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Irish Examiner
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Healy stays ninth as Milan wins second stage
Jonathan Milan won a rain-soaked sprint finish in Valence to take his second stage win in this year's Tour de France, after a treacherous finish from which race leader Tadej Pogacar, and nearest rival Jonas Vingegaard, both emerged unscathed. Ireland's Ben Healy remains ninth overall, 17:52 down on Pogacar, after finishing 37th on the stage. In what was probably the final stage of the 2025 Tour suited to the sprinters, others were not so fortunate after a downpour made the final kilometres through surburban Valence horribly greasy. When the inevitable touch of wheels came it took down half a dozen riders, including stage three winner Tim Merlier, and Biniam Girmay, winner of the points classification in 2024, who somersaulted down the wet road into the barriers. As Milan celebrated his stage win, a predictable backlash was gathering pace against race leader Pogacar with just four days of racing to come, as Jean-René Bernaudeau, manager of the Total Energies team, accused the Slovenian's UAE Team Emirates XRG squad of arrogance. 'They're arrogant towards those who just want to live simply alongside them,' the Frenchman said of Pogacar's team. 'I expect their team manager to make that point to them.' Pogacar was dismissive of the Frenchman's comments. 'Arrogance is something, trying to win the Tour de France is another thing. I think a lot riders would see us as arrogant because we want to control every single kilometre of this race. We don't try to be arrogant, we just try to make our race as easy as possible. I think – this will sound super arrogant – but some guys can stay quiet.' On a day in which pro-Palestinian activists waved flags and unfurled banners in Dieulefit as the Tour peloton passed through, Pogacar was also questioned about his feelings on human rights in the UAE. 'I ride for UAE Team Emirates and if you go there, you'll see how the sport is growing,' Pogacar said. 'Kids love us, the locals love us when we ride with them. The sport is growing in the UAE, which I guess is why they have the team, to promote a healthy lifestyle.' The roadside protest in Dieulefit saw houses draped with Palestinian flags and there were reports of protesters holding up 'Starving is Killing' banners as the riders passed through. The town was honoured for sheltering Jewish people during the second world war. Last Wednesday a protester ran onto the finish line in Toulouse, wearing a T-shirt stating 'Israel out of the Tour.' He was tackled by Tour staff and is scheduled to stand trial for endangering the riders. After that incident, the Israel-Premier Tech team said that it 'respects everyone's right to free speech which includes the right to protest.' If Pogacar remains in a league of his own, with Vingegaard clinging to his coat tails, the battle for the final podium spot is likely to become intense in the next 48 hours, with Scotland's Oscar Onley currently the meat in a Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe sandwich. The German team's Tour debutant Florian Lipowitz is currently securely placed third overall, with Onley two minutes behind. But his teammate, Primoz Roglic, the most insouciant Grand Tour champion in the race, has now crept into the top five. Not everyone has been thrilled to see Roglic's re-emergence over the past few stages. 'Won't be buying Red Bulls anymore,' Onley said on Strava, after the Slovenian moved to 38 seconds behind him, following the Mont Ventoux finish. 'Not funding those attacks.' Meanwhile, volatile weather is predicted for the two remaining mountain stages, Thursday's high altitude finish on the Col de la Loze, at 2,304 metres and Friday's climb to the ski station at La Plagne, topping out at 2,o52 metres. As rain fell heavily on Valence and the Rhone valley, Francois Lemarchand, of race organisers ASO, said that change was in the air. 'A few days of cooler weather are coming and we could see a swing of 20 degrees. It will go from very hot to very cold, from one day to the next.' Guardian
The National
6 hours ago
- Climate
- The National
Tour de France 2025: Milan sprints to win in rain while Pogacar seals 50th yellow jersey
Italian Jonathan Milan claimed his second victory in this year's Tour de France when he won a crash-disrupted sprint finish in the rain on Wednesday. Milan triumphed in a 10-man sprint after the peloton was held up behind a massive crash with just one kilometre to go as riders went down on slippery roads in a chaotic finish at Valence in southeastern France. UAE Team Emirates rider Tadej Pogacar crossed the finish line safely to retain the overall leader's yellow jersey and maintain a lead of 4 mins 15 secs over rival Jonas Vingegaard. That means Pogacar secured his 50th yellow jersey aged just 26, something he described as 'not too bad a stat'. 'Fairly quiet, it was still a hard day, not an easy one, and in the end, with the really bad weather and visibility, it was pretty hectic and I'm happy that we stay safe and finish the stage quite OK, looking to the next days,' said the Slovenian after a wet and wild finish. 