Franceinfo: sport selects for you the highlights of sports news that you may have missed on Saturday and Sunday.
The international football break did not mean a sporting planet at rest this weekend. After the men’s Six Nations, the women’s tournament started on Sunday for Les Bleues, victorious in Italy. The classics season continued with Ghent-Wevelgem, before the highlight of the Flandrian show, the Tour of Flanders, next Sunday. The Figure Skating Worlds ended in Japan, with the coronation of local hero Shoma Uno.
Six nations: the French team wins without shining in Italy
They will have fought from the first to the last minute. Tossed about in Parma at the opening of the Six Nations Tournament, the Blues won in pain against Italy (12-22). For the premiere of his new coaching duo, Gaëlle Mignot and David Ortiz, the XV of France had to wait for the last minutes of the meeting before taking a deep breath, thanks to a liberating try from Caroline Boujard.
An achievement which however did not allow the Blues to bring back the offensive bonus point of their trip beyond the Alps, unlike Wales and England. The tricolor formation thus finds itself in third place at the end of this first day of the Six Nations Tournament.
Cycling: Van Aert, great lord for Laporte on Ghent-Wevelgem
And two bees flew into the Kemmelberg. Starting as a duo 50 kilometers from the finish, Jumbo-Visma teammates Christophe Laporte and Wout van Aert scored twice on Sunday in Ghent-Wevelgem, leaving all their pursuers powerless.
Stronger on the wet Flandrian roads and big favorite for next Sunday’s Tour of Flanders, the Belgian, clearly above, graciously offered victory to the French sprinter, the first French winner of the event since 1997. Passed close to victory last year by finishing just behind Biniam Girmay, the former Cofidis joined Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault in particular on the prestigious list of French winners.
Swimming: Léon Marchand model student
A gifted. French swimmer Léon Marchand set no less than three records during the finals of the university championships held in Minneapolis (United States). In addition to these historic marks on the 200 yard medley, the 400 yard medley and the 200 yard breaststroke, the 20-year-old student dropped times never seen during his relays disputed under the colors from his Arizona State University.
A perfect weekend to conclude a studious winter. “I think I can transcribe what I’ve done in the big poolreacted the Frenchman, already focused on the rest of his season despite his harvest. I will have to keep my power. We will have to build more around that. That’s my next goal.”. Enough to envisage a brilliant summer with the Fukuoka Worlds in July in the sights.
MotoGP: perfect recovery for Francesco Baigniaa
The first meeting of the season, the Portuguese Grand Prix saw the Italian Francesco Bagnaia fly over the competition throughout the weekend. The reigning world champion not only won the first sprint race in MotoGP history on Saturday, but also the race on Sunday. As a result, the Ducati rider sits at the top of the world championship with 37 points taken out of a possible 37.
The French Johann Zarco (Ducati) and Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) had a more complicated weekend. If the first recovered, finishing 4th in the GP after a start from 9th place on the grid, the 2021 world champion could not do better than 8th place. We will especially remember his remarkable exit on the dangerousness of the sprint, real “jungle” whose format favors a nervous race.
Figure skating: Kévin Aymoz near the podium at the Worlds, Shoma Uno does it again
We hoped he was back at his best level, Kévin Aymoz even did better than that. The French signed his career points record on Saturday at the Saitama Worlds, missing the bronze medal for a few small units. The 25-year-old skater, seriously injured last season, appeared fulfilled as rarely on the ice, “currently on a little cloud” as he described on his social networks. The title returned to Shoma Uno, as in 2022.
The Japanese shone in front of his public, while his participation had been called into question for a time by an ankle injury. For the first time in its history, Japanese skating leaves with three titles during an edition of the Worlds. Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron know their successors in ice dancing, after the title gleaned by the Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates.