatted a lot about it, but what really stood out to me was him saying, 'People see the medal. What they don't see is the years of training, the injuries, the days I went to bed hungry, the nights I was in pain. They don't see what you give up. You miss moments with people you love because you believe in something no one else can see yet.' After Athens, everything changed - and didn't. 'People started calling me a star,' he said. 'But I stayed Mohamed from El-Gamaliya. What changed was the responsibility. What didn't change was my faith in God, my respect for my parents… and my love for foul with chilli oil.' Despite offers to go pro in Europe and the US, Reda chose to stay. 'I had an eye issue. And more than that, I wanted to set an example. I wanted to build something here. Not everything is about the money.' Instead, he built a boxing academy, which was the next step in a lifelong goal. 'I wanted to train my son differently from how I was trained. I stopped competing, but I didn't stop dreaming. The academy became that dream, a place to shape people as much as athletes.' The lessons go beyond the ring. 'Victory's great,' he said. 'But what really matters is consistency. Show up when you're tired. Respect your opponent. Respect yourself.' He sees parts of himself in the new generation. What surprises him most is how quickly they grow. 'This generation? They've got energy. They've got guts. All they need is someone to steer them.' Over the last few years, more women have joined the sport. For Reda, this was an opportunity to evolve his training. 'I started listening more. Every girl has her own story. Boxing, for some, carries the weight of protection, the spark of confidence, and the breath of freedom beyond the sport alone. We adjusted our training to focus on skill, self-defence and respect.' The academy now offers sessions exclusively for women. The experience has changed him as much as it's changed them. 'Give a girl a safe environment, and she'll surprise you. That's what I've seen. Greatness comes from will; gender has nothing to do with it. Every time one of them pushes through fear, she teaches me something new.' When I asked about a moment from his career that stayed with him - even though it never made the headlines - he didn't hesitate. 'After losing a championship, I came home feeling like I wasn't cut out for it any more. I told myself I was done. But when I walked in and saw my wife's eyes, she didn't say a word, but the belief she had in me… that's what brought me back. No one wrote about that. But that moment made me a champion.'When I asked Reda about his definition of strength or power, he answered, 'Strength is getting back up when you fall. It's staying calm when someone tries to get under your skin. It's holding onto your humanity when things get tough. The real strength? It's in your heart and your head, not in your gloves.' Before I left, I asked what he hoped kids would take from his story. 'I hope they see that champions rise through what they build, step by step. Built from every tough moment, every 'I can't' that turns into 'I did.' Boxing is a big school. It teaches you to face yourself. And if you've got a dream - any dream - you've got to believe it can happen. There's always room for another Mohamed Reda.' After the interview, I called my dad to tell him how it went. He said, 'I told you he was the real deal.' And honestly? He really is.
