Latest news with #Tour
RTÉ News
2 minutes ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Kimberley Le Court Pienaar becomes first African stage winner at women's Tour de France
Mauritian Kimberley Le Court Pienaar became the first African to win a stage at the Tour de France Femmes with a late push on Wednesday, reclaiming the yellow jersey during a marathon 165.8 km ride from Jaunay-Marigny to Gueret. Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal), 29, who led the general classification after stage two but was overtaken by Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike), won a breakneck downhill push to the finish, edging 2023 champion Demi Vollering. "We came in with a clear plan, first to stay safe... it was difficult because it was flat and fast, a lot of big crashes... then try for the victory," Le Court said. Of the Irish trio in the race - this year's is the first to include riders from this country - Mia Griffin (Roland le Devoluy) crossed the line 61st just ahead of fellow Olympian Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ), who on Tuesday had made history by becoming the first Irishwoman to finish on the podium after a historic third-placed finish on stage four. Fiona Mangan (Winspace Orange Seal) finished Wednesday's stage in 107th. The fifth stage, the longest in the Tour this year, went through a relatively flat terrain before three climbs in the final 35 km and saw several failed breakaway attempts as the peloton covered 46.5 km in the first hour despite multiple crashes. Green jersey holder Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) recovered from a crash to rejoin the peloton, but struggled to keep up after the first climb, ultimately finishing 58th. American Olympic champion Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly) abandoned the race after her third crash in three days. Maria Giulia Confalonieri, Elisa Balsamo and Monica Trinca Colonel also quit the race. Vos, who stayed in the peloton behind a leading group for most of the race, attacked in the final 15 km during the mountainous part of the stage, but fell behind during the final uphill push, dropping to sixth in the general classification. Vollering (FDJ-Suez) rose to third overall, while Pauline Ferrand Prevot (Visma-Lease a Bike) moved up to second, sitting 18 seconds behind Le Court in the general classification. The Tour continues on Thursday with a mountainous 123.7km ride from Clermont-Ferrand to Ambert.
The Star
32 minutes ago
- Sport
- The Star
Cycling-Women's Tour leader Le Court becomes first African to win a stage
(Reuters) -Mauritian Kimberley Le Court Pienaar became the first African to win a stage at the Tour de France Femmes with a late push on Wednesday, reclaiming the yellow jersey during a marathon 165.8 km ride from Jaunay-Marigny to Gueret. Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal), 29, who led the general classification after stage two but was overtaken by Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike), won a breakneck downhill push to the finish, edging 2023 champion Demi Vollering. 'We came in with a clear plan, first to stay safe... it was difficult because it was flat and fast, a lot of big crashes... then try for the victory," Le Court said. The fifth stage, the longest in the Tour this year, went through a relatively flat terrain before three climbs in the final 35 km and saw several failed breakaway attempts as the peloton covered 46.5 km in the first hour despite multiple crashes. Green jersey holder Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) recovered from a crash to rejoin the peloton, but struggled to keep up after the first climb, ultimately finishing 58th. American Olympic champion Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly) abandoned the race after her third crash in three days. Maria Giulia Confalonieri, Elisa Balsamo and Monica Trinca Colonel also quit the race. Vos, who stayed in the peloton behind a leading group for most of the race, attacked in the final 15 km during the mountainous part of the stage, but fell behind during the final uphill push, dropping to sixth in the general classification. Vollering (FDJ-Suez) rose to third overall, while Pauline Ferrand Prevot (Visma-Lease a Bike) moved up to second, sitting 18 seconds behind Le Court in the general classification. The Tour continues on Thursday with a mountainous 123.7km ride from Clermont-Ferrand to Ambert. (Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
USA Today
33 minutes ago
- Sport
- USA Today
From junior events to the PGA Tour, Ben Griffin and Ryan Gerard share a special bond
