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Irish Independent
29-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Lara Gillespie makes history by becoming first Irish woman to take podium finish in stage of Tour de France Femmes
Gillespie, riding for UAE Team ADQ, finished third on stage four in Poitiers at the end of a tough stage that saw Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx-Protime) claim her second sprint victory in as many days ahead of Dutch race leader Marianne Vos of Team Visma-Lease a Bike. The 24-year-old Enniskerry woman's result was all the more impressive given that she was only called up the Tour team a few days before the start, after a crash at the Elmos Dwars doors het Hageland race in mid-June saw her miss the National Road Championships and other races. A crash also hampered Gillespie's chances at the Tour de France Femmes yesterday. Although she didn't fall, the former European track champion was held up by a crash in the last 4km of stage three meaning she didn't get to go toe-to-toe with the fastest women in the world at the finish. Today, though, Gillespie held her own in the gallop to the line despite being out in the wind for longer than the first two on the stage, both of whom are renowned sprinters. Dutchwoman Wiebes' victory was a record fifth Tour de France Femmes stage win and she continues to lead the green-jersey classification, while second-placed Vos maintained her overall lead. "It's nice to keep the yellow on such a day,' said Vos afterwards before praising stage winner Wiebes. 'You know it's going to be tough. Not only in the final, but actually from the start it was fast and constantly windy, with a high pace in the bunch and then you have to stay in the front and stay in a good position. "That's pretty tough and thanks to the team it worked really well, so I'm very happy. She's [Lorena Wiebes] just the best sprinter in the world, she's a phenomenon in the sprint and every time she shows it again. She's very, very hard to beat. She's a tough competitor, but it's good to have her." As well as Gillespie, current national champion Mia Griffin and last year's title holder Fiona Mangan are also making their debuts at the race with all three looking to first complete the nine-day race, and hopefully build on the experience going forward. Tomorrow's fifth stage takes the riders from Chasseneuil-du-Poitou to Gueret, a distance of 165.8 km (103 miles).
Irish Times
29-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Ireland's Lara Gillespie finishes third in fourth stage of Tour de France Femmes
Ireland's Lara Gillespie finished on the podium after Tuesday's 130.7km fourth stage of the Tour de France Femme. Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx-Protime) took her second stage victory of the Tour, winning a sprint finish to see off yellow jersey rival Mariann Vos in second and 24-year-old Gillespie in third. The largely flat stage from Saumur to Poitiers saw the peloton remain tightly packed until the closing stretch before a showdown among the sprinters. The close finish meant Team Visma-Lease a Bike's Vos retained her lead in the general classification, holding a 12 second gap over Wiebes and AG Insurance-Sourdal's Kim Le Court Pienaar. READ MORE Gillespie, racing for UAE Team ADQ in her first Tour, is now 106th in the GC and 18th in the race for the sprinters' green jersey. Fellow Irish riders Mia Griffin (Roland Le Dévoluy) and Fiona Mangan (Winspace Orange Seal) also charged home with the leading pack, taking 25th and 28th in the stage respectively. Wednesday's stage five brings the peloton to Chasseneuil-du-Poitou, following a 165.8km route to Guéret which features one Category 3 and two Category 4 climbs.
