FLORENCE, Italy: Race favorite Tadej Pogacar was on Thursday hailed as “unbeatable” even as he revealed he contracted Covid just 10 days ago.
Winner of the 2020 and 2021 Tour de France, the Slovenian won the Giro d’Italia last month and is hoping to become the first rider since Marco Pantani in 1998 — the year Pogacar was born — to win the rare combination of a Tour-Giro double.
“The Giro-Tour double is difficult to achieve. It’s a big challenge but I’m ready to take it on,” the Team UAE rider said Thursday.
The challenge will be made even tougher by the presence in the peloton of two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, the Dane who pushed him into the runner-up spot in the past two editions, as well as two other leading contenders, Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel.
Belgian rider Evenepoel deemed Pogacar “unbeatable” if he remains “safe and sound” but that dose of Covid may just have sapped some of the strength from his legs.
“I fell ill 10 days ago,” Pogacar told a press conference in Florence.
“I had Covid and there was a little question mark but I am fully recovered. It wasn’t so bad. It was just a cold that passed quite quickly.
“Covid is no longer as virulent, especially if you’ve had the virus before. I’ve already had it once, maybe twice even, I don’t remember.”
The 25-year-old fell ill during a training camp at Isola 2000, a ski resort in the southern French Alps.
His otherwise “perfect” preparation was also upset by the death of his grandfather and the consequent return to Slovenia for the funeral.
Visma rider Vingegaard, 27, was not reading too much into the news of Pogacar’s Covid.
“It depends if it was a bad dose,” said the Dane. “I don’t know how much it will take out of him, but it doesn’t sound perfect.”
The peloton and its Fab Four — Pogacar, Vingegaard, Roglic and Evenepoel — were given a rapturous reception by fans and curious tourists alike in front of the 800-year-old Palazzio Vecchio with its copy of the Michelangelo sculpture David.
Pogacar, after his heroics here in May, got the loudest cheers telling fans “I’m honored to have superstars as teammates.”
Former Vuelta and Giro champion veteran Roglic appeared the most relaxed of the four.
He arrived in the brand new ‘Red Bull’ outfit in black and red and a six-million-euro contract recently signed.
“Each of us is part of the story,” said the 34-year-old winner of the warm-up race the Dauphine.
“Sometimes you win, sometimes not, you have to do your best possible.
“Life offers you opportunities and to try and win the Tour, I changed teams to be here, but in the end there’s another one next year too if this goes wrong.”
The Tour sets off Saturday for four days of racing in Italy with race director Christian Prudhomme promising a “brawl” from day one.
Roglic and Vingegaard tipped Mathieu van der Poel or Wout van Aert to take the overall leader’s yellow jersey whilst still in Italy.
Van der Poel, 29, who has had stage wins in the 2021 Tour and the 2022 Giro, revealed his Alpecin-Deceuninck team had been doing their homework, with one eye on the Paris Olympics which follow the Tour.
“Our team have looked at nine stages,” he said of how many times he or his sprinter teammate Jasper Pedersen could win.
“And I want to get into top shape for the Olympics right after that,” he said.
‘Unbeatable’ Pogacar aiming for Tour-Giro double in spite of Covid blow
https://arab.news/pvvsx
‘Unbeatable’ Pogacar aiming for Tour-Giro double in spite of Covid blow
- Winner of the 2020 and 2021 Tour de France, the Slovenian won the Giro d’Italia last month
- He hopes to be the first rider since Marco Pantani in 1998 to win a Tour-Giro double
Team Abu Dhabi’s Al-Qemzi finishes 6th in powerboating season opener in Italy
BRINDISI, Italy: Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashed Al-Qemzi started the defense of his UIM F2 World Championship with sixth position at the Grand Prix of Italy in Brindisi on Sunday evening.
The opening round of the series was interrupted by three yellow flag stoppages, and the disjointed nature of the racing did nothing for Al-Qemzi’s chances of climbing through the field after a disappointing qualifying session. Al-Qemzi’s Emirati teammate Mansoor Al-Mansoori was forced to retire with technical issues after eight laps.
Victory fell to Briton Matt Palfreyman, who made a spectacular return to the sport following several years away from the driving seat. Lithuanian Edgaras Riabko and Portuguese veteran Duarte Benavente rounded off the podium places after Italian Tullio Abbate was later disqualified from second place for a racing infringement.
Al-Qemzi and Al-Mansoori lined up in ninth and 10th positions on the pontoon for the start of the 38-lap race with Abbate holding pole from his nephew Giacomo Sacchi and Palfreyman.
Al-Qemzi moved up to eighth on the run out to the first turn buoy, but Al-Mansoori slipped to 12th as Palfreyman moved into an early lead from Sacchi and Abbate. The leading group then held station through several laps as Palfreyman began to edge away from his closest two Italian pursuers and Al-Mansoori slipped behind Peter Zak and into 13th before withdrawing from the race after eight laps with technical issues.
Al-Qemzi was entrenched in eighth behind David Del Pin and was not able to pass on the narrow course where waves rebounding off the harbor walls made conditions even more difficult. The race was yellow-flagged on lap 12 after an accident and resumed seven laps later with Al-Qemzi retaining eighth position.
Palfreyman retained his slender advantage over Sacchi and Abbate at the front of the field until the race was yellow-flagged for a second time three laps later. The top three held station at the restart in increasingly choppy conditions, but Al-Qemzi slipped a place to ninth only for racing to be halted for a third time when Sacchi flipped his boat out of second place, Abbate and Duarte Benavente climbed into the podium positions and Al-Qemzi regained eighth.
Only four laps remained after a third restart, and Palfreyman held on to snatch the win from Abbate and Riabko with Al-Qemzi starting his F2 campaign with points for sixth after moving up a place on the last couple of laps and then benefitting from Abbate’s later disqualification.
Seventeen of the 18 drivers took part in the morning’s warm-up session with Al-Qemzi and Al-Mansoori running for 19 and 12 laps, respectively. Riabko topped the timed with a lap of 42.585 seconds.
Action in the UIM F2 World Championship resumes with the Grand Prix of Norway in Tonsberg Aug. 2-4.
Saudi Arabia celebrates World Olympic Day 2024
RIYADH: Several Saudi Arabia sports bodies celebrated World Olympic Day with a special event on Sunday.
The participants included the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, the Saudi Olympic Academy, and other sports federations at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Olympic Complex, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The event was attended by Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdulaziz bin Musaed, the vice president of the SOPC, and Ludovic Pouille, France’s ambassador to the Kingdom.
The event was held to mark the 1894 founding of the International Olympic Committee, which is celebrated every year on June 23 by 206 Olympic committees around the world.
Prince Fahd presented awards to several Olympic and Paralympic athletes who participated in the accompanying dialogue session.
Pouille wished the Kingdom’s athletes well for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games that will be held from July 26 to Aug. 11.
Rohit hails India World Cup win as ‘dream come true for a billion’
- World Cup win ended over a decade of heartache for India who last won tournament in 2007
- India’s cricket board announced reward of $15 million for squad for winning World Cup 2024
NEW DELHI: World Cup-winning skipper Rohit Sharma said his team’s victory was a “dream come true” for India, as he awaited his return home to a hero’s welcome.
The T20 triumph ended more than a decade of heartache after India’s previous World Cup win came in the 50-over version in 2011.
“The team and I are very proud to be able to bring the cup home and are truly touched by how much happiness it has brought everyone back home,” Rohit said in a post on social media on Monday.
He also posted a picture of himself lying flat on his back with his eyes closed, wearing his blue team kit.
“This picture epitomises how I’m feeling right now,” he said.
“Right now I’m basking in a dream come true for a billion of us.”
India won a thrilling final by seven runs in Barbados on Saturday to clinch their first global tournament since the 2013 Champions Trophy.
It was not clear when the Indian team would arrive home, with Indian media on Monday reporting they were stuck in Barbados, delayed by Hurricane Beryl.
Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, announced around 25 people in the team, coaching and support staff would share nearly $15 million in prize money, a reward for their “talent, determination, and sportsmanship.”
The bonus is in addition to a record prize pool of $11.25 million for the tournament, of which India will receive $2.45 million.
The cricket-obsessed country erupted in midnight celebrations as India won, with fans in blue India shirts taking to the streets across cities including the capital New Delhi.
Ecuador clinch Copa quarterfinal berth as Venezuela sink Jamaica
- Ecuador face Group A winners Argentina in the quarterfinals in Houston on Thursday
- Venezuela will take on Group A runners-up Canada in Arlington on Friday
AUSTN: Ecuador ground out a nerve-jangling 0-0 draw with Mexico to book their place in the quarterfinals of the Copa America on Sunday as Venezuela sealed top spot in Group B with a 3-0 win over Jamaica.
Ecuador, needing only a point against Mexico in Glendale, Arizona to advance on goal difference, withstood a furious late onslaught from ‘El Tri’ to reach the last eight.
