Latest news with #AmstelGoldRace
The Star
02-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Cycling-Win machine Matthews claims Eschborn-Frankfurt sprint
FILE PHOTO: Cycling - Tour de France - Stage 21 - Monaco to Nice - Monaco, France - July 21, 2024 Team Jayco AlUla's Michael Matthews crosses the finish line after stage 21 REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo (Reuters) -Australian cyclist Michael Matthews finished his Spring campaign in style with victory in the Eschborn-Frankfurt one-day race on Thursday ahead of Uno-X Mobility's Magnus Cort Nielsen and Movistar's third-placed Jon Barrenetxea. The 34-year-old Jayco AlUla cyclist sprinted to his 43rd career win after his team split the peloton at the tough, hilly section of the 198 km race known as the 'German Classic'. A four-times Tour de France stage-winner, Matthews burnished his impressive record of winning at least one race in each of his last 16 seasons barring COVID-hit 2021. "I think my shape through the Spring was good, I just wasn't on the top step," said Matthews, who was fourth in Milan-San Remo and fifth at the Amstel Gold Race this season. "It's nice to finish off this block with a win here in Frankfurt. "It's a race that has really suited me for a lot of years and I haven't been able to win it, so to come here with the team and the way we rode – we rode perfectly – and to execute a performance like my team did today it was the icing on top of the cake." (Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
Irish Times
27-04-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Ben Healy third behind Tadej Pogačar in prestigious Liège-Bastogne-Liège classic
Ben Healy took one of Ireland's best-ever performances in the prestigious Liège-Bastogne-Liège classic on Sunday, finishing third after a stellar performance. The race was won by a dominant Tadej Pogačar , who struck out on the climb of Côte de la Redoute with 35km remaining and soloed to the finish line. The Tour de France winner and current world champion has taken seven wins in 14 race days this season, furthering comparisons with the legendary Eddy Merckx. Healy went over the summit of the climb in third place and was part of a small chase group behind Pogačar. He later pushed ahead with the Italian rider Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) and the duo finished 1:03 behind. Ciccone took the sprint for second, with Healy admitting he 'bottled it', doing too much work in the final kilometre to fend off the next group behind. READ MORE Seán Kelly won the race in 1984 and 1989, while Dan Martin triumphed in 2013. Stephen Roche and his nephew Martin were runners-up in 1987 and 2017 respectively. Healy took fourth two years ago and the result marks his continued evolution as a top rider. 'I am really, really happy with it,' he said of the result. 'We had a plan today and just tried to set a pace on La Redoute and let Tadej do his thing. Maybe we would have reeled him in, but he was a lot stronger today than he was in Amstel [the Amstel Gold Race]. 'I had good legs and was able to follow favourites. I made it into Roche aux Faucons [climb] with a bit of a gap and still had the legs to go. 'Over the top then me and Giulio just fully committed to the line. I am super happy with the podium.' Liège-Bastogne-Liège is one of cycling's five Monuments, the most prestigious of the one-day classics.
Independent Singapore
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Independent Singapore
Motherhood for female cyclists: No longer a career-ending choice
Professional cycling is seeing a notable rise in the number of athletes who are becoming mothers, showing it's possible to balance parenthood with the intense physical and mental challenges of top-level competition. These women are redefining what it means to be a professional athlete by challenging the assumptions about the limitations of motherhood in high-performance sports. Athlete's assumptions about motherhood Earlier, female athletes believed that becoming a mother would be the end of their career. Spanish cyclist Ane Santesteban said in an interview published by her Laboral Kutxa team, 'You had to choose between motherhood and professional sport. It was either one thing or the other.' Joane Somarriba from Spain retired in 2006, long before the current wave of support and visibility for athlete mothers was available. Her experience reflects a time when combining a professional cycling career with family life was deemed difficult. She said, 'I started considering (becoming a mother) at age 30, right in the prime of my career… I raced for two more seasons and then retired to focus on motherhood.' She added, 'I had seen firsthand how other riders had to leave their children with their grandparents, how they could hardly spend any time with them, and I wanted something different.' Some 'mother athletes' in cycling Lidl-Trek's British rider Lizzie Deignan made headlines by winning the prestigious Paris-Roubaix race after becoming a mother, showing that winning form is still achievable post-pregnancy. Her teammate, Ellen van Dijk, also demonstrated remarkable resilience and dedication as she competed in the Paris 2024 Olympics less than a year after giving birth to her son. She continued to prove her form by finishing on the podium at the Amstel Gold Race recently, further emphasising that mothers can be winners at the highest level of professional cycling. As Head of Performance at Lidl-Trek, Josu Larrazabal, said, 'Sports science is still developing its literature on female performance, particularly in relation to motherhood.' Two riders from the Movistar team, Aude Biannic and Arlenis Sierra, are currently on maternity leave. This shows that it is common for elite cyclists to step away from the sport temporarily in preparation for motherhood, but they will then return. Also, many female cyclists remain highly active during pregnancy, often training until the very end. Van Dijk was on her bike just two days before giving birth and was back competing just five months postpartum, immediately making her mark with a time trial victory. Lizzie Deignan rode till the day before she went into labour. She took seven months off before returning to deliver a stunning performance to win Paris-Roubaix in 2021. These are some examples of the incredible physical and mental strength of athletes-turned-mothers. Elite female cyclists no longer have to choose between motherhood and racing — now, it's just another part of the journey.
