Latest news with #TourofFlanders
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Germany's Degenkolb hopes to make cycling comeback in fall
German cyclist John Degenkolb from Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL takes part in the rider presentation, during the UCI WorldTour. Arne Dedert/dpa German cyclist John Degenkolb hopes to return to action at the end of the season after suffering multiple fractures in a heavy crash at the Tour of Flanders in April. "I fractured several bones in this crash, in my wrist, forearm, elbow and collarbone. Unfortunately, everything that could break, did break," the former Paris-Roubaix champion told broadcasters Eurosport. Advertisement Degenkolb was involved in a mass crash little over halfway through the 269 kilometres race in Belgium. The complexity of the injuries on his right side and the overall situation are more difficult than after the horrific accident in 2016, when he was hit by a car with a training group from his team in Spain. But the German is not thinking about retirement. "For me personally, it's very motivating that I never got to the point where I said: 'That's it.' It's my big goal, my big wish to race again. "Next year I will hopefully be at the starting line for the Paris-Roubaix again," he said. Degenkolb, 36, won Paris-Roubaix and Milan-Sanremo in 2015 and has stage wins at all three grand tours, the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana.
Independent Singapore
28-04-2025
- Sport
- Independent Singapore
Tadej Pogacar wins the Liège race for the third time in an impressive solo finish
BELGIUM: Tadej Pogacar, a cyclist for UAE Team Emirates, impressively won the Liege-Bastogne-Liege race for the third time. The 26-year-old Slovenian athlete and world champion made a strong solo move 34 km from the finish. He finished a minute ahead of Italy's Giulio Ciccone and Ireland's Ben Healy. His main competitor, Belgian Remco Evenepoel, who won the past two years, was far behind and finished over three minutes later. Pogacar has already built a legendary career, but his third win in the event, after triumphs in 2021 and 2024, strongly establishes his legacy in the sport. Furthermore, he became the second rider ever, after Eddy Merckx, to win both the Tour of Flanders and Liege-Bastogne-Liege in the same year. With this feat, the athlete said: ' It feels great to finish the first part of the season like this. I'm just happy that the whole season so far went perfect.' Highlights of the race Pogacar moved on to the challenging Cote de la Redoute climb, pulling away from his competitors. He completed the 252-km race in six hours and nine seconds, securing his dominant win. He admitted: 'It wasn't the plan (to attack on La Redoute), but it was such a hard pace before that I saw a number of teams didn't have a lot of teammates any more… I said 'OK, I'll test my legs a little bit and see if I can get a gap on the top', and then, I'll decide if I continue or not. Then, I just committed because I had good legs, also on the second climb after La Redoute.' In a social media post, the athlete shared: 'Legs did the talking, but it took a village to get here… Liège–Bastogne–Liège—what a way to end the spring. Thank you, team, thank you everyone… Grateful for every moment, every person behind me.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tadej Pogačar (@tadejpogacar) Netizens commented on the post and said: 'Once again, you performed an amazing race as the best team and rewarded them, Tadej, with an amazing victory.🏆👑🤍🌈 Thank you for a great racing experience🤍,' 'What a classic season thank you Tadej your a big champion,' 'What a performance, you did incredible ❤️🔥,' and 'You are POGIGOAT 🐐🐐🐐💪, the strongest cyclist of the XXIst century !!!! ❤️❤️🔥🔥.' Pogacar's athletic performance The athlete now has nine monument wins, placing him in third place on the all-time list with Roger De Vlaeminck, behind Eddy Merckx with 19. At 26, he also became the first rider to finish on the podium in six consecutive monument races. Suppose Pogacar finishes on the podium once again at the Giro di Lombardia this coming October . In that case, he will make history by being the first rider to podium in all five major classics in the same year. Now, he will take a break for over a month before returning to compete at the Criterium du Dauphine in June, preparing for his next big goal: his fourth win at the Tour de France in July.
RTHK
27-04-2025
- Sport
- RTHK
Pogacar wins third Liege-Bastogne-Liege title
Pogacar wins third Liege-Bastogne-Liege title Pogacar is only the second rider after Eddy Merckx to win the Tour of Flanders and Liege-Bastogne-Liege in the same year. (AFP) Slovenian cycling superstar Tadej Pogacar produced a stunning turn of pace to solo his way to his third Liege-Bastogne-Liege to close the spring classics season. The 26-year-old road race world champion, who took off as expected on the Cote de la Redoute with 34km to go, finished a minute ahead of Italy's Giulio Ciccone and Ireland's Ben Healy. His main rival, Belgian Remco Evenepoel, the winner in 2022 and 2023, was never in the hunt and finished more than three minutes behind the winner. Pogacar has already done enough in his cycling career to be considered a legend but his third win, after 2021 and 2024, only underlines his remarkable record. Sunday's win means the UAE leader becomes only the second rider after Eddy Merckx, still considered to be the greatest of all time, to win the Tour of Flanders and Liege-Bastogne-Liege in the same year. The reigning world champion, who wrote a note in felt-tip pen on his race number in memory of the mother of his partner who died three years ago, is the first rider to finish on the podium of six consecutive Monuments. "It's great to finish the first part of the season in such a way," said the three-time Tour de France winner. "It's been a perfect season so far and I'm very happy." It was no great surprise to see Pogacar take off on the Cote de la Redoute with 34km to go, accelerating very early on the climb, but it was to find that no one was able to follow him, including Evenepoel who hung around in 30th position. "His team controlled the race but all of a sudden all the Quick-Steps had disappeared," said a bemused Pogacar. "I thought they were saving themselves for the Redoute but when I looked around I saw that he (Evenepoel) wasn't there. That also encouraged me to speed up." The UAE