
Pogacar extends Tour de France lead with dominant time-trial win
Jonas Vingegard and Remco Evenepoel clung on to their places in the overall top three, but this 10.9km time-trial triumph was defending champion Pogacar's second crushing win in two days.
Pogacar was last down the start ramp of the 171 riders setting off and stunned rivals by using a road bike instead of one typically used for time trials.
'It's more comfortable and I ride that 95 percent of the year,' he explained. 'I went without a radio too, there are time clocks along the way so I just looked at them.'
Decked out in his overall leader's yellow kit, the 26-year-old Team UAE rider was faster from the off, despite his exertions from the previous day, when he finished over two minutes ahead of main rival Vingegaard.
'I was feeling good all day, from when I got up. I was planning to go all in from start to finish and that's what I did,' said Pogacar, who won the Tour de France in 2020, 2021 and 2024.
Pogacar had a sticker of the Hulk comic book superhero on his bike but said after the stage his hero was Spider-Man.
'Hulk though, he's the one you don't want to make angry,' said Pogacar.
By the time he finished stage 13 at the Peyragudes Altiport where the opening scene of the James Bond movie 'Tomorrow Never Dies' was shot, Pogacar was 36 seconds faster than Vingegaard, while Primoz Roglic was third at 1min 20sec.
Evenepoel was overtaken close to the line by Vingegaard, but said he was too tired to care.
'I was drained,' he said, slumped in a chair. 'I didn't give a damn when Jonas went past.'
'I just wanted to finish. To be honest I'm relieved it's over,' said the double Olympic champion.
Most riders warmed up for the time trial wearing ice jackets to combat the sizzling 30C temperature at the foot of the climb.
Australian champion Luke Plapp set the early pace and sat in the hot seat all day before suddenly packing his case and vacating it on seeing Vingegaard storm up the mountain.
Pogacar was even faster.
At 1580m altitude the ride remained beneath the clouds and below the treeline, but even atop the hill it was punishingly hot.
American Quinn Simmons gave hundreds of high-fives on the home straight as one of the rare riders appearing to enjoy the climb.
Saturday's stage 14 is another punishing affair with around 50km of climbing but it will likely be raced in rain.
It starts with the famous Col de Tourmalet and ends at the Luchon-Superbagneres ski resort.
Stage 15 is a hilly run to the walled city of Carcassonne but for Pogacar there remains the specter of three more massive mountain stages in the final week.
There is also the prospect of potential chaos in Paris with three ascents of Montmartre's old cobbled lanes on the final day.
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Arab News
6 hours ago
- Arab News
Imperious Pogacar wins Tour de France for fourth time
The Slovenian has now won the Tour four times in six years and finished runner-up twice For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport Despite the rain, tens of thousands of spectators packed Montmartre to follow Pogacar's progress through the narrow streets of the popular tourist spot AFP PARIS: Tadej Pogacar completed a supreme performance to win the Tour de France in a rainy Paris on Sunday, crushing his rivals to collect a fourth title. Wout van Aert triumphed in the final-day cliffhanger around Montmartre, but Pogacar was spared any late challenge to his overall lead when the weather forced organizers to neutralize times to avoid accidents on the slippery cobbled roads. However, Pogacar more than played his part in a thrilling finale before Belgian rider Van Aert pulled away on the last climb. 'I was really happy they neutralized the times of the GC (general classification),' Pogacar said. 'Then it was more relaxed to race and you just had to have good legs to be in front. I tried but hats off to Wout, he was incredibly strong. It was a really nice race.' The Slovenian has now won the Tour four times in six years and finished runner-up twice. 'It's six years in a row on the podium and this one feels especially amazing,' he said. Second-placed Jonas Vingegaard was unable to contend with Pogacar, but the winner paid tribute to the Dane. 'I spoke to Jonas today. We've been racing each other for five years now and we have raised each other to a higher level,' he said. Despite the rain, tens of thousands of spectators packed Montmartre to follow Pogacar's progress through the narrow streets of the popular tourist spot. He played to the delighted crowds by racing to the head of the peloton near the Moulin Rouge cabaret at the foot of the climb before Van Aert produced a well-timed attack to drop Pogacar and charge to the finish line on the Champs-Elysees avenue. Pogacar was fourth on the day but after wins in 2020, 2021 and 2024, he again proved untouchable in the world's greatest bike race. Vingegaard, the champion in 2022 and 2023, suffered two shocking off-days and ended second overall, 4min 24sec adrift. 