Christophe Riblon claimed a deserved maiden Tour de France victory on the race’s 14th stage on Sunday as an anticipated yellow jersey battle failed to materialize.
Race leader Andy Schleck of Saxo Bank retained the race lead with his 31 second lead on main rival Alberto Contador of Spain intact after the pair stubbornly played poker games with each other on the race’s two difficult climbs.
Instead, podium hopefuls Samuel Sanchez of Spain and Russian Denis Menchov were given unexpected freedom in the final third of the 7.8km climb to the summit finish to close their respective deficits.
PHOTO: AFP
As Riblon finished off an impressive solo performance to claim his first success on the race, Sanchez and Menchov crossed the line together, 52 seconds adrift. Schleck and Contador came over the finish about 15 seconds later.
The Frenchman, who also has a parallel career as a track cyclist, had been part of an eight-man breakaway that formed early in the stage and which held a lead of over 10 minutes on the peloton.
As their lead steadily dropped as Contador’s Astana team upped the pace in the chasing peloton, Riblon broke free of compatriot Amael Moinard with 2km to race to the summit of the 15.5km Port de Pailheres.
After the long descent, he began the final climb with Moinard chasing, but he upped the pace again on the 7.8km climb to give himself a sufficient cushion to complete the climb unchallenged.
“I don’t know what to say, I’m just too emotional,” Riblon said.
“Today I felt like I really had good legs, and so I went for it. Given the fact that Astana were chasing hard behind the breakaway, my victory feels even more valuable,” he said.
“I did a good climb. It’s the kind of result I’ve been after for a long time,” Riblon said.
Schleck admitted to playing mind games with Contador.
But the Luxemburger said he is happy to wait to take more time off the Spaniard if it means finishing the race with the yellow jersey.
“He played poker, I played poker, we both played poker today,” Schleck said.
“I can afford to lose time to the others, but I had to play the game today. Tomorrow will be different,” he said. “I want to win this Tour.”
Contador tried to shake Schleck off his wheel at the 5km then 4km to go marks, although his accelerations were brief and lacked conviction.
In the end, Menchov and Sanchez benefited from the poker games to attack unchallenged.
It was only in the final 2km that Contador and Schleck threw in their cards in a bid to limit the damage being done ahead of them.
“We toyed with each other, but I think I finished the day on top,” said Contador, who could decide simply to limit his time losses to Schleck throughout the Pyrenees ahead of Saturday’s 50km time trial, a discipline in which he is superior to Schleck.
“But I don’t think the final climb was hard enough for either of us to take time off each other. In the end, we decided to collaborate to chase down Menchov and Sanchez,” he said.
Euskaltel’s Sanchez closed his overnight deficit of 2:45 to 2:31, with Menchov staying in fourth at 2:44.
A number of pre-race contenders continued to see their respective campaigns crumble, with Lance Armstrong dropped early on the climb to the summit of Pailheres.
Australians Michael Rogers and Cadel Evans, Britain’s Bradley Wiggins and American Levi Leipheimer were left among the strugglers on the final climb.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped FIFA Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta, while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, are to
Sergio Ramos on Tuesday outfoxed two Inter players and artfully headed home the first goal for Monterrey at the FIFA Club World Cup. The 39-year-old Ramos slipped through the penalty area for the score just as he did for so many years in the shirts of Real Madrid and Spain’s national team, with whom he combined smarts, timing and physicality. Ramos’ clever goal and his overall defensive play at the Rose Bowl were major factors in Monterrey’s impressive 1-1 draw against the UEFA Champions League finalists in the clubs’ first match of the tournament. “There is always a joy to contribute to the
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani on Monday wobbled through a 28-pitch first inning at home against the San Diego Padres in his first appearance on the mound since August 2023. Scheduled to throw as many as two innings, Ohtani went a single frame while allowing one run on two hits. He did not issue a walk nor strike out a batter. “Not quite happy with the results overall, but the takeaway for me is that I feel good enough to be able to make the next outing,” Ohtani said of his pitching performance. Ohtani still wound up with a positive impact
RSS