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Straits Times
24-07-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Britain's Lizzie Deignan retires after announcing pregnancy
LONDON - Britain's former world champion Lizzie Deignan has announced her retirement with immediate effect after confirming she is pregnant with her third child. The 36-year-old has been the flag bearer for women's road cycling in Britain since claiming a silver medal at the London 2012 Olympics and had planned to see out the season. Her crowning moment came at the 2015 world championships when she won the women's road race in Richmond, out-sprinting Dutchwoman Anna van der Breggen for gold. "A new chapter in the Deignan story," the Lidl-Trek team rider posted on Instagram, alongside a photo of a babygrow. "I have this life outside of cycling that gives me so much fulfilment and so much love," she said. "Often people say, 'Retire on the top.' But I have no ego or necessity to retire at the top. I'm really happy to go full circle and to have ended my career as somebody that helps other people win bike races again." Deignan enjoyed 43 professional wins, including a stunning victory at the inaugural women's Paris-Roubaix in 2021. Other notable wins included Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Strade Bianche and the Tour of Flanders. She took a career break in 2018 after the birth of daughter Orla, and again in 2022 following the birth of her son Shea. Her final victory came during a team time trial in the opening stage of La Vuelta Femenina in Spain. Deignan, who also won a world title on the track in 2009 as part of Britain's team pursuit squad, has been a fierce advocate for equality in women's professional cycling, long overshadowed by men's racing. "I feel like I've carried the torch for quite a long time now, and it's really cool that there is now a group of women ready to take over," she told Cycling Weekly this year. REUTERS
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
A moment of sportsmanship in the Tour de France
In a perhaps unusual display of sportsmanship, riders in the Tour de France slowed down to wait for defending champion and pre-race favorite Tadej Pogačar, who crashed a few miles from the finish line Wednesday on stage 11. At the same time, the man who caused the crash faced an inbox full of threats and hate mail that left him 'terrified.' Norwegian rider Tobias Halland Johannessen unintentionally took out Pogačar on the outskirts of Toulouse as they rode among a group of contenders for the overall title, including the Slovenian's chief rival Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark. Pogačar skidded across the road but was on his feet quickly. A Tour mechanic on a motorcycle helped reattach his bike chain and he pedaled furiously to catch up. The group could have ridden hard to put some time on Pogačar, who was second overall at the time, but slowed enough for him to get back. 'We waited for him, like we should do, in my opinion,' Vingegaard said, per Velo. 'When it's like that, it's pure bad luck. It was not because he overcooked a corner or anything, he just overlapped wheels so that's the right way to do it.' A show of respect Vingegaard's teammate, American Matteo Jorgensen, said a 'collective decision' was made to allow Pogačar to catch up. 'It's the sporting decision,' Jorgenson said following the race. 'After a lot of the comments the other day, I guess accusations of unsportsmanlike stuff that I've never seen before from him, I think at least now he can be confident we're trying to beat him in a sporting way.' Jorgenson was referring to an incident in the feed zone on stage 7 where Pogačar appeared to push him out of the way. Though it doesn't always hold sway, Tour de France tradition dictates that in the event of an unfortunate crash or mechanical problem, the peloton sits up and waits for the rider in the yellow jersey. But Pogačar wasn't in yellow on Wednesday. Irish rider Ben Healy snagged the overall lead earlier in the week and had the jersey on his shoulders. While Healy isn't a threat to win the Tour, he could have extended his lead over Pogačar heading into Thursday's stage, possibly keeping him in yellow for another day. 'It was respect among the riders,' Healy said, per Cycling Weekly. 'Whenever someone makes a silly mistake in the final when there's not going to be a crazy difference from that point forward, I think anyone would appreciate the same.' Backlash scares Norwegian rider While fellow riders showed Pogačar some respect, race fans weren't as kind to Johannessen, who is riding in his second Tour de France. Johannessen said he's 'terrified' of the threats he has received since inadvertently cutting across Pogačar's front wheel, causing him to go down. He apologized on social media. 'I am terribly sorry for what happened to @TamauPogi. I was trying to follow a move and I can see that I was too close. I thought everyone would move to the right, but I made a mistake and would like to say sorry again. I hope he is as good as he can be after a crash like that," he posted on X. 'I would, of course, like to do it again and do it differently, but I can't. That feels (expletive), but I would not wish anyone the amount of threats I get in my inbox. I am terribly sorry, but also terrified of the hate from all the people. This feels very scary.' Cyclingnews reported seeing Johannessen apologize to Pogačar's team director Joxean 'Matxín' Fernández after the stage. 'Just now arriving to the car and the bus was Tobias to say sorry and that it was involuntary, and I spoke directly to Tadej, and for him it's not a problem,' he told the publication. Before starting Thursday's stage 12, Pogačar told reporters, 'I'm OK. Nothing too bad. Just my whole left arm is open completely with more of just like burned off skin and I hit my hip a little bit and shoulder. 'Today is another day. It's not the first time that I crashed and continued the race. We'll see how the legs are.' Apparently, Pogačar's legs are just fine. He blew away the field on Thursday's stage 12 in the Pyrenees and now has a 3-minute, 31-second lead on Vingegaard.
