France

Mark Cavendish produced a stunning performance on Sunday to win the national road race title for the second time in his career – and in doing so put huge pressure on his Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl team less than a week out from the start of the 109th Tour de France . Cavendish, 37, is tied with Eddy Merckx as the most successful Tour stage winner in history with 34 wins. But despite his incredible comeback at last year’s Tour, when Cavendish ended a long run of illness and injury to win four stages plus the green jersey, and despite the fact the outright stage record is within his grasp, and despite the fact the race begins in Copenhagen where Cavendish memorably won his world title 11 years ago, there have been doubts as to whether he will be selected this time around. Dutch sprinter Fabio Jakobsen has been on the Belgian team’s Tour list since the start of the season and it is thought Cavendish would have to go as a second sprinter if he is to be selected. The former world road … [Read more...] about Mark Cavendish wins British National Road Championship title to strengthen Tour de France selection claims

Mark Cavendish has missed out on selection for this year’s Tour de France despite his success in Sunday’s national road race championships , although the Manxman has been named as one of two “first reserves” for Belgian squad Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl. Cavendish, who memorably ended a long spell of injury and illness to claim four stage victories and the green jersey last year, drawing level with Eddy Merckx on the all-time list on 34 stage wins, was always an outside bet to travel this year. Quick-Step made it clear earlier this season that Dutchman Fabio Jakobsen was their No 1 sprinter for the Tour . It was never completely done and dusted, though. And after winning a stage of the Giro d’Italia in May, Cavendish told Quick-Stop manager Patrick Lefevere that he would do everything in his power to go to France, and would continue to train as if he was going. The 37-year-old was as good as his word, and was clearly in excellent shape as he won the British national title for … [Read more...] about Mark Cavendish misses out on Tour de France slot despite winning British national road title

Sir Bradley Wiggins believes Ineos Grenadiers should throw their full support behind Geraint Thomas at the Tour de France , though conceded it is unlikely his former team-mate can win a second yellow jersey. Thomas, who won the Tour in 2018, was named in the British squad's eight-man team on Tuesday, and will share leadership duties with Daniel Martínez of Colombia and Bury-born Adam Yates. Wiggins, however, insists the Welshman deserves to be the team's outright leader at the Tour, which starts in Denmark on July 1 . In the absence of an obvious challenger to defending champion Tadej Pogacar and his Slovenian compatriot Primoz Roglic, who will arrive in Copenhagen in fine form having won this month's Critérium du Dauphiné , Ineos Grenadiers will start the race with multiple leaders. “In Adam, Dani and Geraint we have three fantastic GC [general classification] heavyweights who can mount a real challenge. They have proved their form across the season and are lining up … [Read more...] about Sir Bradley Wiggins: Ineos Grenadiers must back ‘leader’ Geraint Thomas at Tour de France

The entire industry is guilty of leering at competitors. This happens especially at early-season races, like the Tour Down Under, when a rider’s physique is callously judged in whispers and sideways glances on a scale of ‘Watch out!’ to ‘That fat f--- has no chance of winning the Tour de France.’ In a feature I wrote for Procycling magazine about mental health and wellbeing in the peloton, Richie Porte illustrated what it felt like to be at the receiving end. “If you turn up to race [in Europe] a couple of kilograms over what you were in the Tour Down Under, the amount of riders that say stuff to you is...” he trailed off. “In the modern world you don’t get away with commenting on that [weight], but you have riders and staff who think it’s their right to.” Porte, who finished third overall at the 2020 Tour in what was Australia’s second-best performance on general classification in the history of the race, is resigned to it. “When you see some of the food you can’t eat, and … [Read more...] about Fat shaming and problem eating: The dark side of the Tour de France

The 2022 Tour de France will begin on Friday, as so often, under a cloud of suspicion, with one of the 22 teams, Bahrain Victorious, subjected to dawn raids on the eve of the race. It is the second time this week the team have been subjected to police raids. The raid at 5.30am on Thursday by Danish authorities on the hotel rooms of Bahrain Victorious staff and riders is linked to the ongoing doping investigation launched by French authorities during last year’s Tour. On that occasion, 50 police officers searched rooms at the team’s hotel in Pau after the finish of stage 17. They seized phones, laptops, and medical products. Two days later, one of the Bahrain Victorious riders, Slovenian Matej Mohoric, won stage 19 and held his finger up to his lips after crossing the line as if to say “zip it”. Mohoric later said he did it out of anger and frustration at being made to feel “like a criminal”. No charges were brought but the investigation has remained active. Earlier this week … [Read more...] about Tour de France to begin under cloud after second police raid on Team Bahrain Victorious

