Philipsen doesn't blame Coquard for heavy crash at Tour de France
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Qatar Tribune
13 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Pogacar stretches advantage as Arensman lifts Ineos Grenadiers
PA Media/DPA London Thymen Arensman emerged from the fog to take a much-needed victory for the Ineos Grenadiers as Tadej Pogacar further stretched his lead in yellow and Remco Evenepoel abandoned on a brutal stage 14 of the Tour de France. Arensman went solo from a breakaway still with 36 kilometres to go on this punishing queen stage from Pau to a summit finish at Superbagneres and held off the main favourites to win by 68 seconds, a first Tour stage win for his team in two years. Behind, Pogacar marked moves from main rival Jonas Vingegaard before narrowly beating him to second, adding another six seconds to an overall lead that now stands at four minutes 13 seconds, but the main news in the general classification was Evenepoel abandoning from third place. That saw 22-year-old Scot Oscar Onley rise to fourth, although he was distanced at the top of the final climb by Florian Lipowitz, who inherited third place and the best young rider's white jersey. The final episode of the Tour's Pyrenean trilogy followed the path of the famous stage won by Greg LeMond in 1986, with the Tourmalet, Col d'Aspin and the Peyresourde coming before a first visit to Superbagneres since Robert Millar, now Pippa York, won here in 1989. It took until the Tourmalet for a break to get clear as Lenny Martinez went in search of the king of the mountains points he needed to make the polka dot jersey he wearing on behalf of Pogacar his own, with Arensman among those trying to chase down the young Frenchman. Evenepoel, who suffered in the heat on the previous two days, fared no better on a damper, cooler day, and climbed off early on the Tourmalet, with his team saying the Belgian 'did not feel himself'. Arensman was among three riders to catch Martinez before the Peyresourde, where he launched his own move and opened up a gap on the main group of favourites who until that point has been closing in. The Dutchman's gap grew to three and a half minutes before the the final climb and he fought hard on punishing gradients to keep the chasing pack at bay. 'I can't really believe it,' said the 25-year-old. 'I had to be really patient the first week and I had to wait until the mountains and and then the first opportunity I got to I was already second (on the Puy-de-Sancy). 'That was already an amazing experience in my first Tour, but this is unbelievable now.' TV footage showed that an Ineos team car hit and knocked down a spectator amid the crowds on the Peyresourde. The PA news agency understands the Ineos car stopped to check on the spectator who was said to be okay. A team spokesperson said: 'Our thoughts and sincere apologies go out to the fan who was accidentally and regretfully hit by one of our race cars while supporting the riders during today's stage. 'Like all teams we take great care to maintain a safe race environment for everyone - including the passionate fans who make our sport so special.' Pogacar had been backed by many to chase a third consecutive stage win, but he was happy just to mark Vingegaard. 'I didn't have the firepower in me to counter-attack and give it all to the finish, so I committed just to control the stage until the last 200 metres and then do the sprint for second place,' he said.
Qatar Tribune
13 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Leverkusen's Ten Hag laughs off 5-1 defeat, wants Xhaka to stay
dpa Rio de Janeiro Bayer Leverkusen's new coach Erik ten Hag was unflustered by his side losing 5-1 to Flamengo's under-20 team during their pre-season tour of Brazil on Friday. 'We haven't played together in this constellation,' he told reporters. 'I really don't give a shit about pre-season results.' He emphasized that what mattered to him was 'what I saw.' In the final stages of the match, he said there was 'a very good approach.' The Dutchman has replaced Xabi Alonso, who left to coach Real Madrid after winning the Bundesliga in 2024 and finishing second to Bayern Munich last term. Ten Hag is back in football for the first time since a forgettable spell at Manchester United and the English press were on his back again after the defeat in Rio de Janeiro. Ten Hag told the Bild newspaper on Saturday that he hopes Switzerland midfielder Granit Xhaka stays at the club amid interest from Saudi Pro League club Neom SC. The fact the 32-year-old flew to Brazil is a good sign for the new coach. 'Granit should stay,' he said. 'We are rebuilding, a new team is emerging ... but if it was up to me, he would stay.' Leverkusen utility player Robert Andrich was not as sanguine as his coach about the loss in Brazil. 'I don't want to sound too dramatic, but this was a bit of a catastrophe,' he told Bild. Leverkusen, who have lost star players Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong to Liverpool, started with only Jonas Hofmann, Victor Boniface, Amine Adli and Arthur as first teamers. Ten Hag changed almost the entire team at half-time and Patrik Schick, Alejandro Grimaldo, Xhaka and Andrich entered the fray. Leverkusen stay in their training camp in Brazil until Wednesday and then have friendlies back in Europe against Pisa and Chelsea. They return to the competitive action in the new season with a German Cup first-round clash at fourth-tier SG Sonnenhof Grossaspach on August 15. Leverkusen host Hoffenheim in their Bundesliga opener on August 23.
Qatar Tribune
3 days ago
- Qatar Tribune
New Poland coach Urban wants Lewandowski back in the squad
dpa Berlin New Poland national team coach Jan Urban wants to bring star striker Robert Lewandowski back to the squad. 'At the moment, we can't afford not to have Robert in the national team,' he said in an interview with the Polish football federation (PZPN) published late on Wednesday. Urban added that he's ready to hold talks with the Barcelona striker. Lewandowski, who has 85 goals in 158 caps, said last month he would not play for the national team as long as previous helmsman Michal Probierz was in charge after the coach stripped him of the captaincy. Probierz eventually resigned after Poland lost a World Cup qualifier in Finland without Lewandowski, who was not part of the squad because he needed rest after a long season with Barcelona. The portal said that Lewandowski was ready to return under Urban but he is yet to confirm that. Urban said that he wants to solve the team's problems through conversation. 'That's how I've always done it. I want to hear one, two and three sides (of a story),' he said. The coach didn't promise Lewandowski that he would receive the captain's armband again. However, the issue should be clarified before the next World Cup qualifier match against the Netherlands on September 4.
