Vingegaard has Tour title in the bag after crushing Pogacar again

Jumbo-Visma's Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey cycles in the ascent of Col de la Loze during the 17th of the Tour de France cycling race in the French Alps on Wednesday. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 20 July 2023
Follow

Vingegaard has Tour title in the bag after crushing Pogacar again

  • Defending champion Vingegaard of Jumbo Visma increased his lead in the overall standings to a crushing 7min 35sec
  • Pogacar said he felt dreadful watching rivals climb away from him

COURCHEVEL FRANCE: Jonas Vingegaard climbed into a rock-solid lead in the Tour de France on Wednesday as his main rival Tadej Pogacar lost almost six minutes on the toughest climb on the 21 stages.

Austrian Felix Gall of the AG2R-Citroen team won stage 17, billed as the “Queen” stage with 69km of Alpine climbing, ahead of Simon Yates.

Defending champion Vingegaard of Jumbo Visma increased his lead in the overall standings to a crushing 7min 35sec, with Pogacar still second and his UAE teammate Adam Yates up to third at 10min 45sec.

After the race, Vingegaard strolled around the paddock with his daughter in his arms, while his defeated rival sat on a pile of tires staring head down at the ground.

“I don’t know what happened, I was empty at the bottom of the climb. I’m extremely disappointed,” said Pogacar, who fell early in the stage.

The incident happened when an escape was forming. Vingegaard waited for Pogacar to rejoin the pack.

After kissing his wedding ring while crossing the finish line, Vingegaard was asked if he felt he had clinched the Tour.

“I think so. I have more than seven minutes lead now so I’m very happy,” said the 26-year-old who won the Tour in 2022.

“But we’re not in Paris yet. Tadej will never give up. You know that,” he said.

Ineos rider Carlos Rodriguez slipped to fourth on Tuesday but let slip a little more time here. He is 1min 16sec behind Adam Yates and 18sec ahead of twin Simon Yates of Jayco Alula.

After Vingegaard pulverized Pogacar in the individual time trial the day before, the Slovenian vowed to fight back, saying he was hoping for bad weather.

But the forecast storms passed in the early hours of the morning and the run from Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc to Courchevel took place in searing heat.

Both the leading riders and their teams were dope tested an hour before the race set off from the pretty Alpine resort.

With around 7km remaining of the final climb up the Col de la Loze, Pogacar told his team radio “I’m dead! I can’t go on.”

Vingegaard skipped away. Adam Yates, freed of his services pacing Pogacar, was on the Dane’s tail.

Pogacar said he felt dreadful watching rivals climb away from him.

“I thought I was even going to lose my place on the podium,” he said, before thanking team-mate Rafal Majka for staying with him all the way to the finish line.

Over the final few hundred meters, two-time champion Pogacar in turn paced his teammate so they could cross the line together.

On a Tour where motorbikes have been much in the news, Vingegaard was stopped by one on the upper reaches of the last mountain after a vehicle stalled, blocking the race director’s car.

A dense crowd of excited fans packed the roadside, as they have done throughout the Tour, leaving Vingegaard no path to ride round the stopped cars.

The cool Dane was far from flummoxed and was even slightly annoyed that spectators then gave him a shove to help him get moving again.

“I had to stand still for a moment, there were vehicles in front of me. I didnt see any problems with the fans, But it’s not nice if its going to decide the race, Vingegaard said.

There have been so many incidents, a review of security is likely.

The race designer Thierry Gouvenou seemed livid about the incident when he stepped from the car at the finish line.

On Thursday, the race heads back to flat terrain, after four epic stages in the Alps that will go down in Tour folklore.


Saudi Arabia conclude preparations ahead of decisive Gold Cup clash with Trinidad and Tobago

Updated 59 min 52 sec ago
Follow

Saudi Arabia conclude preparations ahead of decisive Gold Cup clash with Trinidad and Tobago

  • A win against the Caribbean side would guarantee the Green Falcons a place in the knockout stage

LAS VEGAS: Saudi Arabia’s national football team have completed final preparations ahead of their crucial CONCACAF Gold Cup clash with Trinidad and Tobago on Monday.

The Green Falcons trained at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, where the match — which kicks off in the early hours of the morning in Saudi Arabia — will be played.

The training session was led by head coach Herve Renard, while midfielder Muhannad Al-Saad continued his rehabilitation program under the supervision of the team’s medical staff.

Saudi Arabia sit second in Group D, having lost narrowly to the US and beaten Haiti in their previous matches.

A win against Trinidad and Tobago would guarantee the Green Falcons a place in the knockout stage.

A draw could still be enough to progress, but only if Haiti fail to upset group leaders US in the other final-round fixture.


