Latest news with #southeasternFrance
France 24
25-07-2025
- France 24
Tour de France prankster gets eight-month suspended term for crossing finish line
The 30-year-old prankster attempted to ride across the finish line just minutes before the final sprint in Valence in southeastern France on Wednesday. Police and race security rushed to intercept the individual who was wearing a black helmet and a Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale team jersey. He was sentenced for "entering a sports competition area and disrupting the competition, refusing to comply and assaulting a person in a position of public authority," prosecutor Laurent de Caigny said. The incident occurred just minutes before the peloton's sprint finish, which was already underway at full speed, with Italian rider Jonathan Milan winning on the day. The man, who has already been "convicted three times," is also banned from entering any sports venue for five years, the prosecutor added without providing further details. He was ordered to pay 500 euros ($586) in damages to the police officer who fell while attempting to stop him.
Khaleej Times
23-07-2025
- Sport
- Khaleej Times
Italy's Milan wins Tour de France 17th stage, Pogacar retains yellow
Italian Jonathan Milan claimed his second victory in this year's Tour de France when he won a crash-disrupted sprint in the 17th stage on Wednesday. Milan prevailed 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 rainy finish in southeastern France. Eritrean Biniam Girmay was attended to by race doctors. Tadej Pogacar of the UAE Team Emirates crossed the finish line safely to retain the overall leader's yellow jersey. "I'm really happy and without words, I have to say. After surviving (the ascent to the Mont Ventoux on Tuesday) I didn't survive alone," said Milan, who holds the green jersey for the points classification. "I survived all this with the help of my teammates. I really have to practice this because without all this I would not be here. Maybe I would have already dropped in one of the climbs (of the day). "So, with the help every single day of my teammates, we achieved this result. Today was a really tough stage... We controlled it from the beginning, of course, with the help of some other teams. But they helped me also when I dropped. In the first climb, in the second one, they really did a good pace." 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. Thursday's 18th stage is a brutal mountain trek between Vif and the Col de la Loze, one of the most feared ascents in the Tour de France.
The National
23-07-2025
- 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.'
France 24
23-07-2025
- Sport
- France 24
Italy's Milan wins crash-marred 17th stage of Tour de France
Italian Jonathan Milan claimed his second victory in this year's Tour de France when he won a crash-disrupted sprint in the 17th stage on Wednesday. Milan prevailed 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 rainy finish in southeastern France. Eritrean Biniam Girmay was attended to by race doctors. Tadej Pogacar crossed the finish line safely to retain the overall leader's yellow jersey. "I'm really happy and without words, I have to say. After surviving (the ascent to the Mont Ventoux on Tuesday) I didn't survive alone," said Milan, who holds the green jersey for the points classification. "I survived all this with the help of my teammates. I really have to practice this because without all this I would not be here. Maybe I would have already dropped in one of the climbs (of the day). "So, with the help every single day of my teammates, we achieved this result. Today was a really tough stage ... We controlled it from the beginning, of course, with the help of some other teams. But they helped me also when I dropped. In the first climb, in the second one, they really did a good pace." 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. Thursday's 18th stage is a brutal mountain trek between Vif and the Col de la Loze, one of the most feared ascents in the Tour de France.
Reuters
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Activists protest over Gaza during Tour de France, call for Israeli team to be barred
DIEULEFIT, France, July 23 (Reuters) - Dozens of pro-Palestinian activists waved flags and unfurled banners on Wednesday as the Tour de France peloton rode through Dieulefit, a southeastern French town honoured as a "Town of the Just" for sheltering Jewish people during World War Two. A house was draped with Palestinian flags and protesters waved dozens more by the roadside. Cries of "Free Palestine" echoed through the town, as the riders cycled through. One banner read "Affamer c'est tuer", meaning "Starving is killing". Vanessa Huguenin, who runs a family-owned department store in Dieulefit, a town of about 3,000 people, said the action had been planned for nearly two months to take advantage of the Tour's visibility. 'We can't change Israel or Hamas, but we want our government to act, not just say 'it's not good'," she said. Such protests about international politics are relatively rare in the three-week annual race, in which fans line the route as the riders tackle daily stages. A small protest over the war in Gaza occurred during the first stage of last year's edition. A man was also arrested last Wednesday in Toulouse after running onto the final straight of the stage wearing a T-shirt reading "Israel out of the Tour" and waving a black and white keffiyeh headdress. Through a loudspeaker on Wednesday, a protester shouted: 'Mr Adams, spokesperson for a genocidal army," referring to Sylvan Adams, co-owner of the Israel-Premier Tech cycling team competing in the race. The protester called for the team to be kicked out. Israel has repeatedly rejected that its military operation in Gaza amounts to genocide. "Israel-Premier Tech respects everyone's right to free speech which includes the right to protest," said a statement from Israel-Premier Tech, which is Israel's first elite cycling team, founded in 2014. "Our focus is on racing and we continue to work closely with race organisers and relevant parties to ensure that any protests do not jeopardise team members' safety, nor impact races, or our right to participate." The team have been granted extra security on the Tour, with police officers by the team bus and they were escorted by plain-clothed officers at the team's presentation in Lille. Huguenin, 45, said the town's history inspired residents to act and said the protest had been peaceful. 'Here we say no one is a stranger. My grandparents hid people during the war. For us, being 'just' means protecting everyone, regardless of race or religion,' she said. The war between Israel and Hamas has been raging for nearly two years since the Palestinian militant group killed some 1,200 Israelis and took 251 hostages from southern Israel in the deadliest attack in Israel's history, Israeli tallies show. Israel has since killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians in Gaza, Gaza's health ministry says. It has decimated Hamas as a military force, reduced most of the territory to ruins and forced nearly the entire population to flee their homes multiple times. The man arrested last Wednesday said he was due to stand trial for endangering the riders and refusing to give his fingerprints. He says the security officer who tackled him threw his walkie-talkie at him. Race organisers Amaury Sports Organisation declined to comment about either protest.