'The bad weather is here, and also the next few days shouldn't be pretty good as well. For me, normally it suits me well, the coldish weather, but the more old I get, the more I prefer the sunshine.' Frenchmen Quentin Pacher and Mathieu Burgaudeau as well as Jonas Abrahamsen of Norway and Italian Vincenzo Albanese broke away early but stood little chance against the collective power of the sprinters' teams. With the peloton breathing down their necks, Abrahamsen went solo with 11km remaining, only to be reined in 4.3km from the line. Milan was the strongest in the reduced sprint, edging out Jordi Meeus of Belgium and Denmark's Tobias Lund Andresen, who were second and third respectively. 'I'm really happy and without words, I have to say. I didn't survive alone, I survived always with the help of my teammates. Without them, I would not be here, maybe I would still be dropped on one of the climbs,' said green jersey holder Milan. 'Today was a really tough stage. We controlled from the beginning with the help of some other teams. When I dropped, they also helped me on the first climb, then did a good pace on the second one. 'It was a difficult final because of the weather, to be in first position on the roundabouts. It was a bit scary, but they helped me, supported me. It's a fantastic team victory, and I really have to thank them from the bottom of my heart. Super, super happy for all of us. 'They delivered me in the best position. I was focused, looking forward to it, and it's a really big achievement for all of us.' Rival sprinter Tim Merlier was involved in the crash under the 'flamme rouge' – the triangular red banner over the road signalling the final kilometre. 'The last 25 kilometres were really, really, fast,' said Merlier, who finished 25th, more than a minute behind. 'I think I made a mistake. I took one roundabout on the wrong side and I lost a lot of positions. And then I knew I needed to move up. The moment I wanted to move up, I crashed.' Thursday's Stage 18 is a brutal mountain trek between Vif and the Col de la Loze, one of the most feared ascents in the Tour de France. 'We can't get arrogant, we need to keep it simple and stay quiet,' added Pogacar. 'I'm really looking forward to it. I have been beaten there before but I have good legs and maybe I'll get my revenge.'
The Citizen
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Citizen
A reckoning on Mont Ventoux
Can scary mountain catch out Tour favourite? There will be plenty of cheering from the fans during Tuesday's Tour de France mountain stage. Picture:Mont Ventoux, the most feared mountain in cycling, is the destination of Stage 16 of the Tour de France on Tuesday. The finishing stretch is so steep only a handful the very best climbers stand any chance of winning the stage – which means Tadej Pogacar is hot favourite again, this time at 1.44. Pogacar has already won four stages of this year's Tour and looks invincible on any sort of uphill. The only man to get anywhere near challenging the mighty Slovenian, Dane Jonas Vingegaard, is at 7.00 for the Win. Third on the board is Germany's youthful Florian Lipowitz at 21.00. Outside of the stage win, plenty of other wagering options are available – on both the stage and overall results. Betway has made a number of matchups between pairs of competitors, for example, allowing a bet on one or the other to finish first. Known at 'The Beast of Provence' or 'The Bald Mountain', the rocky colossus has delivered drama on the 18 times the Tour de France has ventured onto its slopes – most tragically in 1967 when British cyclist Tom Simpson collapsed and died as he strove to be the first to summit. More recently, four-time Tour winner Chris Froome's bike punctured and he couldn't find a quick replacement so had to run part of the way up. In 2021, Wout van Aert established his legend by leading the way over the top before going on to win solo in Malaucène. Pogacar looks home and hosed in the Tour overall, with a price of 1.04! But cycling is dangerous and unpredictable, with calamity always lurking. Also, opposition teams will be furiously plotting against Pogacar and his UAE Team Emirates. Vingegaard's Visma Lease A Bike is a potent outfit with better climbing talent than UAE as the Tour enters the Alps in its final week. If Pogacar or Vingegaard falter on Ventoux, any one of latter's climbing helpers – Matteo Jorgenson, Sepp Kuss or Simon Yates – could pounce. All three of those riders are at 51.00 for the stage and might be worth a tickle. All Betway odds correct at publishing and subject to change.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Tadej Pogacar out to bury the ghosts of his past in final Tour de France week