Minjee Lee grabs four-shot lead at ‘brutal’ Women’s PGA Championship

Updated 22 June 2025
Follow

Minjee Lee grabs four-shot lead at ‘brutal’ Women’s PGA Championship

  • Lee, whose 10 LPGA victories include major titles at the 2021 Evian Championship and 2022 US Women’s Open, said there would be plenty of work to do on Sunday despite her four-shot cushion
  • Australian Grace Kim had the low round of the day, firing six birdies in an impressive 4-under par 68

LOS ANGELES: Australia’s Minjee Lee defied difficult, windy conditions with a remarkable bogey-free 3-under par 69 on Saturday to seize a four-stroke lead over Jeeno Thitikul at the Women’s PGA Championship in Texas.

Lee, chasing her third major title, fired three birdies in one of just three sub-par rounds at Fields Ranch East in Frisco, north of Dallas, where soaring temperatures and wind tested golfers for a third straight day.

“I just try to stay patient out there,” the 29-year-old said after building a six-under total of 210. “You can’t get ahead of yourself, especially in these conditions.”

Trailing Jeeno by three to start the day, Lee grabbed her first birdie at the ninth, where she blasted out of a greenside bunker to four feet and made the putt.

She finally took control at the par-5 14th, drilling a 19-foot birdie putt as Jeeno three-putted for a bogey that dropped her three strokes back.

Lee added a birdie at the 15th, and remained bogey free with a par save at 18 — where her second shot raced through the green but she chipped to three feet.

“I try to stay within myself and play the shot as best as I could,” she said. “Just stayed patient, just take it as it comes.”

Lee, whose 10 LPGA victories include major titles at the 2021 Evian Championship and 2022 US Women’s Open, said there would be plenty of work to do on Sunday despite her four-shot cushion.

“It’s just only getting harder and harder just with I think pressure of a major championship, and also just the course just demands so much from you,” she said.

World No.2 Jeeno’s hopes of a first major title took an early hit with bogeys at the third and sixth.

She rolled in a 12-foot birdie at the eighth, but dropped into a tie for the lead after back-to-back bogeys at 11 and 12.

She bounced back from her bogey at 14 with a birdie at 15, but gave back a shot at the 16th, finishing with a 4-over 76 for 214.

Lee and Jeeno, both based in the Dallas area, were the only players under par heading into the final round.

US veteran Lexi Thompson, playing a limited schedule this season, shook off a horrendous start to post a 3-over par 75 to headline a trio sharing third place on one-over 217.

Thompson opened with a triple-bogey and a bogey and added another bogey at the eighth before she made two birdies coming in.

She was joined on one-over by South Korean Choi Hye-jin, who carded a 72, and Japan’s Miyu Yamashita, who shot 73.

World No. 1 Nelly Korda had five birdies and five bogeys in her even par 72 to headline a group of four on 218.

“It’s brutal out there when it comes to the setup of the golf course, wind conditions, everything,” Korda said. “I’m very happy with even par.

“You’re just happy to get 18 under your belt on a day like this,” added the American, who said having substantial waits on several tees only added to the difficulty of the day.

“You don’t want to be spending 20 minutes and getting up to the next tee and then you’re 15 minutes and getting up to the next tee and it’s another 15 minutes,” she said. “There is just, like, no momentum in it.”

Korda was tied with Ireland’s Leona Maguire, Japan’s Chizato Iwai, South Korean Lee So-mi and American Yealimi Noh — who had two eagles but also six bogeys in her 74.

Australian Grace Kim had the low round of the day, firing six birdies in an impressive 4-under par 68 that gave put her among a group of five players on three-over 219.


Fleetwood seizes control after Scheffler blowup and leads Travelers by 3

Updated 22 June 2025
Follow

Fleetwood seizes control after Scheffler blowup and leads Travelers by 3

  • Scheffler celebrated his 29th birthday by starting a round with a triple bogey for the first time in his PGA Tour career
  • Fleetwood, a 34-year-old from England, was at 16-under 194. He has finished among the top 20 in eight of his 14 starts this season

CROMWELL, Connecticut: Tommy Fleetwood was so locked in on good golf he didn’t realize until after his 7-under 63 that he didn’t miss a fairway in the Travelers Championship. And he certainly wasn’t aware of the stunning blowups behind him by Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas.

All three started a steamy, hot Saturday tied for the lead, but not for long.

Scheffler celebrated his 29th birthday by starting a round with a triple bogey for the first time in his PGA Tour career. All it took was missing the fairway into thick rough, airmailing the green from a front bunker, two chips and two putts.

He never quite recovered, posted a 72 for only his fifth score over par in 55 rounds this year, and was nine shots behind.

Thomas was still in the mix until a wild hook off the tee at the par-5 13th, letting the driver loose that landed near the marshal spotting the shot. After reloaded from going out-of-bounds, it took three chips left of the green and two putts for a quadruple-9. He shot 73 and was 10 shots out of the lead.

