French youngster Warren Barguil (Argos-Shimano) broke clear in the final kilometer of Friday’s 169km ride from Valls to Castelldefels to claim the 13th stage of the Tour of Spain.
The 21-year-old was part of a breakaway group of 10 that controlled the second half of the stage, but he made the telling break to seize his first professional stage win ahead of Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2R) and Bauke Mollema (Belkin).
Race leader Vicenzo Nibali (Astana) finished amongst the peloton 2 minutes, 43 seconds back along with all the other major contenders in the general classification to maintain his 31 second advantage over Nicholas Roche (Saxo).
Barguil celebrated his victory as he crossed the line by pointing to the sky and he dedicated his maiden win to his recently deceased grandfather.
“I am very happy, and especially for my grandfather, because he was an inspiration for me,” he said.
The victory also completed a huge turnaround in fortunes for Barguil after he suffered a heavy fall in Monday’s 10th stage in Granada, which saw him lose 25 minutes in the general classification.
“I was very disappointed after my crash because I was 19th in the general classification and I felt I was in very good shape. Today, though, the attack went well and I am delighted to seal this first victory,” he said.
After Michele Scarponi (Lampre) had briefly led on his own following the category one climb up the Alto del Rat Penat, the Italian was joined by a group of nine more riders that had broken away from the peloton.
The breakaway group maintained their lead of around three minutes from the peloton for the final 40km of the race.
With the winner certain to come from the leading 10, Jerome Coppel (Cofidis) and Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) were first to attack, but were quickly caught before a tactical period followed with no one wanting to take the lead.
However, eventually it was the inexperienced Barguil who made the decisive attack for the line as he held on comfortably in the 400m climb to the finish.
Nibali, Roche, Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), Chris Horner (RadioShack) and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) all registered the same time back in the peloton to ensure there was no change in the top five in the general classification.
However, Nibali was expecting more of a challenge from Rodriguez yesterday as the race headed into Andorra with a series of daunting climbs in the final 100km.
“Tomorrow is a different story. I think that Rodriguez could attack and he has proven today that he is in good condition. There are a lot of kilometers until the end of the race. I know the finish tomorrow a little bit and we’ll see what happens,” he said.
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
Manchester City on Monday completed the signing of left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported ￡31 million (US$41.8 million). The 24-year-old Algeria international has signed a five-year contract and will be available for the FIFA Club World Cup, which begins later this week. Ait-Nouri is expected to be just one of a trio of new City faces for that tournament with deals close to completion for AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Olympique Lyonnais playmaker Rayan Cherki. After missing out on a major trophy in the recently completed season for the first time since 2016-2017, City are hoping
Hulking Italian sprinter Jonathan Milan on Monday surged away from the pack to win the second stage of the Criterium de Dauphine in Issoire, France, to take the overall lead from Tadej Pogacar. The 1.93m, 87kg Milan had to battle to keep up on a hilly 204.6km run through central France from Premilhat. When the pack hit the home straight, he rocketed away from his rivals to collect a 10-second victory bonus and the yellow jersey. “That was really tough,” Milan said. “I was dropped at one point, and I was really on the limit, but I have to say
Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in has pleaded with South Korea fans to get behind the team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after more boos were aimed at coach Hong Myung-bo despite leading them to qualification. South Korea reached next year’s finals in North America without losing a game, but that does not tell the whole story. The country’s soccer association has been in the firing line, having scrambled about to find a successor after sacking the unpopular Jurgen Klinsmann in February last year. They eventually settled on Hong, the decorated former skipper who had an unsuccessful stint as coach in 2013-2014, during which
RSS