‘Incredible’ Jonas Vingegaard wins Tour de France

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Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard celebrates after the 21st and final stage of the Tour de France cycling race at the Champs Elysees in Paris, France, on July 24, 2022. (Pool Photo via AP)
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Updated 25 July 2022
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‘Incredible’ Jonas Vingegaard wins Tour de France

  • The 25-year-old former fish-market worker clocked 79 hours, 33 minutes and 20 seconds to win the 21-stage 3,350-km cycling race 
  • Two-time defending champion Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia, the second-placer, trailed by 2 minutes and 43 seconds 

PARIS: Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard won the Tour de France on Sunday, ending the reign of two-time defending champion Tadej Pogacar after a gruelling three weeks and 3,350-kilometer of relentless struggle.
The 25-year-old former fish-market worker claimed his first Tour de France title, a year after his break-out performance when he came second to Pogacar.
“This victory is huge for me, it’s incredible,” said Vingegaard as he stood on top of the podium on a sun-kissed Champs Elysees.
“There are so many people I want to thank but I don’t know where to start,” he added, reserving particular praise for organizers who started the race in his native Denmark.
Vingegaard also hailed teammate Wout van Aert as “phenomenal” and “the best rider in the world,” as he was flanked by second-placed Pogacar and 2018 champion Geraint Thomas, who was third.
“We had a plan and we followed it to the letter, all my teammates outdid themselves,” added the champion.
Packed ranks of Danes in front of the podium began to chant his name as he thanked “the two girls in my life,” a reference to his partner and daughter.
“Without them, I couldn’t have done this.”

Runner-up Pogacar won three stages along the way and also took the white jersey for best under-25 rider for a third straight year.
He was thanked by Vingegaard for this “formidable battle.”
“The white jersey wasn’t really what I was after, but I’m happy with how I raced and am proud to be second,” said Pogacar.
“We all dream when we are children of one day being on the Tour de France, of becoming a professional cyclist.
“The simple fact of participating in the Tour is incredible, especially when you come from a country like Slovenia. So to finish second is still exceptional.”

Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen won the dash for the line on the cobbled Champs Elysees to take the iconic final stage victory, his second of this Tour, turning the page on his embarrassment at mistakenly celebrating on stage four, when he had in fact finished second.
“This is the nicest win for any sprinter, it buries the end of the Tour, this one counts,” said Philipsen.
Jumbo-Visma produced a brilliant collective effort with six stage wins, the green sprint jersey and the red combativity jersey for van Aert and the polka dot mountains jersey for Vingegaard as well as the overall title and yellow jersey.
After a relentless struggle over peaks and plains in a crushing heatwave, Vingegaard assured his win on Saturday’s time-trial having taken the lead in the Alps and extended it in the Pyrenees.
Geraint Thomas, the 2018 champion, was third after the veteran raced largely at his own pace, silencing doubters who thought that at 36, the affable Welshman was past his best.

The 21st stage was a largely ceremonial run as Vingegaard and others sipped champagne while rolling past sights of Paris including the Jardin du Luxembourg, through Saint Michel and past the Louvre before a sprint over eight laps of the Champs Elysees.
 

The Jumbo team had celebrated Saturday at their stop-over in Limoges but the triumph came after a long, collective effort that nearly fell flat at the last minute.
Vingegaard survived the “heart attack” of a near fall on Saturday’s individual time-trial to virtually wrap up the Tour.
The two main protagonists had fought each other from start to finish, with Vingegaard dethroning Slovenian Pogacar with a pair of soaring performances in the high mountains.
Pogacar made all the early running with his lone wolf attacking mentality, gradually clawing his way into top spot on stage six with an air of invincibility.
But the stars aligned against Pogacar when he lost teammates to Covid and injury. He is also a man known to dislike intense heat and temperatures hit 40 degrees during the final week of the race.
Vingegaard took the yellow jersey from Pogacar on stage 11 and while the UAE man refused stubbornly to give up, he lost further ground on stage 18.
Their epic struggle was highlighted by a moment of sportsmanship when Pogacar fell at high speed and Vingegaard waited for him to catch up, the pair clasping hands briefly in a memorable image from one of the best modern editions of the Tour.