leader pulled away with disconcerting ease, without giving the impression of forcing himself at all. "I decided to test my legs a bit and see at the top if the gap was big enough to continue alone," he said. "I was feeling good so I decided to go for it." With Pogacar gone, the focus of the race quickly shifted to the battle for second place. A group of four chasers first emerged with Tom Pidcock, Healy, Ciccone and Julian Alaphilippe. Pidcock and Alaphilippe dropped off and in the end, Ciccone beat Healy in the sprint, narrowly holding off the return of a big peloton of around 40 riders. Pogacar now has nine Monument wins -- the five biggest classics on the calendar -- to his name, joining Fausto Coppi, Sean Kelly and Costante Girardengo in third place on the all-time list. Merckx holds the record with 19 Monuments, including five Liege-Bastogne-Liege wins. Pogacar's victory in Liege rounded off an intense classics campaign in which the Slovenian shone on all fronts. His earlier wins in the Strade Bianche, Tour of Flanders and Fleche Wallonne gives him four victories and he also had three other podiums, including Paris-Roubaix, in his seven races. He will now take a break of over a month before returning to racing at the Criterium du Dauphine in June to prepare for his next major objective – the Tour de France in July where he will be aiming for a fourth victory. *(AFP)
The Guardian
27-04-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Tadej Pogacar and Mauritius' Kim Le Court claim Liège-Bastogne-Liège glory
Tadej Pogacar launched one of his trademark uphill attacks to win the Liège–Bastogne–Liège classic race for the third time on Sunday. The defending champion made his move some 35 kilometers (22 miles) from the end of the undulating 252km (156 mile) trek to open up a gap of 10 seconds at the top, and then kept increasing it all the way to the line. It was his third victory overall at the spring classic race, which is also one of the five 'monuments' in one-day cycling along with Paris-Roubaix on the cobbles, the Tour of Lombardy, Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders. Pogacar now has nine 'monument' victories. The Slovenian was so far ahead Sunday that he even had time to turn and smile at the roadside camera filming him, then touched hands with fans near the finish before raising his arms in the air with victory assured. Pogacar won in just over six hours and finished one minute, three seconds ahead of Italian Giulio Ciccone in second and Irishman Ben Healy in third. Ciccone and Healy contested a sprint to the line for second place. In decent racing conditions, Pogacar's UAE Team-Emirates teammates increased the speed at the front of the main pack and the peloton caught a small group of front-runners with 60 kilometers to go, and with the main favourites still in contention. But when Pogačar surged ahead on the Côte de La Redoute climb, no rider could follow him. It was a similar story to Wednesday, when Pogacar launched a trademark uphill attack to win the Flèche Wallonne classic for the second time. It was a disappointing race for the two-time champion, Remco Evenepoel, as the Belgian rider was dropped by Pogacar up the Redoute climb. Evenepoel could not gain any time back and instead dropped down to finish in 59th place, 3min 11sec behind Pogačar. The Mauritian rider Kim Le Court won the women's race for the first time as four riders contested a sprint finish. The 2023 champion, Demi Vollering, attacked first but Le Court countered her and then held off Dutch rider Puck Pieterse, who won the Flèche Wallonne classic on Wednesday. Pieterse finished second ahead of compatriot Vollering and French rider Cédrine Kerbaol in fourth. The four riders completed the 152.9km (94.8 mile) route in four hours, 15 minutes and 42 seconds. It was the first classics win for the 29-year-old Le Court. Kerbaol broke ahead near the end and led by 14 seconds with 11 kilometers left and threatened to extend her advantage, but Pieterse went after her. The world road race champion, Lotte Kopecky of Belgium, could not follow and cracked in the final climb up Roche-aux-Faucons. But Pieterse, Vollering and Le Court caught Kerbaol with a few kilometers remaining to make it a four-way sprint finish. Kopecky rolled in fifth, 24 seconds behind.
The 42
27-04-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Pogacar wins Liege-Bastogne-Liege as Ben Healy takes first 'monument' podium
SLOVENIAN CYCLING SUPERSTAR Tadej Pogacar produced a stunning turn of pace to solo his way to his third Liege-Bastogne-Liege to close the 'Monuments' season. The 26-year-old road race world champion, who took off as expected on the Cote de la Redoute with 34km to go, finished a minute ahead of Italy's Giulio Ciccone and Ireland's Ben Healy. It was a day to remember for Healy, producing a strong display to earn his first 'monument' podium. Advertisement For Pogacar, his main rival, Belgian Remco Evenepoel, the winner in 2022 and 2023, was never in the hunt and finished more than three minutes behind the winner. Pogacar has already done enough in his cycling career to be considered a legend but his third win, after 2021 and 2024, only underlines his remarkable record. Sunday's win means the UAE leader becomes only the second rider after Eddy Merckx, still considered to be the greatest of all time, to win the Tour of Flanders and Liege-Bastogne-Liege in the same year. The reigning world champion, who wrote a note in felt-tip pen on his race number in memory of the mother of his partner who died three years ago, is even the first rider to finish on the podium of six consecutive Monuments. The Slovenian now has nine Monument wins — the five biggest classics on the calendar — to his name, joining Fausto Coppi, Sean Kelly and Costante Giardengo in third place on the all-time list. Merckx holds the record with 19 Monuments, including five Liege-Bastogne-Liege wins. Pogacar's victory in Liege rounded off an intense classics campaign in which the Slovenian shone on all fronts. His earlier wins in the Strade Bianche, Tour of Flanders and Fleche Wallonne gives him four victories and he also had three other podiums, including Paris-Roubaix, in his seven races. The 26-year-old will now take a break of over a month before returning to racing at the Criterium du Dauphine in June to prepare for his next major objective — the Tour de France in July where he will be aiming for a fourth victory.
