Latest news with #MarkCavendish
TimesLIVE
13 hours ago
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
A revolution on two wheels
A baguette, a croissant, a two-hour lunch with cheese and wine enjoyed while wearing a Breton stripe and a red beret would have trouble beating the Tour de France in a "which-is-the-most-French' competition. A few weeks ago, I was in a town in central France, Châteauroux, also known as 'Cavendish City' because it was the scene of three of professional cyclist Mark Cavendish's record-breaking 35 stage wins. Already, before the race had even started, Tour fever was everywhere. Banners abounded and posters hang off every lamp post. It was exciting to be there a week early, just to experience the anticipation of the Tour — it's top of my bucket list to one day actually be at some of the race stages in France. The Tour de France is more than a sporting event — it's a national ritual that threads together France's geography, culture, gastronomy and tenacity...
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Final Gran Fondo on closed public roads to start
The final edition of a mass participation cycling event held on closed public roads is set to take place ahead of its reincarnation into an off-road competition. Gran Fondo Isle of Man runs over both days of the weekend, with rolling road closures on Sunday to accommodate three of the four challenges in the series. Organisers have said the event will be transformed into a collection of races on gravel, tracks, and private land in 2026, a decade after it was first run on public roads. Regularly attracting entrants from places from as far afield as Japan, Australia and South Africa, more than 1,000 competitors have entered the 2025 event. It was originally run under the banner of CycleFest in 2016 before evolving into the Gran Fondo Isle of Man brand. All-time Tour de France stage win record holder Mark Cavendish is among the 8,000 past participants in the event, along with many of the island's other top cyclists. Organisers previously said the event would be brought to a close in 2025 after its scale had become "enormous". This year's event will see the main classes held over three distances on Sunday – in the Gran Fondo, Medio Fondo and Piccolo Fondo. But for younger participants, a family friendly Minisculo Fondo takes place within the race village at the Mooragh Park in Ramsey over a 0.6-mile (1km) distance on Saturday. That event begins at 15:00 BST in the northern park, with the other three classes being run with staggered starts the following day. Gran Fondo Start time: 09:30 Distance: 85 miles (137km) Route: The course starts in Ramsey in a northerly direction along the coast through Dog Mills, Bride, Smeale, The Lhen, Sandygate and Ballaugh. It then travels through the west of the island via Druidale, Sartfield, Little London, Staarvey, Ballig, St John's and Patrick. The southern section of the route passes through Glen Maye, Dalby, the Round Table, Ronague, Corlea, South Barrule, and the Rushen Mines through to Lower Foxdale. Competitors will then head back to St John's, heading to The Hope, Archallagan, Garth, Crosby and Mount Rule before heading towards the Mountain Road via West Baldwin, Injebreck and Brandywell, before turning down Tholt-y-Will at the Bunglalow. The final part of the course runs through the Sulby Claddaghs, St Jude's and back to Ramsey. Medio Fondo Start time: 09:45 Distance: 45 miles (72km) Route: Diverts from the main route at Ballaugh, heading straight to Brandywell Cottage and bypassing the southern section of the course. Piccolo Fondo Start time: 10:00 Distance: 20 miles (32km) Route: Remains on the largely flat northern plain of the island, returning to Ramsey after reaching St Jude's on the main route. Organisers said next year's new event, which would be focussed around Castletown in the south of the island and feature a range of bicycle types, would be in a similar vein to the now defunct End2End Mountain Bike Race. That competition, run on an off-road course between the Point of Ayre and Port Erin, was scrapped in 2021 due to a lack of volunteers to run it following a pause during the coronavirus pandemic. Explaining the planned transformation of the Gran Fondo event in 2026, event director Paul Phillips said gravel cycling was "experiencing rapid growth" so it had "felt like the ideal time to apply our expertise to a new project". "We're excited about the plans we have in the works and can't wait to share them with the riders who have supported us over the years – and hopefully attract new faces who prefer off-road cycling," he added. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X. More on this story Final Gran Fondo cycling event to be held in 2025 Gran Fondo showed island 'looking its best' Record entry for Gran Fondo Isle of Man weekend Related internet links Gran Fondo Isle of Man
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Final Gran Fondo on closed public roads to start