Mexico launched wave after wave of attacks in the final quarter, with Johan Vasquez forcing a save from Ecuador goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez in the 71st minute, six minutes after Santiago Gimenez struck the post with a shot from close range.
There was almost a dramatic twist deep into eight minutes of time added on, when Guatemalan referee Mario Escobar awarded what would have been a winning penalty to Mexico after Ecuador’s Felix Torres appeared to foul Guillermo Martinez in the area.
The Mexican-dominated crowd erupted in delight only for the celebrations to be cut short when VAR instructed Escobar to review the decision.
Replays showed Torres clearly got a touch on the ball in his challenge on Martinez and the penalty was overturned.
Ecuador will now face Group A winners Argentina in the quarter-finals in Houston on Thursday.
Venezuela, meanwhile, will take on Group A runners-up Canada in Arlington on Friday as they chase a place in the semifinals.
The Venezuelans, who were already assured of a quarterfinal place after wins over Ecuador and Mexico, preserved their 100 percent record against winless Jamaica.
Eduard Bello headed Venezuela into the lead after 49 minutes, nodding home at the far post after a perfectly weighted cross from Jon Aramburu.
Veteran striker Salomon Rondon then doubled the Venezuela lead on 56 minutes, latching on to a through ball from Yangel Herrera and then smuggling a low finish into the net past advancing Jamaica goalkeeper Jahmali Waite.
A decisive victory was sealed in the 85th minute when Eric Ramirez was sent through on goal by Kervin Andrade before coolly finishing past Waite.
Alcaraz starts Wimbledon title defense against dreadlocked Estonian
- Also in action on the opening day are world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, US Open champion Coco Gauff and Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka
- The 22-year-old Sinner is alongside Alcaraz in the vanguard of tennis’s next generation
LONDON: Carlos Alcaraz begins the defense of his Wimbledon title at the All England Club on Monday, opening play on Center Court against Estonia’s Mark Lajal, the world’s 262nd best player.
Alcaraz, who stunned seven-time champion Novak Djokovic in a five-set final in 2023, is looking to become just the sixth man to complete the French Open-Wimbledon double in the same season.
Also in action on the opening day are world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, US Open champion Coco Gauff and Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka.
AFP Sport looks at three matches to watch on Monday:
— Defending champion Alcaraz, still only 21, is chasing his fourth Grand Slam title and hopes to become only the sixth man after Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic to win the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back.
“I want to put my name on that short list to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year. I know that there’s going to be a really difficult and big challenge for me, but I think I’m ready to do it,” said the third-seeded Spaniard.
On Monday, he faces Estonia’s qualifier Mark Lajal, a 21-year-old who had never won a Grand Slam qualifying match let alone a main draw tie before last week.
Lajal, the son of a motocross rider, has just two wins on the main tour in his career but if his playing statistics don’t stand out, then his dreadlocked, blond hair style certainly turns heads.
“I’ve had them for a very long time. It has kind of become a big part of me and my image. A lot of people know me just from my dreads. I enjoy it and I think it’s cool,” he said.
This time last year, Lajal was losing a first round match at a second-tier Challenger event in the US and earning a paltry $780.
For making the first round at Wimbledon he is guaranteed $75,000.
The 22-year-old Sinner is alongside Alcaraz in the vanguard of tennis’s next generation.
He won a maiden Slam at the Australian Open and then deposed Novak Djokovic as world number one, becoming the first Italian man to reach such heights.
Sinner made the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 2022 and semifinals last year where he was swept away in straight sets by Djokovic.
He arrives in London having captured a maiden grass court title in Halle.
On Monday, he faces Yannick Hanfmann, the German world 95 who suffers from a hearing impairment in both ears.
Hanfmann has been defeated in the first round in both of his main draw appearances at Wimbledon.
Sinner got the better of him in their only meeting at the US Open in 2023 where the German won just five games in their first round clash.
In a battle of two 17-year-olds, Russia’s Andreeva finds herself in the unusual position of the senior player, born four weeks before her Czech opponent in April 2007.
Andreeva, seeded 24, made the semifinals of the French Open earlier this month, stunning second seeded Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in the last-eight.
Fruhvirtova arrives at Wimbledon on a career-high 88 and is making her main draw debut.
Monday’s match will be the first time since Agnieszka Radwanska and Victoria Azarenka clashed in 2006 that two women yet to turn 18 have met at Wimbledon.