Boston Globe
14-07-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Irishman Ben Healy takes yellow jersey at Tour de France after three-time champion Tadej Pogacar drops almost five minutes
Advertisement Dutch rider Thymen Arensman was 9 seconds behind, while Healy finished third, 31 seconds behind Yates. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Simon Philip Yates of Team Visma-Lease a Bike celebrates his stage victory on Monday. DAVID PINTENS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images Three-time Tour champion Tadej Pogačar finished farther back alongside main rival Vingegaard and French rider Lenny Martinez with a gap of 4 minutes, 51 seconds. It meant Healy, who claimed his first stage victory on Thursday, took the overall lead, 29 seconds ahead of Pogačar. Remco Evenepoel was third, 1:29 behind, and Vingegaard 1:46 behind in fourth. 'I'm still behind and I have to take time at one point,' said Vingegaard, who remained positive that Pogačar wasn't too far ahead. 'So far I've been able to follow all his attacks which I couldn't do in [Critérium du] Dauphiné,' Vingegaard said, referring to the traditional Tour curtain-raiser. 'I think that that shows that I have a better level now than I had in Dauphiné.' Advertisement Stage 10 took the riders on an arduous 165.3-kilometer route in the Massif Central — France's south-central highland region — from Ennezat through seven category two climbs. It finished on the ascent of Puy de Sancy — the region's highest peak — after 3.3 kilometers of an 8 percent gradient climb. French rider Julian Alaphilippe lived up to expectations with the first break on France's national day, Bastille Day, carving out a 10-second lead before he was caught on the first climb up Côte de Loubeyrat. Norwegian rider Søren Wærenskjold had to withdraw early as the tough start proved too much after his crash the day before. German rider Georg Zimmermann withdrew before the start following his crash on Sunday. His team, Intermarché-Wanty, said he 'developed signs of a concussion during the night.' Dutch sprinter Marijn van den Berg also retired due to injuries from his crash on Stage 1, EF Education-Easypost said. The riders can look forward to their first rest day on Tuesday.
New York Times
08-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Tour de France stage four: Tadej Pogacar wins sensational finale in Rouen to bring up 100 career victories
Tadej Pogacar took the 100th victory of his stellar career in Rouen on Tuesday, beating Mathieu van der Poel and Jonas Vingegaard to win stage four of the Tour de France. As expected all the action was condensed into a breathtaking final 30 kilometres, with Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates – XRG squad setting the pace into the foot of the penultimate climb, the Côte de la Grand'Mare, before Vingegaard's Team Visma-Lease a Bike squad took over, with Victor Campenaerts putting in an incredible effort to string out of the peloton. Advertisement Pogacar's attack, when it came, was as exciting as it was predictable — the Slovenian launching on the Rampe Saint-Hilaire, with only Vingegaard able to respond. The Slovenian briefly gapped his rival but was unable to properly distance him and a chasing group — which included Remco Evenepoel, Matteo Jorgenson, Van der Poel and Oscar Onley — rejoined them on the descent. That regrouping ensured a battle royale on the final rise to the finish line, with yellow jersey Van der Poel not quite able to match Pogacar's sprint. Jacob Whitehead and Duncan Alexander dissect the key moments from a memorable stage. Find all of The Athletic's Tour de France coverage here: It may have been a short climb on Stage Four, but Tuesday was a reminder that this race is between two men — Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard. It was an attack that had been telegraphed, but when Pogacar rose from his saddle on the sharp penultimate ascent of the 800m Rampe Saint-Hilaire, only Vingegaard was able to go with him. The pair gathered metres on the peloton with the ease of throwing out rope — with Vingegaard impressively staying glued to Pogacar's wheel. It was the first demonstration that his training focus on acceleration was having tangible results. Pogacar's face contorted as he strained to shift the Dane. Effort is a rare sight from him. 🔥 @TamauPogi attacks on the rampe Saint-Hilaire! Only Jonas Vingegaard follows him! The duel is on! 🔥 @TamauPogi attaque dans la rampe Saint-Hilaire ! Seul Jonas Vingegaard le suit ! Le duel est lancé !#TDF2025 — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 8, 2025 'With so many good riders in the final, you're always a bit on the edge,' Pogacar said post-stage. 'You never know what's going to happen — but you get this adrenaline of pure racing.' The group came back together on the descent, stitched back by Remco Evenepoel, before the final uphill drag to the line. With Mathieu van der Poel in the group — the maillot jaune and a man who has beaten the Pogacar into second three times this season — the Slovenian, for once, was not the favourite. But, having been led out by Joao Almeida, Pogacar sat off Van der Poel, and came round the Dutchman as the yellow jersey's legs faded. Pogacar won by a bike length, and with it, secured his 100th professional victory. 🤩 Relive this epic final km where @TamauPogi powered to his first stage win on the #TDF2025! 🤩 Retour sur cet incroyable dernier km qui a vu @TamauPogi remporter sa première victoire sur le #TDF2025 ! — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 8, 2025 'Joao did such a good job to lead me out, especially with people attacking all the time,' Pogacar said. 'To win at the Tour is incredible, in this (world champion's) jersey even more. One hundred victories. It's amazing.' '(Pogacar) just had more left in the sprint and was stronger today,' Van der Poel added. He retained his yellow jersey, on the same time as Pogacar, ahead of tomorrow's 33km time trial in Caen. Jacob Whitehead Pogacar and Vingegaard might be two of the finest riders the Tour de France has ever witnessed, but stage four was a clear demonstration of why their team organizations have spent so much money assembling frighteningly deep squads, packed with the sort of names who could easily be team leaders elsewhere. Advertisement For much of the day UAE and Visma were happy to sit in the bunch as the race made its way through Normandy, but when it all kicked off in the closing hour there were multiple heroes on both teams as they upped the pace to a level few others could handle. Special mention should go to Victor Campenaerts — as usual, not wearing sunglasses — who did a huge turn for Visma between eight and six kilometres to go. The USA's Matteo Jorgenson also stepped up admirably for Vingegaard, and briefly looked like he might be able to counter-attack for the win in the closing stages. For UAE, Jhonatan Narvaez, Joao Almeida and Tim Wellens all turned themselves inside out to put Pogacar into the position where he reliably does what few riders in the history of the sport have been able to. There was even the revelation that Wellens was sent to claim the polka dot jersey from his team leader yesterday, so Pogacar could attempt to collect his 100th win in the iconic rainbow jersey. Plus a heartwarming display of sportsmanship and camaraderie too, as Wellens and Campenaerts — Belgians on the two competing teams — celebrated together as they crossed the line. Behind the teams, friends for life 🥂#TDF2025 — Christophe Diels ©️ (Geen expert) (@denbokkerijder) July 8, 2025 Cycling is famously a team sport which provides individual winners — and there are few clearer examples of that principle than the final hour of today's stage. Duncan Alexander As he sat on his rollers, Oscar Onley pulled out his phone and checked Pro Cycling Stats. The Scottish climber was so on the limit that he did not know where he had finished. 'I was pretty cross-eyed,' he said after. 'I didn't know what had happened.' A quick check showed he had held onto fourth, ahead of FDJ's Romain Gregoire, and only behind the alien trio of Pogacar, Van der Poel, and Vingegaard. Advertisement Generally better on the longer, harder climbs, the 22-year-old stayed with the explosive accelerations of the peloton's elite riders to claim the best Grand Tour result of his young career. Picnic-PostNL had said their hopes for Onley's GC chances depended on how he was positioned after an awkward first 10 days — on initial evidence, he could even fight for a top five finish. He finished ahead of Evenepoel, Almeida, Matteo Jorgensen and Matthias Skjelmose, all likely to be in the top 10 at minimum, and well ahead of Primoz Roglic and Carlos Rodriguez, who are 32 and 39 seconds back respectively. Battling with the very best in the world 😍🌍 What a superb ride from @OscarOnley to finish 4th on the stage, after some great support by the guys to get him into position before the race exploded on that penultimate climb💥#KeepChallenging #TDF2025 — Team Picnic PostNL (@picnicpostnl) July 8, 2025 'I don't want to get ahead of myself,' he added. 'I still know my place and, yeah, it's a different story on other climbs, but it's always nice to be with these guys. 'We're just trying to get results. Whether that's stages or overall, we'll see after three weeks but it's really just picking the days that suit me and going all in for them, then trying to relax in the days that aren't so important.' Jacob Whitehead In their 2005 song 'Road to Rouen', the English band Supergrass sang 'I'm isolated/I'm going nowhere fast' — a sentiment that the four-rider breakaway might have felt at several points today as they hovered around two minutes ahead of the peloton for much of the stage. On the actual road to Rouen, the bunch was making it clear that while they were happy to have some colleagues to chase, they were not going to be granted a long leash. Advertisement But after yesterday's stage had been discombobulated by the lack of a break, it was pleasing to see the natural order of the Tour de France restored. It