Pogacar wins first Dauphine ahead of Tour de France
UAE Team Emirates XRG's Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey celebrates winning the overall race on the podium of the 8th and final stage of the 77th edition of the Criterium du Dauphine cycling race, 133,3 km between Val-d'Arc and Val-Cenis - Plateau du Mont Cenis, on June 15, 2025. –AFP
PARIS: Reigning Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar wrapped up the Criterium du Dauphine on Sunday with a podium finish in the eighth and final stage, which was won by France's Lenny Martinez.
A winner of three stages in total, the Slovenian dominated the 77th edition of the Dauphine to top the overall classification by 59sec ahead of Dane Jonas Vingegaard — three weeks before the start of the Tour de France.
'It's been a really amazing week,' Pogacar said. 'Once again today, the team did a great job. We managed to defend the (yellow) jersey and we can go home happy and prepare for the Tour.' German Florian Lipowitz completed the podium, 2min 38sec behind Pogacar, while Belgium's Remco Evenepoel came fourth at 4min 21sec.
Sunday's final stage was a 133.3km mountainous trek from Val-d'Arc to Val-Cenis, with an uphill finish at the Plateau du Mont-Cenis. The 21-year-old Martinez caught Spaniard Enric Mas with 8km to go to give France its first victory in this Dauphine, finishing 34sec ahead of Vingegaard and Pogacar.
Vingegaard tried to catch Martinez but was unable to shake off Pogacar. The Dane and the Slovenian then stopped attacking and rolled in together. Pogacar now has 99 victories to his name — a record for an active rider at just 26 years of age. 'There's a lot of positives from this week and we turned all the negatives into positives, so it's all good,' said Pogacar, who bounced back from a poor time-trial performance in stage four to lay down the gauntlet to his principal Tour rivals.
'There's not much to do ahead of the Tour. I rest a bit, maybe some extra work for the time-trial, and then I'm ready,' the three-time Tour winner added. The 2025 Tour de France runs from July 5-27, with Pogacar the firm favourite following his first Dauphine crown. – AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kuwait Times
2 days ago
- Kuwait Times
Tanaka and Murao strike more gold for Japan at judo worlds
Tanaka and Murao strike more gold for Japan at judo worlds BUDAPEST: Shiho Tanaka won the women's -70kg title and Sanshiro Murao the men's -90kg to bring Japan's tally to six golds at the world judo championships on Tuesday. Japan have won six of the 10 titles already attributed after five days of competition in Budapest. Tanaka won the first individual world title of her career after settling for bronze last year in Abu Dhabi. She beat world number one Lara Cvjetko in the final, with the Croatian judoka settling for silver as in 2022. Olympic silver medalist Murao, 24, won an all-Japanese final, defeating defending world champion Goki Tajima on penalties after a duel of 8 minutes and 30 seconds. Georgia's Lasha Bekauri was eliminated in the round of 16. At 24, he still has no world gold medals, despite his two Olympic titles. — AFP
Kuwait Times
2 days ago
- Kuwait Times
Samsonova downs Osaka as Keys crash out in Berlin
BERLIN: Russia's Liudmila Samsonova came from behind to beat Naomi Osaka while Australian Open winner Madison Keys crashed out in the first round of the Berlin Open on Tuesday. World number 20 Samsonova, who won the tournament in 2021, edged past the four-time Grand Slam champion 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4. Samsonova's victory sets up a last-16 clash with American world number three Jessica Pegula, last year's winner, on Wednesday. 'I was just trying to fight until the end,' Samsonova said of her struggles early in the match, adding she wanted 'to push and try to find my game'. Osaka broke her opponent twice in the opening set but Samsonova held her serve throughout the second before winning the final five points of a tie-break. Both exchanged breaks in the final set before the Russian 26-year-old broke a second time, putting her on track for victory. Former world number one Osaka's defeat is the latest setback in her comeback since returning from maternity leave last year, having also lost in the first round of the French Open. Sixth-ranked Keys also failed to make it past the opening round, losing to 2023 Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova 7-5, 7-6 (8/6). The victory was Vondrousova's first over a top-10 opponent this year as she battles her way back from a shoulder injury. 'I'm a player who needs matches to play good,' said Vondrousova. 'And the shoulder is good now, I'm very happy to be back, and I'm hoping to play as many matches as I can.' One of the oldest women's tournaments in the world, the Berlin Open switched from clay to grass courts in 2021 and has since become a popular warm-up event for Wimbledon, which starts at the end of the month. World number four Zheng Qinwen pulled out of the tournament due to injury on Tuesday. She was replaced by lucky loser Ashlyn Krueger, who lost to 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 6-3, 7-6 (7/3). The top four seeds at the tournament, including French Open winner Coco Gauff and runner-up Aryna Sabalenka, along with Pegula and Jasmine Paolini, all enter at the last-16 stage on Wednesday. — AFP
Kuwait Times
2 days ago
- Kuwait Times
Alcaraz wins testing Queen's opener, Fritz, Shelton out
LONDON: Carlos Alcaraz came through a testing first-round match against Adam Walton at Queen's on Tuesday as the top seed returned to action for the first time since his dramatic French Open triumph. But two of the world's top 10 crashed out as Americans Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton lost to French duo Corentin Moutet and Arthur Rinderknech respectively. Alcaraz, back on grass for the first time since winning his second Wimbledon title last year, beat his 86th-ranked opponent 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) on a sweaty day in west London. The Spaniard, who overcame Jannik Sinner in a five-set thriller at Roland Garros just nine days ago, broke in the seventh game and went on to clinch the first set against lucky loser Walton, who replaced Alejandro Davidovich Fokina after he withdrew due to illness. The 2023 Queen's champion appeared to have found his rhythm only for Walton to rally impressively, carving out two set points on his opponent's serve in the 10th game. But the Australian failed to convert either of them and Alcaraz levelled, coming out on top in the subsequent tie-break. Alcaraz scribbled 'Grass season, here we go!' on the courtside camera lens, thanking fans for their vocal support and saying he felt 'loved' in London. 'First match on grass is never easy to get used to the competition again, to get used to the grass again,' he said. 'So, I just want to say thank you for helping me a little bit.' The world number two said he had taken time away from tennis after his gruelling French Open triumph to 'reset' his mind and rest. 'I'm just really happy with the performance that I had today,' he said. 'First match, I feel great. Obviously, a lot of things to improve, a lot of things that I have to put into work just to feel a little bit more comfortable on the grass. But in general, I'm just happy to get through.' Alcaraz faces compatriot Jaume Munar in the last 16. World number four Fritz failed to convert a match point against Moutet before losing 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (9/7), 7-5. Moutet held on in the second set tie-break before securing the only break of serve in the match in the final game. Sheldon also stumbled to a shock early exit to Rinderknech in two tie-breaks 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4). Earlier, British second seed Jack Draper dispatched American Jenson Brooksby 6-3, 6-1 to reach the second round. The left-hander, who has previously beaten Sinner and Alcaraz at Queen's, won 93 percent of first-serve points and did not face a break point in a dominant display. Draper is chasing his second title on grass after winning in Stuttgart last year and will next face Alexei Popyrin after the Australian beat compatriot Aleksandar Vukic. 'Feels amazing, no place I'd rather be,' said Draper. 'We travel the world playing tennis, never get to come home or spend much time with my family but to be on this court in front of you guys, my people, my family, thank you.' — AFP