The final edition of a mass participation cycling event held on closed public roads is set to take place ahead of its reincarnation into an off-road competition. Gran Fondo Isle of Man runs over both days of the weekend, with rolling road closures on Sunday to accommodate three of the four challenges in the series. Organisers have said the event will be transformed into a collection of races on gravel, tracks, and private land in 2026, a decade after it was first run on public roads. Regularly attracting entrants from places from as far afield as Japan, Australia and South Africa, more than 1,000 competitors have entered the 2025 event. It was originally run under the banner of CycleFest in 2016 before evolving into the Gran Fondo Isle of Man brand. All-time Tour de France stage win record holder Mark Cavendish is among the 8,000 past participants in the event, along with many of the island's other top cyclists. Organisers previously said the event would be brought to a close in 2025 after its scale had become "enormous". This year's event will see the main classes held over three distances on Sunday – in the Gran Fondo, Medio Fondo and Piccolo Fondo. But for younger participants, a family friendly Minisculo Fondo takes place within the race village at the Mooragh Park in Ramsey over a 0.6-mile (1km) distance on Saturday. That event begins at 15:00 BST in the northern park, with the other three classes being run with staggered starts the following day. Gran Fondo Start time: 09:30 Distance: 85 miles (137km) Route: The course starts in Ramsey in a northerly direction along the coast through Dog Mills, Bride, Smeale, The Lhen, Sandygate and Ballaugh. It then travels through the west of the island via Druidale, Sartfield, Little London, Staarvey, Ballig, St John's and Patrick. The southern section of the route passes through Glen Maye, Dalby, the Round Table, Ronague, Corlea, South Barrule, and the Rushen Mines through to Lower Foxdale. Competitors will then head back to St John's, heading to The Hope, Archallagan, Garth, Crosby and Mount Rule before heading towards the Mountain Road via West Baldwin, Injebreck and Brandywell, before turning down Tholt-y-Will at the Bunglalow. The final part of the course runs through the Sulby Claddaghs, St Jude's and back to Ramsey. Medio Fondo Start time: 09:45 Distance: 45 miles (72km) Route: Diverts from the main route at Ballaugh, heading straight to Brandywell Cottage and bypassing the southern section of the course. Piccolo Fondo Start time: 10:00 Distance: 20 miles (32km) Route: Remains on the largely flat northern plain of the island, returning to Ramsey after reaching St Jude's on the main route. Organisers said next year's new event, which would be focussed around Castletown in the south of the island and feature a range of bicycle types, would be in a similar vein to the now defunct End2End Mountain Bike Race. That competition, run on an off-road course between the Point of Ayre and Port Erin, was scrapped in 2021 due to a lack of volunteers to run it following a pause during the coronavirus pandemic. Explaining the planned transformation of the Gran Fondo event in 2026, event director Paul Phillips said gravel cycling was "experiencing rapid growth" so it had "felt like the ideal time to apply our expertise to a new project". "We're excited about the plans we have in the works and can't wait to share them with the riders who have supported us over the years – and hopefully attract new faces who prefer off-road cycling," he added. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X. More on this story Final Gran Fondo cycling event to be held in 2025 Gran Fondo showed island 'looking its best' Record entry for Gran Fondo Isle of Man weekend Related internet links Gran Fondo Isle of Man
BBC News
a day ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Final Gran Fondo Isle of Man on closed public roads to take place
The final edition of a mass participation cycling event held on closed public roads is set to take place ahead of its reincarnation into an off-road Fondo Isle of Man runs over both days of the weekend, with rolling road closures on Sunday to accommodate three of the four challenges in the have said the event will be transformed into a collection of races on gravel, tracks, and private land in 2026, a decade after it was first run on public attracting entrants from places from as far afield as Japan, Australia and South Africa, more than 1,000 competitors have entered the 2025 event. It was originally run under the banner of CycleFest in 2016 before evolving into the Gran Fondo Isle of Man Tour de France stage win record holder Mark Cavendish is among the 8,000 past participants in the event, along with many of the island's other top previously said the event would be brought to a close in 2025 after its scale had become "enormous". This year's event will see the main classes held over three distances on Sunday – in the Gran Fondo, Medio Fondo and Piccolo for younger participants, a family friendly Minisculo Fondo takes place within the race village at the Mooragh Park in Ramsey over a 0.6-mile (1km) distance on event begins at 15:00 BST in the northern park, with the other three classes being run with staggered starts the following day. Gran Fondo Start time: 09:30Distance: 85 miles (137km)Route: The course