What is this race and why should I care about it? Why, it's only the 109th edition of the Tour de France , one of the three grand tours, the others being the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España . Regardless of what some believe, this is the biggest and brashest bike race in the world, with an estimated 80 per cent of most WorldTour team's sponsorship income being based around the Tour. Founded in 1903 by Henri Desgrange, editor of L'Auto newspaper, the Tour may not be the favourite stage race of the cycling cognoscenti but it is one that captures the imagination of the wider sporting public. As a result, the race is the biggest annual sporting event in the world with more live spectators than even the Olympics or football World Cup. When does the Tour de France start? This year's Tour de France started with a 13.2-kilometre individual time trial through Copenhagen , the capital of Denmark, on Friday July 1, 2022. How long is this year's Tour de France? The second … [Read more...] about Tour de France 2022 route map, start times for each stage and how to watch on TV

Des milliers de personnes ont manifesté dimanche pour le deuxième jour consécutif dans de nombreuses villes européennes, pour dénoncer l'invasion russe de l'Ukraine . A Bruxelles , environ 5 000 personnes, selon la police, sont descendues dans la rue, brandissant de nombreux drapeaux ukrainiens. " Russes, rentrez chez vous! ", scandait la foule. " Stop à la guerre ", " Europe, sois courageuse, agis maintenant ", pouvait-on lire sur des pancartes brandies par les protestataires. Certains manifestants portaient des fleurs jaunes assorties de rubans bleus. A Toulouse , dans le sud-ouest de la France, ville jumelée avec Kyiv, les manifestants ont défilé derrière une grande bannière jaune et bleu, brandissant des portraits du président russe tachés de rouge et proclamant " Stop Poutine assassin ". L'angoisse des expatriés ukrainiens désemparés et désespérés de pouvoir aider Représentant le ciel de l'Ukraine, un nuage de toile bleue de cinq … [Read more...] about Des milliers de manifestants dans des villes européennes dénoncent la guerre en Ukraine

The fact that Geraint Thomas is fourth favourite with the bookies to win the 109th Tour de France, which begins in Copenhagen on Friday - behind only Slovenians Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic, and last year’s runner-up Jonas Vingegaard - is, frankly, pretty extraordinary when you consider where the Welshman was six months ago. Crashes at last year’s Tour de France and then, in quick succession, the Tokyo Olympics, derailed Thomas’ 2021 season. Heading into the winter, the 36 year-old was struggling both mentally and physically. Negotiations with Ineos Grenadiers over a new contract were dragging, his shoulder needed surgery. And then he got Covid at Christmas. “It was definitely the hardest time of my career looking back,” says Thomas, speaking from his hotel room after his final pre-Tour training ride on Thursday. “It was just one thing after the other. Obviously the summer was hard. I committed so much to last year’s Tour, spent so much time away from Sa and Macs [wife Sara … [Read more...] about Geraint Thomas interview: ‘I just thought why me, what have I done to deserve this?’

Ukraine: Expert highlights the ‘successes’ against Russia Get our free Ukrainians in the UK email for updates, changes and news SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info According to figures released by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, the UK has contributed $3.72bn (£3.1bn) in military aid to Ukraine , second only to the US which contributed $25.45bn (£29.56bn). The figures revealed that some of the biggest EU countries fell quite short of their promises, with Italy and France only contributing $0.11 bn and $0.16bn respectively. Related articles Putin channelling Stalin with terrifying starvation plan Biden sends two warships to Spain to bolster NATO defence Sharing the data, French paper … [Read more...] about ‘Without UK Russia would have won long ago’ Macron shamed over ’embarrassing’ Ukraine aid

Speaking at a news conference Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia would have to carpet-bomb the Ukrainian capital and kill its residents to take the city. Meanwhile, the Russian troops are attempting to encircle Kyiv further, fighting against heavy resistance in the west and the north of the city. And after twelve days of siege, the strategic southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol is without water, gas, electricity or communications, and people were seen fighting for food in recent days. The situation is "almost desperate", warned Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The number of civilians killed during the siege of Mariupol reached 1,582, and some of the casualties had to be buried in mass graves. Local authorities fear that the actual number might be much higher. 03.12.2022 09:24 Saturday's main developments: The worst of the fighting overnight took place in Irpin, Mykolaiv and Sumy, according to the General Staff of the … [Read more...] about Ukraine war: Kyiv would only fall ‘if carpet bombed’ by Russia, Zelenskyy says