Fleetwood avoided those blunders to build a three-shot lead. At stake is a chance to add a PGA Tour title to a resume that includes seven European titles, three Ryder Cup appearances and a regular fixture among the top 25 for the last two years.

“I’m on top of a lot of stat lines for people that haven’t won on the PGA Tour, so to always be a No. 1 at something is always nice,” he said with a laugh.

“Yeah, of course I would love to win on the PGA Tour. I think it’s like an element of your career that everybody wants, and I of course want it. I haven’t, this year especially, I don’t feel like I’ve given myself ... I’ve given myself a back-end chance a couple of times this year, but I’ve not been in contention. So this is like my first real chance, so I’m really excited about that and looking forward to it.”

The immediate challengers at steamy TPC River Highlands are New England’s favorite son and Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley (63) and Russell Henley, who had a 61 one day after calling a penalty on himself when there initially was some question it was a penalty.

Henley thought it moved a golf ball dimple away.

“When it happened it kind of shocked me a little bit,” Henley said of his chip on left of the eighth green in the second round. “I still hit the shot, and as the ball was rolling on the green I was thinking, ‘Something just happened there.’ So I knew. I knew that the ball moved. I just felt it was the right thing to do.”

Missing are Scheffler and Thomas, both tied for the 36-hole lead with Fleetwood. On a day without wind — just stifling heat — in which the scoring average was 68, Scheffler and Thomas combined to play 5-over par.

Fleetwood only missed three greens and his toughest save a 6-footer after missing the ninth green to the left with a wedge. He holed a 65-foot putt on the fifth hole and converted plenty of other chances, while running his bogey-free streak to 32 holes going into Sunday.

He also made eagle on the 13th hole for the second day, giving him three eagles for the week. They don’t hand out crystal for that at the Travelers, only red umbrellas. But it allowed Fleetwood to get some separation for Henley and Bradley going into Sunday.

Fleetwood, a 34-year-old from England, was at 16-under 194. He has finished among the top 20 in eight of his 14 starts this season. He just feels he hasn’t given himself any chances.

Jason Day ran off three straight birdies on the back nine to salvage a 67 and was five shots back. No one else was closer than eight shots of Fleetwood.

Scheffler hasn’t finished out of the top 10 since March and remarkably he ended the day with a birdie for a tie eighth. The start was a shocker.

He drove left into the 5-inch rough and hit wedge into a front bunker with a decent lie. But he caught all ball and sent it over the green, leaving him a tough pitch up the slope and over a mound toward the hole. The first pitch came up short and rolled back down into the rough.

He hit a flop to 15 feet and two-putted for triple bogey, his first on the tour since the BMW Championship last August.

Bradley, whose name has not vanished from Ryder Cup consideration as a player, won the Travelers two years ago and cleared a major hurdle trying to perform before New England fans, now chanting, “U-S-A! U-S-A!” at him at every turn.

He likes his position of chasing. He still knows he needs to play well.

“Oh, man, you’re going to have to shoot something at least in the mid 60s, probably where I am, probably lower,” Bradley said. “But it’s doable out here. When you play a course where you’ve got to make birdies it brings a different challenge. You can’t have a stretch of 1-over par for seven holes or you lose a million shots.

“So in some aspects it’s difficult just like a hard course would be.”


New Zealand beat Pakistan 6-2 to clinch FIH Hockey Nations Cup trophy

Updated 22 June 2025
Follow

New Zealand beat Pakistan 6-2 to clinch FIH Hockey Nations Cup trophy

  • Kiwis stunned Pakistan with five goals in first half of one-sided FIH Hockey Nations Cup final 
  • New Zealand promoted to prestigious FIH Pro League after winning second consecutive trophy

ISLAMABAD: New Zealand ended Pakistan’s bid to clinch the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup title on Saturday, winning the trophy a second consecutive time in Kuala Lumpur after beating the green shirts 6-2. 

It was a one-sided contest right from the beginning, with the Kiwis stunning Pakistan with five goals in the high-octane first half at the Bukit Jalil National Hockey Stadium. 

Despite a fightback by Pakistan in the second half of the match, which saw the green shirts score two goals, New Zealand managed to score another and add 6-2 to the final tally. 

“New Zealand’s triumph not only earned them the championship but also promotion to the prestigious FIH Pro League, reaffirming their growing stature in international hockey,” state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) wrote. 

New Zealand signaled intent from the outset, with two early goals disallowed but persistent pressure finally paying off when Scott Cosslett converted a penalty corner. Jonty Elmes then set up Sam Hiha to double the lead, followed by goals from Dylan Thomas and Sean Findlay — the latter finishing from a difficult angle after receiving a precise aerial pass.

