Dream four aces at the Euro football championship, Pogacar still the boss on the Tour de France, blue skies on Wimbledon… The sports recap of the weekend

A look back at a packed weekend of sport, including the end of the first full week of the Tour de France and Wimbledon.

A very fast-paced weekend. Launched by the qualification of the French team for the semi-finals of the Euro on Friday evening, the weekend saw Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Arthur Fils qualify for the round of 16 at Wimbledon on Saturday and a new Frenchman won the Tour de France on Sunday… Recap of a very sporty weekend.

Euro 2024: The Blues are there, the continent’s big guns too

After the great surprises of the group stage, the great European nations have shown their strength of habit in major competition. Starting with the French team, winner on Friday evening after the suspense of Portugal, at the end of a penalty shootout – for once – perfectly controlled (5-3, 0-0 after extra time). After the Belgians and the Portuguese, the Blues will face a new well-known opponent: Spain, who knocked out Germany, the host country of this Euro.

The other semi-final will see England, who beat Switzerland on penalties on Saturday, take on the Netherlands, who beat Turkey. See you on Tuesday and Wednesday to find out which two teams will qualify for the final.

Tour de France: new French victory, Tadej Pogacar still in yellow

No stage this Monday on the roads of the Tour de France after a weekend full of twists and turns. Saturday, it was the Eritrean Biniam Girmay who offered himself his second victory of the edition by beating in the sprint Jasper Philipsen and Arnaud de Lie in the streets of Colombey-les-deux-Eglises. An 8th stage on which the best French performance was signed by Anthony Turgis… who shone from Sunday on the white roads of Troyes.

The TotalEnergies team rider took advantage of a breakaway launched 155 kilometers from the finish to win the final sprint, ahead of the Belgian Jasper Stuyven. This ninth stage punctuated by 32 kilometers of stony paths did not, however, separate the three favorites in the general classification, since at the end of the weekend Tadej Pogacar kept his yellow jersey as leader with the same gap as the day before on his pursuers Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard.

Wimbledon: The Tricolores dance in the rain, Swiatek at the door

There were three French players in the last 16 at Wimbledon, marked by rain, in the men’s singles draw. If Ugo Humbert suffered the law of Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday, Arthur Fils and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard will be in the running on Monday, respectively against Alex De Minaur and Lorenzo Musetti. Mpetshi Perricard is the beautiful story of this first part of the British fortnight, drafted as a “lucky loser” then irresistible by the quality of his service and his game on the London grass.

In addition to Carlos Alcaraz, the favorites in the men’s draw are in the running with the qualifications of Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev on Saturday, and Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev on Sunday. The women’s tournament is much more open. After Aryna Sabalenka’s withdrawal just before the tournament, and the elimination of defending champion Marketa Vondrousova in the first round, world number one Iga Swiatek fell through on Saturday at 3^e tour. The next day, it was Emma Raducanu and Coco Gauff who were eliminated, beaten respectively by Lulu Sun and Emma Navarro.

Rugby: The French XV “bis” has started its tour well

Without its major players, but to prepare for the future, the French rugby team convincingly dominated Argentina on Saturday (28-13). The mix of more experienced players and young talent was successful, with three tries scored by the Pumas. The captain of this tour in South America, Baptiste Serin, had opened the way just before the break, and the newbies Antoine Frisch (46th) and Théo Attissogbe (67th) no longer gave the score any more importance. Frisch, with an atypical career between lower divisions in France and exile in Ireland, showed very good skills in the center, before playing for Toulon at the start of the school year.

You had to go back to 2016 to find a trace of a French success on Argentinian soil. Fabien Galthié’s team will face Uruguay on July 10, before a “return match” against Argentina on Saturday July 13.

F1: Lewis Hamilton surprises Max Verstappen

The Briton won in Great Britain, on the legendary Silverstone circuit, his first Grand Prix since December 2021 and the Jeddah circuit in Saudi Arabia. The Mercedes driver beat Max Verstappen and his compatriot Lando Norris, on home soil. Winner of the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday June 30, George Russell was unable to finish the race due to an overheating problem. Starting from pole position, he was fourth before throwing in the towel. In the general classification, Max Verstappen is still well ahead of Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc.

On the French side, no surprises. Pierre Gasly even retired on the first lap, after his last place in qualifying on Saturday, his Alpine teammate Esteban Ocon finishing 16th.