The National
09-07-2025
- Sport
- The National
Kelso cyclist Oscar Onley climbs Tour de France rankings
Oscar Onley, a 22-year-old from Borders town Kelso, has been making waves at this year's tournament with standout performances that have highlighted his rising status in international cycling. In Tuesday's Stage 4, a 174km route from Amiens to Rouen, Onley finished an impressive fourth, crossing the line just slightly behind some of the sport's biggest names – Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel, and Jonas Vingegaard. READ MORE: Met Office warns Scots against going 'taps aff' as temperatures to hit 30 degrees All four riders completed the stage in exactly three hours, 50 minutes and 29 seconds, with Onley narrowly missing out on a podium finish by milliseconds. Speaking to Cycling Weekly about his positioning, Onley said: 'It's not really sunk in yet. It's always nice to be racing against these guys. 'I really get a kick out of racing against the top guys, so it's always good fun.' He addressed the challenge of competing against two riders who have won the last five Tours de France between them and whose teams have claimed nearly a third of the stage victories in that period. When asked by the sports publication if it felt demoralising to chase wins against such well-established opponents, Onley said no. 'Maybe because I'm young, I'm naive and I still think that I can do anything,' he said. His fourth-place finish on Stage 4 – his best result so far – suggests he's close to living up to that belief. He continued: 'I don't want to get ahead of myself – I know my place, and it's a different story on other climbs.' Explaining his approach to the race, Onley said: 'I'm just trying to get results, whether that's stages or overall, in the end, we'll see after three weeks. 'It's really just [about] picking the days that suit me and going all in for them, and trying to relax on the days that aren't so important.' READ MORE: 'I'm so sorry': Yungblud cancels Scottish show and album launch The result came after a solid sixth-place finish on Stage 2, a 209km stretch from Lauwin-Planque to Boulogne-sur-Mer, which propelled Onley to seventh place in the overall general classification, 55 seconds behind the race leader. By the conclusion of Stage 4, Onley maintained his position in the general classification, tied for seventh with Joao Almeida, highlighting his consistency in this Grand Tour. Onley's Tour de France success builds on an already impressive 2025 season. Earlier this year, he won a stage at the Tour de Suisse and finished third overall. He also claimed fourth place at the Tour Down Under and fifth at the UAE Tour. Riding for Team Picnic PostNL, Onley has showcased his climbing ability and race intelligence, making him a key contender to watch as the race progresses. With the first individual time trial scheduled for Stage 5 on Wednesday, his performance in the sport will be closely observed as it could be crucial to his overall Tour de France ambitions.
Glasgow Times
14-05-2025
- Health
- Glasgow Times
Sir Bradley Wiggins says he is ‘lucky to be here' after cocaine addiction
The 2012 Tour de France winner and five-time Olympic champion said his children wanted to put him in rehab amid fears the issue could prove fatal. Father-of-two Wiggins is now 12 months sober, attends regular therapy sessions, and feels 'a lot more at peace' with himself. Wiggins celebrates his Tour de France win in 2012 (PA) 'There were times my son thought I was going to be found dead in the morning,' he said, according to the Observer. 'I was a functioning addict. People wouldn't realise. I was high most of the time for many years. 'I was walking a tightrope. I realised I had a huge problem. I had to stop. I'm lucky to be here.' Since ending his career in 2016, Wiggins has spoken about his father's jealousy and being groomed by a coach as a child. The 45-year-old, who last year was declared bankrupt, said disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong has helped his recovery, including offering to pay for therapy. 'My addiction was a way of easing that pain that I lived with,' said Wiggins, according to Cycling Weekly. 'I'm still figuring a lot of this out but what I have got is a lot more control of myself and my triggers; I'm a lot more at peace with myself now which is a really big thing.'
Rhyl Journal
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Rhyl Journal
Sir Bradley Wiggins says he is ‘lucky to be here' after cocaine addiction
The 2012 Tour de France winner and five-time Olympic champion said his children wanted to put him in rehab amid fears the issue could prove fatal. Father-of-two Wiggins is now 12 months sober, attends regular therapy sessions, and feels 'a lot more at peace' with himself. 'There were times my son thought I was going to be found dead in the morning,' he said, according to the Observer. 'I was a functioning addict. People wouldn't realise. I was high most of the time for many years. 'I was walking a tightrope. I realised I had a huge problem. I had to stop. I'm lucky to be here.' Since ending his career in 2016, Wiggins has spoken about his father's jealousy and being groomed by a coach as a child. The 45-year-old, who last year was declared bankrupt, said disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong has helped his recovery, including offering to pay for therapy. 'My addiction was a way of easing that pain that I lived with,' said Wiggins, according to Cycling Weekly. 'I'm still figuring a lot of this out but what I have got is a lot more control of myself and my triggers; I'm a lot more at peace with myself now which is a really big thing.'