Richards’ 2nd-half goal lifts US over Saudi Arabia 1-0 and into CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals

Updated 7 sec ago
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Richards’ 2nd-half goal lifts US over Saudi Arabia 1-0 and into CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals

  • The US has won its group in 16 of 17 Gold Cups
  • The Gold Cup represents the last competitive test for the US ahead of the 2026 World Cup

AUSTIN, Texas: Defender Chris Richards scored with a flick of the ball off a second-half free kick to lift the United States to a 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia on Thursday night, sending the Americans on to the CONCACAF Gold Cuo quarterfinals.
Richards tracked the ball as it flew into the box on a curving free kick from Sebastian Berhalter in the 62nd minute to tap the ball with his left foot past Saudi Arabia goalkeeper Nawaf Al Aquidi.
The win and the 1-1 draw between Trinidad and Tobago and Haiti in Group D’s other match Thursday in Houston, clinched a knockout berth for the Americans, who improved to 42 wins, one loss and five draws in group play. The US has won its group in 16 of 17 Gold Cups, and closes Group D play on Sunday against Haiti at Arlington, Texas.
US coach Mauricio Pochettino stuck with the same lineup that produced a 5-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday, the first time he made no changes in consecutive matches since taking over the program last October. But playing against No. 58 Saudi Arabia, the 16th-ranked Americans showed little of the attack firepower they displayed against the No. 100 Soca Warriors.
The match saw few real chances on goal by either team. The Americans had just one shot in the first half. Richards’ speed to track back to cover for Alex Freeman’s mistake and block a shot kept Saudi Arabia from a 1-0 lead.
Matt Freese got his second consecutive start in goal for the US and third in four matches as he appears to have displaced Matt Turner.
The Gold Cup represents the last competitive test for the Americans ahead of the 2026 World Cup. As co-host with Mexico and Canada, the US is an automatic qualifier for the World Cup.
The Americans limped into the Gold Cup on a four-match losing streak that included a 4-0 rout by Switzerland in their final tune-up. And with many of the top players either sitting out this tournament for personal reasons, injuries or playing in the Club World Cup, Pochettino selected a roster full of relatively untested and unproven players.
Missing the tournament for the US are regulars Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, Gio Reyna, Antonee Robinson, Folarin Balogun and Sergiño Dest,


Canelo, Crawford arrive in Saudi Arabia to promote the ‘Fight of the Century’

Updated 20 June 2025
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Canelo, Crawford arrive in Saudi Arabia to promote the ‘Fight of the Century’

  • The pair will fight in Las Vegas in September

RIYADH: Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez and Terence Crawford, two of boxing’s finest, arrived in the Saudi capital on Thursday.

The pair, who are set to fight in September, are in the Kingdom to kick off a promotional tour on Friday for the much hyped clash.

The media event will be at Bakr Al-Sheddi Theater in Boulevard City, in Riyadh.

The showdown between two of the biggest names in the sport has been billed as the “Fight of the Century,” and is being organized by Riyadh Season.

The undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Álvarez, who boasts an impressive record of 62 wins (39 by knockout), will face off against his opponent Terence Crawford, a four-division and two-weight undisputed champion, who enters the ring with a perfect record of 41 wins and no losses, including 31 knockouts.

The press conference will be the first stop of a media tour, which will include stops in New York at Fanatics Fest on Sunday, before concluding next Friday in Las Vegas — the host city for the blockbuster fight on Saturday Sept. 13.


Lionel Messi scores on free kick to lift Inter Miami over Porto

Updated 20 June 2025
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Lionel Messi scores on free kick to lift Inter Miami over Porto

ATLANTA: Lionel Messi connected on a free kick in the 54th minute to propel Inter Miami to a 2-1 victory over FC Porto in a Group A match of the FIFA Club World Cup on Thursday afternoon.
After Porto struck first on Samu Aghehowa’s penalty kick in the eighth minute, Marcelo Weigandt assisted on Telasco Segovia’s game-tying goal in the 47th.
Miami found its second goal in the first 10 minutes of the second half against Porto goalkeeper Claudio Ramos as Messi scored on the 68th free-kick goal of his illustrious career.
Each team netted their first goals of the tournament after Miami tied Al Ahly 0-0 on Saturday and Porto suffered the same result against Palmeiras on Sunday.
After VAR review confirmation, it was determined that Miami’s Noah Allen committed a tripping penalty in the box against Joao Mario, leading to Aghehowa’s penalty goal that was deflected by goalkeeper Oscar Ustari and in for the game’s first goal in the eighth minute.
Aghehowa, 21, had 19 goals in 30 Primeira Liga matches for the Portuguese side this past season.
Miami knotted the score at one less than 90 seconds into the second half, as Weigandt’s cross into the center of the box was finished by Segovia, who fired in the equalizing goal past a sprawling Ramos.
Miami then continued its great start to the second half, as Porto’s Rodrigo Mora’s foul led to Messi’s successful free kick — perfectly placed in the top right corner in the 54th minute.
 