Tadej Pogacar is riding not just for the yellow jersey on the Tour de France, but also to bury the ghosts of his past. As the 2025 Tour de France heads into its final and most punishing mountain stages, the defending champion is about to tackle climbs where he cracked or struggled before. The Mont Ventoux and Col de la Loze await again - but this time, things feel different. "I'm almost confident to say the route was designed to scare me," Pogacar said with a smile on Monday. "But I always look at it as a race situation. I actually like all of these climbs." This year, he has already won at Hautacam, where his Tour hopes vanished in 2022 when he was beaten by chief rival Jonas Vingegaard, who ended up 2:10 behind the Slovenian. Pogacar is 4:13 ahead of the Dane in the general classification as he marches towards a fourth Tour title. In his sixth campaign, Pogacar speaks with the assurance of a man determined to make peace with painful memories. "Col de la Loze, for me, is one of the hardest climbs I've ever done," he conceded. "I'm not looking for revenge. I just want to have better legs than those days in the past." In 2023, Pogacar experienced what he then called the 'worst day' of his life on a bike when he cracked in the ascent of the Col de la Loze, effectively losing the Tour to Vingegaard. While the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider appears firmly in control, Pogacar knows better than anyone that one bad day can change everything. Although Vingegaard has suffered two rare off days, he insists he is not out of contention. "I do think I can win it. Of course, it looks very hard now, it's a big gap," the Dane said. "But normally my strength is in the third week. We have to attack." Vingegaard, however, has no illusions about the challenge ahead. "The biggest difference is my two off days, where I lost most of the time," he said. "But I don't think the gap is as big as it looks. I know that's not my level. I can do a lot better than that. "I'm also willing to sacrifice second to try to achieve first." Visma-Lease a Bike's sports director Grischa Niermann underlined the urgency of the mission. "It's four minutes - you don't make that up with an attack in the last 500 metres," Niermann said. "For that to happen, we need to see a weakness in Tadej. So far, he hasn't shown one. But the Tour is over only when we reach Paris." Visma-Lease a Bike, however, seem to have lost the collective power that made them a formidable squad in 2022 and 2023, when Vingegaard won his two Tour titles. "They tend to overtrain their riders and after two or three years, they're completely empty," a senior official in another Tour team told Reuters. "They have plans, but don't have the capacities to execute them. They should be more humble." Pogacar is ready for anything that might come at him.
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Belgian Tim Wellens wins Tour de France Stage 15
Belgian rider Tim Wellens of UAE Team Emirates in action during the 15th stage of the Tour de France. CARCASSONNE – Tim Wellens of Team UAE won a baking and hilly Stage 15 of the Tour de France at Carcassonne on Sunday after a 45km solo rampage towards the walled citadel. Overall leader Tadej Pogacar held on to the overall lead with a 4min 13sec advantage on Jonas Vingegaard, who had to fight to catch up when caught behind an early mass fall. Wellens had been part of an early break that was whittled down to five before the Belgian champion's sudden acceleration caught the others napping. 'If there is one rider in the Tour de France who deserves a victory it is Tim Wellens,' said UAE team principal Mauro Gianetti. 'He is so dedicated to the team, dedicated to Tadej, always five centimetres from Tadej, in training camp, in race, in morale, in everything. 'Today he was in the break without looking to be in it. He was in a position to not work in the first 50km when it was very hard, and the energy he saved in the first part of the breakaway he gave in the final. It was clever, like always, attacking just before the long descent. 'When he was away the others behind started looking at each other. Another fantastic day for the team and especially for Tim.' This was a fifth win for Team UAE with Pogacar previously having won four on a thoroughly dominant Tour for the team. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Priority for singles, higher quota for second-timer families to kick in from HDB's July BTO exercise Singapore Bukit Panjang LRT disruptions in July both linked to newly installed power system: SMRT Singapore 1 in 3 vapes here laced with etomidate; MOH working with MHA to list it as illegal drug: Ong Ye Kung Asia Johor Bahru collision claims lives of e-hailing driver and Singapore passenger Sport Arsenal arrive in Singapore for pre-season matches with AC Milan and Newcastle Business Crypto exchange Tokenize to shut down Singapore operations Singapore More initiatives and support for migrant community announced at Racial Harmony Day event Singapore ComfortDelGro to discipline driver who flung relative's wheelchair out of taxi Wellens was so far ahead at the finish line he had time to high five dozens of Belgian fans on the run in on the eve of the Belgian national holiday. He has also won stages on the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a Espana. The remaining 167 riders embarked towards Carcassonne Sunday on yet another nervy stage. After a mass fall early on with Florian Lipowitz and Vingegaard involved, the Pogacar group raced on, leaving two-time winner Vingegaard and a clique of 30 riders to exhaust themselves catching up. Pogacar entered the Pyrenees on Thursday tucked in at second to surprise yellow jersey Ben Healy but emerged with two more stage wins and a four minutes advantage atop the overall standings in his bid for a fourth Tour de France title. Monday is a the final rest day before the 2025 edition soars into the Alps on Tuesday's stage 16 with the 15.8km ascent of Mont Ventoux at 7.9 percent gradient to its 1901m high summit. AFP