'I had some of my worst days here and some of the best,' he said after the race, adding he would turn his attention to the Tour of Spain. 'I'll have a week off now, and then start training for the Vuelta,' he said. Breakout German star Florian Lipowitz, 24, took third on his debut, rounding out the podium a distant 11 minutes off the pace in third. Defending his title, Pogacar embarked from the start in Lille as clear favorite and won four stages along the way. In the first week, he struck on rolling runs in the north and west at Rouen and the Mur de Bretagne. He then turned the screw on the slopes of the Pyrenees in week two with his rivals as good as vanquished. Vingegaard suffered on the stage-five time trial, and again in the second week at the Hautacam mountain, leaving the Dane in shock as his form abandoned him. In need of a massive turn around in the Alps, Pogacar adopted mature tactics and sat on his rival's wheel. After it was all over, a beaming Pogacar said he could finally relax. 'Everybody has different ideas about how to celebrate. I want some peace and beautiful weather, enjoying some quiet days at home,' he said. A barnstorming first week of the Tour revealed a raft of emerging stars. Lipowitz was given a run for his money for third place by 22-year-old Scot Oscar Onley, whose steady ride propelled him to fourth overall. The pair came first and second a minute adrift in the white jersey battle for the best under-26 rider, raising hopes of a new Tour rivalry in the making. Ireland's Ben Healy bagged a stage win and a two-day stint in the yellow jersey. Adding a heroic near-miss on Mont Ventoux was enough to earn Healy the prize for combativity, voted for by the public. The return of one-time guru Dave Brailsford from his role at Manchester United to Ineos Grenadiers was overshadowed by the team's Italian powerhouse Filippo Ganna falling early on stage one. He was withdrawn due to concussion. Having previously masterminded seven overall Tour de France wins, Brailsford dug in and the team's Dutch climber Thymen Arensman pulled off heists in the Pyrenees and the Alps to win two stages. France's sole and unexpected stage win came on the lunar-like summit of Mont Ventoux when Valentin Paret-Peintre won an enthralling war of attrition with Healy. The 2025 Tour though will be remembered for Pogacar's all-round dominance.


Arab News
14 hours ago
- Arab News
Cassidy signs off in style with double win in London as Porsche clinches teams' and manufacturers' titles
LONDON: Nick Cassidy capped off his final weekend with Jaguar TCS Racing in spectacular fashion, claiming victory in Round 16 at the London E-Prix. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport The win marked his third in a row and Jaguar's fifth in six races, wrapping up an emotional send-off for both the New Zealander and team principal James Barclay. Cassidy's lights-to-flag triumph at a sold-out ExCeL London also secured him second place in the FIA Drivers' World Championship. Having scored just a single point in the opening six rounds of the season, his late surge underlined a remarkable turnaround. 'Honestly I love racing in this place,' said Cassidy. 'It's not been that kind to me in the last few years, but this weekend it's absolutely delivered. When this stadium is packed full of people it's a pleasure to race here and it's great for Formula E. Also, it's my last race for the team, again I've had the best car today, and this one is 100 percent for them. 'When the tyres are working well, when the car's perfect, everything becomes efficient. For sure it wasn't easy at the start to keep the lead, but I think between Mitch (Evans) and myself we could manage that well. I'm gutted for him, to have had a one-two would have been perfect,' he added. Cassidy finished 13.5 seconds clear of Mahindra Racing's Nyck de Vries, the second-largest winning margin in Formula E history. Only Antonio Félix da Costa has previously won three consecutive races. 'It was certainly a very challenging race,' said de Vries. 'Obviously Nick didn't want to get too down on energy versus everyone behind, so he was making sure he stayed on the same energy as us and that resulted in a little bit of a concertina effect behind us. 'I'm very pleased to bring home another podium and give P4 to our team, because they've done an incredible job. To consider that last year we qualified last on merit, and we've come back from such a long way – finishing fourth in the championship here this year is a great effort, so I'm very proud of everyone at Mahindra,' he added. Envision Racing's Sebastien Buemi completed the podium, charging through the field from 19th on the grid to third place, his second podium in three races after also finishing in the top three in Jakarta. 