World No.1 Sinner shocked in Halle second round by Bublik

Updated 19 June 2025
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World No.1 Sinner shocked in Halle second round by Bublik

  • Earlier world number three Alexander Zverev rallied from a set down to see off Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego and advance to the quarter-finals on grass in Halle

HALLE WESTFALEN, Germany: Defending champion Jannik Sinner lost his second-round match on grass at Halle on Thursday to Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik, the Italian’s first tournament since his French Open final defeat.
The world number one fell 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 to the 45th-ranked Bublik for the 23-year-old’s first defeat to a player ranked outside the top 20 since the summer of 2023.
A few days before his defeat to Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the title match at the French Open, Sinner had easily dispatched Bublik in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, dropping only six games.
On Thursday, ten days before Wimbledon, Bublik claimed his second victory in six ties against Sinner.
The Kazakh will play Tomas Machac in the quarter-finals after the Czech beat Hungarian Fabian Marozsan 6-2, 6-3 earlier in the day.
Earlier world number three Alexander Zverev rallied from a set down to see off Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego and advance to the quarter-finals on grass in Halle.
The 28-year-old German won 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) against the 46th-ranked Sonego and next plays another Italian, Flavio Cobolli for a place in the semifinals.
A finalist in Halle in 2016 and 2017, Zverev recorded his fifth victory in as many meetings with Sonego, a year after beating him at the same stage of the same competition.
Sonego took advantage of his only chance to break in the first set at 4-3. The German struggled throughout to break his opponent’s serve.
Zverev dug deep in the second set, leading 5-4, to win the set before dominating the tiebreak in the final set.
Argentina’s 63rd ranked Tomas Martin Etcheverry also reached the quarter-finals after a three-hour duel against fourth seed Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (8/6).
The Argentine saved two match points in the tiebreak of the deciding set to set up a meeting with Russia’s Karen Khachanov.

 


Coco Gauff loses in Berlin in first match since French Open title, turns attention to Wimbledon

Updated 19 June 2025
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Coco Gauff loses in Berlin in first match since French Open title, turns attention to Wimbledon

  • Gauff had a bye to the second round at the grass-court tournament, a warmup for Wimbledon
  • “It was a tough one today but happy to be back on court,” she wrote on her social media

BERLIN: Newly crowned French Open champion Coco Gauff was stunned on her return to action Thursday, losing to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-3 at the Berlin Open.

The second-ranked Gauff, who won at Roland-Garros less than two weeks ago for her second Grand Slam title, amassed 25 unforced errors and seven double faults in her loss to Wang.

Gauff had a bye to the second round at the grass-court tournament, a warmup for Wimbledon.

“It was a tough one today but happy to be back on court,” Gauff wrote on her social media accounts. “Tried my best to adjust with the quick turnaround but it wasn’t enough. As always, I’m learning as I go so I hope to do better next time.”

The 21-year-old Gauff added that she is “excited to get some more practices in to be ready for Wimbledon,” which starts June 30. She has not made it past the fourth round at the All England Club.

Wang, ranked No. 49, said she would have been pleased just with the first set Thursday, considering the level of her opponent.

“After I won the first set, I just told myself ‘OK let’s take a minute and enjoy this, I’m playing the French Open champion, and I won the first set,’” she said in her on-court interview.

“No matter how the second and third go, I was like, ‘OK let’s just enjoy it for a second,’” said Wang, who will face Paula Badosa in the quarterfinals. “I’m really happy with how I played today. I was serving good and putting a lot of pressure on the return, especially second-serve return.”

Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka finished off Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (6) in a match that was suspended Wednesday after one set because of a slippery court.

Sabalenka had lost to Gauff at the French Open final and later apologized to the American for making “unprofessional” comments after the Paris title match.

Sabalenka will meet 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals.