Simmons, Americans excelling during Tour de France
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San Francisco Chronicle
18 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Pogačar closes in on 4th Tour de France title, Groves wins penultimate stage
PONTARLIER, France (AP) — Tadej Pogačar closed in on a fourth Tour de France title after safely finishing Saturday's penultimate stage and maintaining his big lead over arch-rival Jonas Vingegaard. Australian rider Kaden Groves won stage 20 with a late solo breakaway, while Pogačar rolled over the line about seven minutes later in the same time as Vingegaard. The Slovenian cycling star leads the two-time Tour winner Vingegaard by 4 minutes, 24 seconds, with German rider Florian Lipowitz 11:03 behind Pogačar in third overall. Barring a heavy crash or illness, Pogačar was expected to celebrate Sunday and move level with British rider Chris Froome on four Tour titles. Victory would also give Pogačar a fifth Grand Tour after winning the Giro d'Italia in dominant fashion last year. 'I am more or less sure of my overall victory, but I still don't want to say anything about it. I want to stay focused until I have crossed the finish line in Paris,' Pogačar said. 'That's one of the most beautiful parts of this sport. We are 180 guys who spend weeks riding in the mountains and in the end, all of a sudden, we come to the streets of one of the biggest cities in the world.' However, Sunday's final stage of this edition is not a largely processional one, as is usually the case, and could potentially prove somewhat problematic toward the end with three consecutive climbs. 'I am unsure of how the final stage will pan out,' Pogačar said. 'The course is relatively short, and that will make for a rather punchy effort.' As the riders set off Saturday in driving rain, the yellow jersey group stayed safely at the front until breakaways formed. When the front group tackled the 3.6-kilometer Côte de Thésy, Frenchman Jordan Jegat launched a solo attack, but he was then overtaken by Australian rider Harrison Sweeny. As rain fell heavily again with 40 kilometers, Sweeny opened up a 50-second lead, only to be reeled in shortly after. The wet roads were treacherous at high speeds. Frenchman Romain Grégoire and Spaniard Iván Romeo crashed taking a sharp turn and slid sideways off their bikes. Both continued. Groves surged ahead 16 kilometers out and held on for his first Tour stage win and 10th at major races. The 26-year-old has two at the Giro d'Italia and seven at the Spanish Vuelta. 'Winning in all three Grand Tours is a dream of every rider,' he said. 'We saw today as a chance to win from the breakaway. We played our cards correctly and I had super strong legs." Groves was 54 seconds ahead of Frank van den Broek and 59 clear of Pascal Eenkhoorn. Why is Sunday's stage different? The final stage of the Tour de France is traditionally a largely processional one, with the overall leader all-but-guaranteed to win — barring mishap — and only the sprinters contesting the stage win right at the end, following several laps around Paris. But this year's last stage is very different and could prove spectacular. Breaking with decades of tradition, it features three ascents of Montmartre Hill, a short and sharp climb which featured at last year's Paris Olympics. Some riders have expressed concern that the sinewy, cobbled Rue Lepic climb, lined with heaving fans either side at extremely close proximity, may be problematic. The final climb up Rue Lepic comes less than 7 kilometers from the end, before the riders finish on the Champs-Elysées. Around 3,000 police officers will be deployed to ensure security over the 132.3-kilometer route, which starts from the outskirts of Paris at Mantes-la-Ville before heading into the city.
NBC Sports
19 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
Vingegaard has mechanical issues during Stage 20
Danish cyclist Jonas Vingegaard suffered a scare during Stage 20 of the Tour de France when he had mechanical issues and needed a new bike. But he kept his cool and caught back up to peloton, barely breaking a sweat.
NBC Sports
19 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
Rhys McClenaghan, Olympic pommel horse gold medalist, to miss gymnastics worlds
Olympic pommel horse gold medalist Rhys McClenaghan will miss the World Gymnastics Championships in October after undergoing right shoulder surgery. 'I'm disappointed to miss this year's World Championships, but my priority is to maintain my place as the best in the world on pommel horse,' he said, according to a representative. 'My goal is not only to retain my Olympic title in LA 2028 but to continue striving for gold in every major competition. This surgery was necessary to ensure I can perform at the highest level for years to come. Setbacks are part of elite sport, but my mindset is about turning challenges — as I have done before — into opportunities to raise my performance.' McClenaghan, 26, became the first gymnast to win an Olympic medal for Ireland when he took pommel horse gold in Paris. He's also the lone artistic gymnast to win a world championships medal for Ireland, taking pommel horse bronze in 2019 and gold at the last two editions in 2022 and 2023. McClenaghan is from Northern Ireland and represents Ireland at the Olympics and worlds. Northern Ireland does not compete separately at those events, so athletes from Northern Ireland can choose to compete for Ireland or Great Britain. He previously underwent left shoulder surgery in November 2018 after a labral tear. The last gymnast other than McClenaghan to win a global pommel horse title was American Stephen Nedoroscik at the 2021 Worlds. Nedoroscik also took bronze at the Paris Games. Nick Zaccardi, behind McClenaghan and Nariman Kurbanov of Kazakhstan.
