Latest news with #XRG
CNA
a day ago
- Sport
- CNA
Belgian Wellens wins Tour de France stage 15
CARCASSONNE, France :Belgian Tim Wellens of UAE Team Emirates-XRG won the 15th stage of the Tour de France, a 169.3-km ride from Muret on Sunday.
Reuters
a day ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Belgian Wellens wins Tour de France stage 15
CARCASSONNE, France, July 20 (Reuters) - Belgian Tim Wellens of UAE Team Emirates-XRG won the 15th stage of the Tour de France, a 169.3-km ride from Muret on Sunday.
New Straits Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Dominant Pogacar not in a giving mood as Tour lead swells
LOUDENVIELLE, (France): Tadej Pogacar has no intention of handing out freebies at this year's Tour de France — not even with the yellow jersey firmly on his back and rivals gasping for air in the mountains. After storming to his fourth stage victory, the UAE Team Emirates — XRG leader dismissed the idea that he should back off to spare his competitors — a trend that emerged during the Lance Armstrong era — insisting that every opportunity to win is one worth taking. "I'm not here to make enemies, but it's the Tour de France. You cannot just back off. The team pays you to win, not to give away. If there's an opportunity, you go for it," the Slovenian said. The world champion's commanding time trial victory on Friday further solidified his lead in the general classification, coming a day after he dealt a massive blow to his main rivals. The defending champion leads Jonas Vingegaard by a massive 4:07 after quadrupling his advantage over the Danish rider in two days. Yet Pogacar said he's not thinking about the next summit finish or iconic climb just yet. "The big point of the Tour was today," he said. "Now, we go stage by stage. The goal is to defend the jersey and keep the same gap. We can't burn out the team - we have to be smart." Asked whether his dominance risked alienating others in the peloton, Pogacar was unapologetic. "When I finish my career, I probably won't talk to 99 per cent of the peloton anyway. I'll focus on my close friends and family." Despite the bravado, he remains acutely aware of how quickly things can unravel at the Tour. "In 2022 and 2023, I cracked. I had great tours, but I lost. You never know — a bad day can always come," he said, referring to his painful losses to Vingegaard. The three-time Tour champion also offered a rare moment of introspection when asked what keeps him pushing after every win. "What's the point of anything?" he said. "I built my life around the bike. I met my closest friends and my fiancee through cycling. You just have to enjoy the moment — not just the victories." Still, with the finish in Paris looming, Pogacar shows no sign of slowing or sharing the glory, true to his 'Baby Cannibal' nickname, a reference to all-time great Eddy Merckx, the man he could emulate one day.
Dubai Eye
3 days ago
- Sport
- Dubai Eye
Pogacar claims fourth stage win to extend Tour de France lead
UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider Tadej Pogacar continued his charge towards an anticipated fourth Tour de France title when he stretched his overall lead to over four minutes by winning the 13th stage, a lung-busting 10.9 km uphill time trial on Friday. The defending champion dominated the eight-kilometre climb at 7.9 per cent to clock 23 minutes and beat Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard by a massive 36 seconds, a day after dealing a significant blow to his closest rival in the first major mountain stage in the Pyrenees. Fellow Slovenian Primoz Roglic took third place, 1:40 off the pace, while Belgian Remco Evenepoel hung on to third place overall by the skin of his teeth following a disappointing effort that saw him finish 2:39 behind Pogacar. After his fourth stage win in this year's race, Pogacar leads Vingegaard by 4:07 and Evenepoel by 7:24. German Florian Lipowitz showed great form again and trails Evenepoel by six seconds. Pogacar picked a regular road bike for the solo effort against the clock while Evenepoel and Vingegaard opted for a time trial bike - heavier but with better aerodynamics. It was quickly clear that regardless of those calculations, Pogacar was again the strongest rider as he posted the best time on the brief flat portion ahead of the main ascent before further extending his advantage. "I'm super happy. This time trial was a question mark for me back in December. I wanted everything to be perfect, and the team delivered - everything was on point," he told reporters. "I was targeting to go all out from start to finish. I almost blew up at the end, but when I saw I was going to win at the finish, it gave me an extra push." The 26-year-old said it had been a close call between the road and the TT bike, but in the end he chose the most comfortable ride. "The biggest decision was which bike to ride today. Obviously, we ride road bikes all year round, but we did the calculations and the time ended up about the same. So I decided to go with what I felt more confident on." Pogacar went full gas from the start. "My tactic was simple: go all out from the bottom to the top," he said. "At the first time check, I saw I was five seconds ahead - that gave me confidence. The second split was even better," he explained. "Basically, I was trying not to blow up in the first part. I almost did in the end - maybe in the last kilometre. From 3 to 2 km to go, I reset a bit because that last kick is super steep." Pogacar will now go for a hat-trick of stage wins on Saturday, when the 14th stage will take the peloton from Pau to Luchon-Superbagneres with the awe-inspiring climbs of the Col d'Aspin, Col du Tourmalet, Col de Peyresourde before the final ascent, a 12.4 km effort at 7.3 per cent.
The Sun
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Dominant Pogacar not in a giving mood as Tour lead swells
TADEJ POGACAR has no intention of handing out freebies at this year's Tour de France - not even with the yellow jersey firmly on his back and rivals gasping for air in the mountains. After storming to his fourth stage victory, the UAE Team Emirates - XRG leader dismissed the idea that he should back off to spare his competitors - a trend that emerged during the Lance Armstrong era - insisting that every opportunity to win is one worth taking. 'I'm not here to make enemies, but it's the Tour de France. You cannot just back off. The team pays you to win, not to give away. If there's an opportunity, you go for it,' the Slovenian said. The world champion's commanding time trial victory on Friday further solidified his lead in the general classification, coming a day after he dealt a massive blow to his main rivals. The defending champion leads Jonas Vingegaard by a massive 4:07 after quadrupling his advantage over the Danish rider in two days. Yet Pogacar said he's not thinking about the next summit finish or iconic climb just yet. 'The big point of the Tour was today,' he said. 'Now, we go stage by stage. The goal is to defend the jersey and keep the same gap. We can't burn out the team - we have to be smart.' Asked whether his dominance risked alienating others in the peloton, Pogacar was unapologetic. 'When I finish my career, I probably won't talk to 99% of the peloton anyway. I'll focus on my close friends and family.' Despite the bravado, he remains acutely aware of how quickly things can unravel at the Tour. 'In 2022 and 2023, I cracked. I had great tours, but I lost. You never know - a bad day can always come,' he said, referring to his painful losses to Vingegaard. The three-time Tour champion also offered a rare moment of introspection when asked what keeps him pushing after every win. 'What's the point of anything?' he said. 'I built my life around the bike. I met my closest friends and my fiancee through cycling. You just have to enjoy the moment - not just the victories.' Still, with the finish in Paris looming, Pogacar shows no sign of slowing or sharing the glory, true to his 'Baby Cannibal' nickname, a reference to all-time great Eddy Merckx, the man he could emulate one day. Just like the Belgian he can win the Tour the year after claiming the world title, a feat achieved by only three riders, with American Greg LeMond in 1990 being the last to achieve it - REUTERS
