Pogacar triumphant, Nadal returns losing, Piastri first and mixed results for the Blues in basketball… The sports recap of the weekend

The weekend of sport was plentiful and varied, with the highlight being Tadej Pogacar’s final victory in the Tour de France, before focusing now on the Paris Olympic Games.

Beautiful winners, less successful losers, intensity and even a certain tension, the sporting weekend was rich in emotions. For Tadej Pogacar, that of the glory of a third coronation on the Tour de France. That of a first time for Oscar Piastri, who became the 115th Grand Prix winner in the history of F1. Or that filled with a certain frustration for Rafael Nadal or the French men’s basketball team, for this last weekend before the Olympic Games (from July 26 to August 11).

Tour de France 2024: Tadej Pogacar a third coronation for a historic double

While the suspense was already minimal before the third and final week, Tadej Pogacar will have left him no room. The Slovenian won the third Tour de France of his career on Sunday, a total success with six stage victories. The glutton of the UAE Emirates team had won the 20th stage on Saturday at the top of the Col la Couillole, before going for a sixth success on the final time trial which arrived in the streets of Nice on Sunday. He thus signed the first Giro-Tour de France double since Marco Pantani in 1998.

Jonas Vingegaard, winner of the 2022 and 2023 editions, finished runner-up this time. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) won the polka dot jersey, Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) the points classification and brought the first distinctive jersey to an African rider, Remco Evenepoel pocketed the white jersey for best young rider.

Tennis: A final but no title for Rafael Nadal before the Olympics

For his first tournament since Roland-Garros and his elimination in the first round against Alexander Zverev, future finalist, Rafael Nadal was unable to go all the way in Sweden, in the Bastad tournament. The Spaniard was outclassed in the final by the Portuguese Nuno Borges (6-3, 6-2), winner of his first career title. The return to action is not ideal for Rafael Nadal before starting the Olympic Games at Porte d’Auteuil, starting on Saturday July 27, which he will approach without a single title since the start of the season.

Small consolation, the Spaniard seemed to hold up physically, with two matches won in three sets, including a 3h59 clash in the quarter-finals, against the Argentinian Mariano Navone, the second longest match of his career in two winning sets.

For his part, Arthur Fils won the most beautiful title of his young career, only his second on the circuit. He came out on top (6-3, 3-6, 7-6 [7-1]), at the end of a fight lasting almost 3h30, of the world number four Alexander Zverev in the final of the ATP 500 tournament in Hamburg. A good omen six days before the start of the Olympic tournament.

F1: Tense double for McLaren, new accident at the end of the race for Max Verstappen

The Hungarian Grand Prix could leave some traces. On the Hungaroring turnstile, Oscar Piastri won the first race of his career on Sunday ahead of his teammate Lando Norris. But it was on the orders of the McLaren team that the hierarchy was set, while the Briton had returned to the lead after the last pit stops. Lando Norris expressed his reluctance before giving in. Which Max Verstappen did not do.

The championship leader once again displayed his annoyance with his team, before being at fault seven laps from the finish while trying to overtake Lewis Hamilton for the final step of the podium and finishing fifth. Lewis Hamilton takes his 200th career podium. In the standings, Lando Norris even gets a good distance closer to MaxVerstappen among the drivers, and McLaren takes second place in the constructors, also nibbling away at Red Bull.

Basketball: Les Bleues continue their flawless run, Wembanyama’s teammates beaten again

For its last preparation match for the Olympic Games, the French women’s team recorded a fifth consecutive victory against China (93-76) on Sunday. After their successes against Finland (twice), Serbia and Japan, the Bleues are full of confidence just over a week before their opening match against Canada on July 29. Jean-Aimé Toupane’s players will also have to face Nigeria and Australia in their group before potentially qualifying for the quarter-finals.

Less successful on the men’s side, the Tricolores lost their fourth match in a row against Australia (83-82), Sunday, and are not reassured before the Games. Despite a good Victor Wembanyama (17 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists), the French were beaten in the very last moments of the match, after a very balanced encounter. Vincent Collet’s men have six days to erase their imperfections. “We will be ready”, assured Victor Wembanyama on La Chaîne L’Equipe. The first element of response as soon as they entered the Olympic tournament, Saturday July 27 at 5:15 p.m., against Brazil.