The Grand Départ of the Tour de France was the highlight of the weekend, with two spectacular stages in the Spanish Basque Country.
Two days of racing and already a French victory. We shouldn’t have waited too long before getting into the Tour de France this year. On Sunday, Victor Lafay surprised the favorites in San Sebastian. In other sports, the Tricolores were less festive, whether at the Austrian F1 Grand Prix or at the Euro Espoirs de football.
Tour de France: Victor Lafay gleans (already) a first French victory
After the success of Adam Yates (UAE) just ahead of his twin brother Simon (Jayco AlUla), during the first stage, Victor Lafay (Cofidis) surprised the peloton of favorites, Sunday July 2, and won the victory in San Sebastian, raising his arms for the first time on the Tour. The day before, the 27-year-old Lyonnais had already distinguished himself in Bilbao by being the only runner capable of following Tadej Pogacar (UAE) and Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), the last two winners of the Grande Boucle, in the Côte de Pike.
He thus offers the Cofidis team its first victory in the Tour de France in 15 years and the success of Sylvain Chavanel, July 25, 2008. For the other tricolor gondola ends, the results are mixed. Thibaut Pinot climbed to the foot of the podium on the first stage (4th), before cracking in the ascent of Jaizkibel on Sunday (finishing 2’25” from the winner). David Gaudu (12th at 22 seconds from the leader) and Romain Bardet (15th at 43 seconds) are placed in the same way as the majority of the favorites. On the other hand, disappointment for Julian Alaphilippe, who did not influence either of the first two stages (25th, then 33rd).
F1: Max Verstappen overtakes Ayrton Senna in Austria
He entered the history of his sport a little more. Max Verstappen won the 42nd Grand Prix of his career by winning the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday. He thus overtook the legend Ayrton Senna and became the fifth driver with the most victories in the premier category, at 25 years old. To reach this symbolic total, he once again crushed the competition, as he has done since the start of the season, with seven successes in nine races.
He also stayed away from track limit penalties, which hit many drivers even after the checkered flag, and upset the race standings from fourth to last. The French Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon thus fell to 10th and 14th place, and only brought a small point to the Alpine team.
Football: end of the adventure for the Bleuets at the Euro
Once again, they failed at the gates of the last square. Les Bleuets were beaten and eliminated from the Euro Espoirs in the quarter-finals on Sunday evening by the Ukrainians, led by Mykhaylo Mudryk (3-1). After a good start to the game and the opener of Rayan Cherki, author of his second goal of the tournament, they were punished by their own errors. Opposite, their opponents were very realistic, carried by a very good Georgiy Sudakov, author of a double.
The tricolor scarcity on the European scene continues. As in 2021, Sylvain Ripoll’s players came out in the quarter-finals after leading. Les Bleuets have not played in the Euro final since 2002, and their last (and only title) dates back to 1988.
Football: the Blues call for calm after the death of Nahel
The France team has taken a stand. After several nights of violence following the death of young Nahel in Nanterre, killed during a police check, a collective of French internationals shared a message on social networks on Friday evening to try to calm the situation. “Like all French people, we were marked and shocked by the brutal death of young Nahel”they begin, before calling for calm.
“Violence solves nothing, even less when it inevitably and tirelessly turns against those who express it”they write. “It is your property that you are destroying, your neighborhoods, your cities, your places of fulfillment and proximity”they add, before pleading in conclusion: “The time of violence must end to give way to that of mourning, dialogue and reconstruction.”