'In the end it was important to not get caught up in those incidents, I think I was lucky enough to make sure I was avoiding them well,' said Buemi. 'I saved quite a bit of energy at the beginning and that basically allowed me to take the ATTACK MODE properly. So in the end I'm very happy with that, it's good for the Teams' Championship, and it's good when you have a bad qualifying like that to finish and score some good points.' Jake Dennis of the Andretti Formula E Team crossed the line in fourth, while Jaguar's Mitch Evans was classified fifth after receiving a five-second penalty for speeding under Full Course Yellow conditions — a punishment that dropped him from the second place he had claimed on track. Newly-crowned drivers' world champion Oliver Rowland failed to finish after a collision with Nico Mueller on Lap 16 forced both out of the race. Despite the DNF, Rowland received a hero's reception from the London crowd, having sealed his championship title earlier in Berlin. With Rowland's early exit, Nissan's slim hopes of overtaking Porsche in the Teams' and Manufacturers' standings came to an end. Porsche, who had quietly gathered momentum throughout the season, clinched both the FIA Teams' World Championship and the inaugural FIA Manufacturers' title — their first in Formula E. Jaguar TCS Racing also overtook Nissan to secure second place in both championship standings, closing out a high point in their final race under Barclay's leadership after 127 starts in the all-electric series. Elsewhere, it was a disappointing end to the campaign for NEOM McLaren. Both drivers — Taylor Barnard and Sam Bird — failed to finish the final race after separate incidents. The team concluded the season sixth in the Teams' standings, with Barnard finishing fourth overall on 112 points and Bird eighteenth with 31 points.


Al Arabiya
15 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Delayed Start At Belgian Grand Prix Highlights Formula 1's Challenge With Racing In The Rain
Of all the thousands of pieces of equipment that Formula 1 hauls around the world, few are used less often than the full wet tire. They stayed piled up in stacks, not on the cars, on Sunday as drivers sat out a rain delay of more than an hour to the start of the Belgian Grand Prix. It wasn't because F1 cars lack grip in heavy rain. Manufacturer Pirelli says the full wet tires can cope with that. The problem is that drivers behind can't see through the spray, and the first attempt to start Sunday's race on time illustrated the problem. Even crawling around at formation lap pace with only Lando Norris and the safety car ahead, eventual winner Oscar Piastri said he couldn't see a thing, adding, 'You can only imagine what it's like for the guys at the back.' When the race started, it was behind the safety car at low speed before the all-clear to go racing. Like all of the drivers, Piastri was using the intermediate tires, which are recommended for light rain or a drying track, when he eventually passed Norris for the win. 'The past few years, particularly here, we've given the (governing body) FIA feedback that we would much rather be on the safe side than risk anything,' Piastri said. 'If you were to be picky, maybe we could have done one less formation lap (behind the safety car), but in the grand scheme of things, if that's one lap too early, is it worth it? No.' Visibility is a particular concern at Spa, a fast track with a history of serious accidents. They include Anthoine Hubert's death in a Formula 2 crash in dry conditions in 2019, and another fatal accident claiming the life of Dutch teenage driver Dilano van t Hoff in a junior series in the rain in 2023. 'I have to say that on a track like this with what happened historically, I think you cannot forget about it. For that reason, I would rather be safe than (start) too early,' said Charles Leclerc, who finished third Sunday and who was friends with Hubert since childhood. Under the current F1 design regulations in place since 2022, cars have ground-effect aerodynamics which use the floor to generate grip but can also throw up more spray. If there's enough rain for the full wet tires to be faster than the intermediates, it's likely the race will be stopped because of poor visibility anyway. There was a reminder of the importance of visibility this month at the British Grand Prix when Isack Hadjar collided with Kimi Antonelli's car from behind while driving in the Italian's trail of spray. 'I didn't see him,' Hadjar said. 'He just appeared out of nowhere, man. Oh my God.'