Before the halftime whistle, Scott Boyde capitalized on a rebound from the Pakistani goalkeeper to make it 5-0, giving New Zealand an unassailable lead.

Pakistan’s Moin Shakeel responded with a 33-minute goal, briefly shifting the momentum. 

“Cosslett netted his second goal of the match via a penalty corner in the closing minutes, while Sufyan Khan grabbed a consolation for Pakistan to end the match 6-2,” APP reported. 

France, which lost to Pakistan in the semifinal earlier this week, claimed the bronze medal by defeating South Korea in a shootout, while Wales beat hosts Malaysia for fifth place.

Japan finished seventh with a win over former champions South Africa.

The FIH Men’s Nations Cup was being played in Kuala Lumpur from June 15 to 21 that brought together eight top-ranked teams competing with each other.
Hockey is Pakistan’s national sport.

The national team boasts a proud legacy with three Olympic gold medals in 1960, 1968 and 1984 along with four World Cup titles in 1971, 1978, 1982 and 1994.

Hockey in Pakistan has faced a sharp decline in recent decades due to administrative challenges, underinvestment and inadequate infrastructure.

Renewed efforts are underway to revive the game with increased government support, youth development initiatives and greater international engagement aimed at restoring Pakistan’s former glory in the sport.


Alcaraz sets up Queen’s final clash with Lehecka

Updated 22 June 2025
Follow

Alcaraz sets up Queen’s final clash with Lehecka

  • Alcaraz is one victory away from becoming only the second Spaniard to win Queen’s twice, after Feliciano Lopez’s victories in 2017 and 2019
  • Lehecka, who will be playing in his first ATP grass-court final, is the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990

LONDON: Carlos Alcaraz reached the Queen’s Club final for the second time as the world No. 2 eased to a 6-4, 6-4 win over Roberto Bautista Agut on Saturday.

Alcaraz extended his career-best winning streak to 17 matches in a semifinal played in sweltering conditions at the Wimbledon warm-up event in west London.

The five-time Grand Slam champion hit 36 winners and 15 aces to dispatch his fellow Spaniard in 90 minutes.

Top seeded Alcaraz will face Jiri Lehecka in Sunday’s final after the Czech world No. 30’s shock 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 win against British star Jack Draper in the other semifinal.

Playing his first tournament since his epic French Open victory against Jannik Sinner two weeks ago, the 22-year-old is through to his fifth successive final after lifting titles on clay in Paris, Rome, Barcelona and Monte Carlo.

Alcaraz signalled his emergence as a grass-court force by winning Queen’s in 2023, clinching the Wimbledon title for the first time just weeks later and defending his All England Club crown last year.

He is one victory away from becoming only the second Spaniard to win Queen’s twice, after Feliciano Lopez’s victories in 2017 and 2019.

“I’m playing great tennis. After every match I’m feeling more comfortable. Making the final here is so special once again,” Alcaraz said.

“I love making the crowds enjoy watching my games. Whenever I put a smile on my face I play my best tennis.

“I try to have fun and bring joy on the court. That is why I’m making good results.”

Alcaraz wasted little time taking control against Bautista Agut, unfurling a deft drop-shot to break in the third game of the match.

That was all the encouragement Alcaraz needed as he held serve with ease to close out the first set.

Bautista Agut, 37, enjoyed a surprise win over Danish fourth seed Holger Rune in the last eight.

But Alcaraz never looked like suffering the same fate and he delivered the knockout blow in the second set.

A whipped forehand down the line earned a break-point that he converted to move 3-2 ahead.

The nerveless Alcaraz finished off the win in typically ruthless fashion to the delight of the fans waving Spanish flags to salute their hero.

Earlier, Lehecka ended Draper’s bid for a maiden Queen’s final appearance.

Lehecka, who will be playing in his first ATP grass-court final, is the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990.

The 23-year-old said: “It means a lot. You don’t meet a player like Jack every day, he’s an amazing competitor.”

Draper was hoping to become the first British singles champion at Queen’s since five-time winner Andy Murray’s most recent victory in 2016.

But the world No. 6 will have to wait at least another year to get his hands on the silverware after claiming a bout of tonsillitis played a role in his defeat.

“I haven’t felt good all week. I’m proud of the way I went about things, considering, but it’s tough,” he said.

“You’re an entertainer, an athlete, and you have no choice. No one cares, you know. So you’ve just got to go out there and do the best you can.

“Today’s probably the worst I’ve felt. Did I think about withdrawing? No, not at all. I’m in the semifinals at Queen’s. I’d probably go on court with a broken leg.”

Lehecka had already ended the hopes of one Briton at Queen’s after beating Jacob Fearnley in the quarter-finals on Friday.

He also defeated world number 12 Alex de Minaur in his opening match of the tournament, but knocking out Draper was his biggest scalp yet.