Wednesday steak night has become a tradition unlike any other for PGA Tour pro Ryan Gerard and caddie Alex Ritthamel. It began early this season when Ritthamel, who caddies for Ben Griffin, stayed at Gerard's home during the Cognizant Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. 'Ever since that event, either Ben or I has basically finished top-10 every week that we've done it, so we kind of kept it going just out of superstition,' Gerard said. That includes in New Orleans, where Griffin tasted victory on the PGA Tour for the first time in the team event with Andrew Novak, and Dallas, where he won individually. Just two weeks ago, it was Gerard's turn to notch his maiden Tour title. Not too shabby for teammates at University of North Carolina who are enjoying two of the most notable breakout seasons this year. 'I think I'd like a little credit for making Alex well fed,' Gerard said. Who picks up the tab for dinner is determined by who makes more money in a given week. Each time Griffin won, Ritthamel ended up digging into his back pocket for his wallet to pay for dinner. It almost happened a third time at the Memorial but Scottie Scheffler is a force to be reckoned with and successfully defended his title. 'I was a little bit bummed at Memorial this year when you didn't close the deal,' Gerard told Griffin, 'because I made like $4,000 more than him that week, so then I was on the hook for dinner the next week. Yeah, you know, try and win Memorial next year.' But Gerard happily will buy Griffin's dinner for his wise counsel as Gerard debated flying to Northern Ireland, where he was second alternate for the British Open at Royal Portrush. Griffin told him that he already was in the Barracuda Championship, which was held in Truckee, California, and to go there and win the thing. Gerard did just that and so Griffin is waiting for Gerard to give him his cut of his winnings. 'Just 50 percent of his earnings is all,' Griffin joked. 'I've been looking on Zelle and Wells Fargo and Merrill accounts, nothing's hit yet.' 'If he's so inclined, I will treat him to dinner on a Wednesday night of his choosing,' Gerard promised. These two friends, who were raised little more than an hour apart from each other, first played a junior event together at University of North Carolina's Finley Golf Course when Gerard was 9 or 10, Griffin about 12. They became fast friends, even if Griffin gave him a hard time when Gerard was a freshman at UNC. 'When you get out here and you have like one of your best friends playing practice rounds with you all the time and kind of rooting for you, it was awesome seeing him win multiple times early this year, and inspirational,' Gerard said. 'I can't let him get too far ahead of me in the win column so we've got to rein it in here a little bit. Just to see what he's done all season has been awesome and I hope he continues doing it, and if he continues doing it, I'm going to keep on his heels pushing him.' Griffin took a job selling insurance for a short time before resuming his pro golf aspirations. Gerard witnessed how hard Griffin worked on 100 degree days in the summer to get ready for Q-School. 'It wasn't just a fluke. Like he wanted it from the first moment that I met him, and he got to a point where I feel like it got difficult and there were a lot of decisions that he had to make. "But for him to go out and earn it, really, really dig his heels in and make sure that he wasn't going to let anyone stand in the way of him and his dream when he got his second opportunity,' Gerard said. 'Second chances are rare and when you get them you want to take advantage of them as you can.' Gerard can relate. When he got his latest chance to be in the trophy hunt, he recalled advice from UNC men's basketball coach Roy Williams, who texts Gerard every couple of weeks with words of encouragement. That included reminding him that legendary Tarheels men's basketball coach Dean Smith made it to four Final Fours before he finally got to cut down the nets. Gerard kept his cool to the end in claiming his first Tour title at the Barracuda. 'It's something that you work your entire life for. You never want to get ahead of yourself. You never want to feel like you put the cart before the horse and you let it slip away from you,' he said. 'But walking up knowing that you were going to win a PGA Tour event and I've spent hours and hours and hours on driving ranges and putting greens and golf courses and on airplanes since I was 5, 6 years old with a goal to win, kind of seeing all those moments kind of flash before you to end up culminating in a really special goal with a lot of people that have helped me along the way, it was pretty special.' Worthy of a Wednesday night steak dinner.
France 24
34 minutes ago
- Sport
- France 24
Le Court makes history for Africa at women's Tour de France
It was a case of double celebration for the 29-year-old who took the fifth stage honours in a sprint to reclaim the leader's yellow jersey. Le Court edged Dutch duo Demi Vollering and Anna van der Breggen after a hilly 166km ride, the longest of the Tour, from Chasseneuil-du-Poitou Futuroscope to Gueret. Overnight leader Marianne Vos lost yellow to the AG Insurance-Soudal team leader after finishing eighth, 33 seconds adrift, on the day. Le Court, who had a brief spell already at the top of the general classification after stage two, now leads France's Pauline Ferrand-Prevot by 18 seconds. Vollering, the Tour winner in 2023 and favourite for this edition, is third at 23s after recovering from a heavy fall on Monday. Last year's winner, Poland's Katarzyna Niewiadoma, took fourth in the stage to sit well placed 24s off the overall lead. Thursday's sixth stage is a mountainous 123.7km ride from Clermont-Ferrand to Ambert featuring three ascents including the category one climb up the Col du Beal, with the race finishing on Sunday.
BBC News
an hour ago
- Sport
- BBC News
France want regular Lions games
Third Test: Australia v British and Irish LionsDate: Saturday 2 August Venue: Accor Stadium Kick-off: 11:00 BSTCoverage: Live text commentary and post-match analysis on BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC iPlayer and online The French Rugby Federation wants to "build something for the long term" with the British and Irish Lions in addition to the proposed warm-up matches for the inaugural women's tour in 2027 and the men's trip to New Zealand in strength of the club game in France and the chance for Lions fans to follow the team at relatively low cost has increased calls for it to be added to the Lions calendar."We start with this, but I don't want it to be just one shot," FFR vice-president Abdelatif Benazzi told BBC Sport about discussions around the 2027 and 2029 fixtures."I think we can build something for the long term."Former France forward Benazzi and Nicolas Hourquet, the FFR's director of international relations, met Lions officials in Dublin last month before the touring side's warm-up match against chief executive Ben Calveley subsequently said he could "certainly understand" the excitement around a possible tour of France."What's not to like about some of those wonderful clubs you could play against and some of those wonderful venues?" Calveley added. During the current tour of Australia, Lions officials put pressure on the Wallabies to release more high-profile international players for the tour matches amid concerns about how competitive they would Lions beat Australia's four Super Rugby teams by an average of 27.5 points, before sealing a series win with victory in the first two Tests against the says France has no intention of disrupting the usual rotation of Lions tours, which alternate between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa every four he hopes the new global calendar, that begins next year with the first edition of the biennial Nations Cup, will create opportunities."Of course, we don't touch the legacy in the south - you keep that," added Benazzi."We have a lot of projects. We want to see what to expect with the United States - maybe we have a possibility to play there - maybe in Paris or London. We are just thinking about ideas."If you have a link between two institutions then it's easier to project what we want to do - a warm-up before the tour, a special game maybe every four years as well, in our own countries or outside for development of the game."A full-scale Lions tour of France is an enticing national team, who won this year's Six Nations, are the strongest they have been for a club level, Toulouse, Bordeaux-Begles and La Rochelle have won the past five editions of the Champions Cup, while the likes of Toulon, Racing 92 and Clermont Auvergne also offer high-quality, multi-national squads and atmospheric venues. Interest in rugby is strong and growing in the country, while the Lions and their fans could travel between matches more easily than in their traditional there are considerable political and logistical Top 14 season runs until the end of June, eating into the potential window for a tour. It also puts a heavy workload on its part of an agreement with their clubs, France tend not to select their top players during the summer, instead resting stars and developing depth.A second-string France side pushed New Zealand close in two of the three matches the teams contested this Benazzi believes that a generation of players eager for new challenges and a revised approach to balancing the demands of France's clubs and national team can ease any problems."With the Nations Cup [in which summer results contribute to a team's final standings] starting, we're looking for the new model with the league and France," he said."We don't have only 25 players playing for the French team, we build 50 players around the project and everyone has the chance to compete and to play."We will find a balance between LNR and FFR."The youngsters now, they want something more than traditional games. They want to compete and to meet the big challenges. Now I think they would prepare for that [the Lions] like it was a World Cup."France scrum-half Nolann le Garrec, who played in all three Tests against New Zealand, travelled to Melbourne to watch the Lions' match against a First Nations and Pasifika XV on his way home. If France do play the Lions, it would be for the first time since a 1989 fixture that was arranged to celebrate 200 years since the French who won the first of 78 France caps the following year, says it is a rivalry that is overdue a revival."My generation missed a lot of things," he said. "Sometimes we come back to stay at home and missed the game of the world."I think we've lost a lot of time since 1989."The power of the Lions is amazing and we are, at the same time, so close to our neighbours, but so far from this legacy."If we start again with a respectable project for everyone, we can give our supporters and fans more dreams."