Al Etihad
23-04-2025
- Sport
- Al Etihad
Pogacar regains La Fleche Wallonne title
24 Apr 2025 01:32 Abu Dhabi (Aletihad)With the look of a man keen to stand on the top step of the podium again, Tadej Pogacar decimated his opposition to win La Fleche Wallonne on Wednesday afternoon, with the Slovenian taking his second title in three years at the one-day race in UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider gained a note of retribution for Sunday's runner-up spot at the Amstel Gold Race, by attacking with final 500 metres of the Mur de Huy and crossing the finish line some 10 seconds ahead of the next-best the Emirati squad, Vegard Stake Laengen and Domen Novak did plenty of pacesetting through the race's middle quarters. Making his attack whilst seated in his saddle, the world champion powered away from the rest of the peloton and would not be seen again before the was an attack made on the corner named in honour of the two-time champion Claude Criquielion, and just like the great Belgian, Pogacar emerged victorious at Fleche Wallonne sporting the rainbow bands as world champion. He becomes the first to do so since Julian Alaphilippe in seconds down on the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man, Kevin Vauquelin sealed second place for Arkea-B&B Hotels, while Q36.5 Pro Cycling's Tom Pidcock took third at a 12-second deficit. Both riders were quick to congratulate Pogacar after the finish, the mutual respect apparent between three podium finishers who had battled through the elements to perform at their best in the a repeat of last year's Fleche Wallonne, Belgium lashed the peloton with a barrage of rain, wind and less than moderate temperatures, forcing the riders to don rain jackets and wet-weather gear up until the finale. As the breakaway put on a show for the cameras, it was UAE Team Emirates-XRG, Soudal Quick-Step and Lidl-Trek who spearheaded the peloton. Pogacar claimed his third win in just six outings in the spring Classics, none of which have seen the 26-year-old finish off the podium. With Liege-Bastogne-Liege on the horizon this coming Sunday, the Slovenian looks in great condition to fight for a third title at La Doyenne.
Khaleej Times
23-04-2025
- Sport
- Khaleej Times
UAE Team Emirates rider Tadej Pogacar back on top with big win
With the look of a man keen to stand on the top step of the podium again, Tadej Pogacar decimated his opposition to win La Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday afternoon, with the Slovenian taking his second title in three years. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider gained a note of retribution for Sunday's runner-up spot at the Amstel Gold Race, by attacking with 500m to go of the Mur de Huy and crossing the finish line some 10 seconds ahead of the next-best rider. 'It is a really great feeling to win again here on this tough final. It is a beautiful climb, but as a cyclist you don't like it so much. Also today the weather was not the best, so it was a really tough race and to pull it off with the win means a lot," Pogacar said. Making his attack whilst seated in his saddle, the world champion powered away from the rest of the peloton and would not be seen again before the finish. It was an attack made on the corner named in honour of the two-time champion Claude Criquielion, and just like the great Belgian, Pogačar emerged victorious at Flèche Wallonne sporting the rainbow bands as world champion. He becomes the first to do so since Julian Alaphilippe in 2021 and with Liège-Bastogne-Liège on the horizon this coming Sunday, the Slovenian looks in great condition to fight for a third title at La Doyenne. With his victory in the midweek showdown, Pogačar claimed his third win in just six outings in the spring Classics, none of which have seen the 26-year-old finish off the podium. 'It was tough conditions on the race and one of the hardest final kilometres in cycling. It was a bit cold and tough conditions in general. I am really really happy that I could win today because the team came here to work for this goal, and I am really happy that I could deliver for them," he said.