was a strong quartet too, with EF Education-EasyPost's Kasper Asgreen (a Tour stage winner in 2023), Bahrain-Victorious's Lenny Martinez, Team TotalEnergies' Thomas Gachignard and miracle man Jonas Abrahamsen of Uno-X Mobility — he broke his collarbone in the Tour of Belgium last month but baffled doctors by recovering in the space of just a couple of weeks. The quartet worked well together for more than 150 kilometres but were individually picked off on the ascent of the category three Cote de Belbeuf, with Martinez the only rider to make it to the summit ahead of the peloton. He was finally caught at the foot of the next climb, absorbed by the chasers and then immediately set to work helping his team leader Santiago Buitrago. His bravery was at least rewarded with the day's combativity award. 💪 Congratulations to @lennymrtz1 who has been nominated as @century21fr most combative rider of the day! 💪 Félicitations à Lenny Martinez qui a été élu coureur le plus combatif du jour, par @century21fr !#TDF2025 | @BHRVictorious — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 8, 2025 Duncan Alexander Have you ever found £125,000 in a forest? That was the value of the 11 bikes that Cofidis had stolen from their mechanics' van on Sunday morning — all of which have now been recovered by French police. One of the stolen bikes included a bespoke polka dot number, specially decorated for then-King of the Mountains Benjamin Thomas. The team were only able to compete because of the closeness of their base, just north of Lille, with the robbery representing a significant financial hit to one of the poorer WorldTour squads. Five of the bikes were discovered by staff members in the woods near the team hotel, while the remaining six were tracked by police to the village of Halluin, close to the Belgian border. 'This is very good news,' said team manager Cedric Vasseur, with the bicycles now back with the team. 'I would like to warmly congratulate the Tour de France organisation and the law enforcement agencies who did everything possible to find them. Significant investigative work has been carried out and will allow us to continue the Tour de France with peace of mind.' Jacob Whitehead This Tour de France lacks time-trialling kilometres — this is the only traditional TT all race. The race also lost two exponents of the discipline — Filippo Ganna and Stefan Bissegger — on the opening stage. Evenepoel will be favorite but this should be a chance for all the GC contenders to show who has the best legs.
The Star
04-07-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Cycling-Vingegaard says he is stronger than ever ahead of Tour de France
Cycling - Tour de France - Previews - Lesquin, France - July 4, 2025 Team Visma - Lease a Bike's Jonas Vingegaard during a press conference REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier LILLE, France (Reuters) -Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard declared himself stronger than ever on Friday, as he prepares to challenge reigning champion Tadej Pogacar for the Tour de France title when the 112th edition begins in Lille on Saturday. The two-time Tour champion, who claimed victory in 2022 and 2023, is aiming to reclaim the crown from Slovenia's Pogacar. "I think for sure I can say that I'm stronger than ever," Vingegaard told a press conference on Friday. "Last year, I was also on a very high level in the Tour de France, but it was in a different way. "I'm heavier now than I was last year, but it's muscle and we know that it gives a lot more power as well. So, I can say that I'm on the highest level that I've ever been." The 28-year-old rider finished second in last year's edition, with more than six minutes behind Pogacar, but his preparation for this edition was hampered by serious injuries a few months ago. "There's a really big difference compared to last year. Last year I came back from the terrible crash, and to be honest, it took me way longer than I actually thought to really come back", Vingegaard said. "It has taken me almost a year actually to get back to the same as it was prior to my crash." The rivalry between Vingegaard and Pogacar, who both claimed the last five editions of the Tour, is set to resume after the Slovenian secured victory over the Dane at last month's Criterium du Dauphine, finishing 59 seconds ahead. "Having a rival that's so good as Tadej brings out the best in yourself. And you know you have to train hard every day to try to compete with him", Vingegaard said. "It makes me even better. I have a lot of admiration for Tadej. He's a very nice guy and a very good bike rider. I really only have good words about him." Vingegaard will be backed by a strong Visma-Lease a Bike team featuring Giro d'Italia winner Simon Yates, 2023 Vuelta a Espana champion Sepp Kuss, two-time Paris-Nice winner Matteo Jorgenson and the versatile Wout van Aert. "It's a dream team in the climbs. I think we have the strongest team as well," Vingegaard said. (Reporting by Vincent DaheronEditing by Christian Radnedge)