starts in Ramsey in a northerly direction along the coast through Dog Mills, Bride, Smeale, The Lhen, Sandygate and then travels through the west of the island via Druidale, Sartfield, Little London, Staarvey, Ballig, St John's and southern section of the route passes through Glen Maye, Dalby, the Round Table, Ronague, Corlea, South Barrule, and the Rushen Mines through to Lower will then head back to St John's, heading to The Hope, Archallagan, Garth, Crosby and Mount Rule before heading towards the Mountain Road via West Baldwin, Injebreck and Brandywell, before turning down Tholt-y-Will at the final part of the course runs through the Sulby Claddaghs, St Jude's and back to Ramsey. Medio Fondo Start time: 09:45Distance: 45 miles (72km)Route: Diverts from the main route at Ballaugh, heading straight to Brandywell Cottage and bypassing the southern section of the course. Piccolo Fondo Start time: 10:00Distance: 20 miles (32km)Route: Remains on the largely flat northern plain of the island, returning to Ramsey after reaching St Jude's on the main route. Organisers said next year's new event, which would be focussed around Castletown in the south of the island and feature a range of bicycle types, would be in a similar vein to the now defunct End2End Mountain Bike competition, run on an off-road course between the Point of Ayre and Port Erin, was scrapped in 2021 due to a lack of volunteers to run it following a pause during the coronavirus the planned transformation of the Gran Fondo event in 2026, event director Paul Phillips said gravel cycling was "experiencing rapid growth" so it had "felt like the ideal time to apply our expertise to a new project"."We're excited about the plans we have in the works and can't wait to share them with the riders who have supported us over the years – and hopefully attract new faces who prefer off-road cycling," he added. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Race leader Tadej Pogacar makes history with fourth stage win of this Tour de France
Tadej Pogacar became the youngest rider to reach 21 Tour de France stage wins as he stretched his advantage in the yellow jersey to more than four minutes in Friday's mountain time trial to Peyragudes. Pogacar completed the 10.9km route from Loudenvielle - 8km of which was made up of the first category climb to the mountain top airstrip - in a time of 23 minutes flat, putting another 36 seconds into his closest rival Jonas Vingegaard as others fell even further back. It was a fourth stage win of this year's Tour for the 26-year-old, who is now 14 shy of Mark Cavendish 's all-time record. A day after he underlined his dominance so far with a solo win on the Hautacam, Pogacar extended his lead over Vingegaard to four minutes and seven seconds, and barring misfortune, it is hard to see how anyone can stop him winning a fourth title. 'I'm super happy,' said Pogacar. 'This time trial was quite a big question mark already in December for me. I wanted everything to be perfect and the team delivered in the final moments for everything to be on top. 'I had an easy day in the morning, a nice preparation and then I was really targeting to go from the start to the finish all out and try to smash it as much as possible on the pedals. 'I almost blew up in the end but I saw the time [on the finish line screens] and it gave me an extra push because I knew I was going to win.' After losing more than two minutes to Pogacar on Thursday, Vingegaard was much happier after catching a struggling Remco Evenepoel, his two-minute man, 50 metres from the line on the 15 per cent gradients at the top of the runway. 'Of course yesterday was really disappointing,' the two-time Tour winner, who cracked when Pogacar accelerated on the lower slopes of Hautacam, said. 'I hoped for more but in the end I was just a bit empty. 'Yesterday was probably one of my worst performances but today was one of my best so it's nice to come back like this.' Both Vingegaard and Evenepoel, the world time trial champion, were among a handful of riders that opted to go with adapted time trial bikes, while Pogacar chose a road bike and made the decision pay. Having shipped more than two minutes to both Pogacar and Vingegaard, Evenepoel barely hung on to third place overall and the best young rider's white jersey, just six seconds ahead of Florian Lipowitz. Lipowitz and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe teammate Primoz Roglic both put in brilliant performances, Slovenian Roglic finishing third on the stage at 1'20' behind Pogacar. The 22-year-old Scot Oscar Onley is also definitely part of the fight for the podium, up to fifth overall, eight minutes off yellow but only 47 seconds behind Evenepoel. 'Looking at the times now it looks like we were all suffering a little bit but I did what I could," Onley said. 'With the steep runway at the end, I just had to hold back a little bit but it was difficult with the rest of the climb just an uncomfortable gradient.' It was a second consecutive bad day for Evenepoel, who said he had 'no idea' why he has struggled. 'With a normal feeling I should end up in the top three but I was really bad,' he said.
