If the Covid is invited everywhere on the sports grounds, it is especially the Coupe de France which punctuated this first weekend of 2022. In addition to the round ball, the Dakar also started on Saturday. And Stéphane Peterhansel’s chances of victory collapsed on Sunday January 2. Back in five points on this weekend.
Dakar: Peterhansel already out of the race
Launched to conquer his 15th Dakar title, Stéphane Peterhansel was unlucky from the first stage of the rally on Sunday. After tearing off the left rear wheel of his Audi hybrid buggy, he was forced to wait for assistance for more than four hours, losing any chance of final victory on the first day of racing.
Nasser al-Attiyah confirmed his good form on this # Dakar2022 ! The Qatari dominated the day’s stage ahead of Sébastien Loeb and Martin Prokop who finished more than 12 minutes behind the three-time Dakar winner
To see the best times of the day
– francetvsport (@francetvsport) January 2, 2022
For now, it is the Qatari Nasser al-Attiyah (Toyota) who has won after having already mastered the prologue of the day before. The French, Sébastien Loeb (Prodrive) is second. In the motorcycle category, the Australian Daniel Sanders (KTM) also won on the first two days.
Coupe de France: the favorites ensure, Rennes goes out the back door
Apart from direct confrontations between Ligue 1 teams, Rennes is the only team to fall to weaker in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France. Bruno Genesio’s players lost on penalties against Nancy (Ligue 2). The blow did not go far for Linas-Montlhéry (N3) against Amiens (3-3, 3-4 on penalties) and Thaon-les-Vosges against Reims (0-1, goal in the 93rd) .
On the other hand, Saint-Etienne, Monaco, Nantes, Brest and Marseille won easily. On Monday, PSG will travel to Vannes in the absence of several players affected by the Covid including Lionel Messi. The round of 16 will end with the derby between Lille and Lensois on Tuesday.
Top 14: Toulouse fall again, Castres comes back from afar to win
For Stade Toulousain, the year 2022 begins as 2021 ended, in Top 14. With a defeat. And it’s rare enough to be highlighted. In Clermont (16-13), as in Bordeaux-Bègles before the holidays (17-7), the players of Ugo Mola bowed. But the big performance of the weekend is to the credit of the Castres.
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Led 24-3 around the half hour mark, the Tarn people completely reversed the situation to finally win (31-30). In other matches, Stade Français beat Perpignan (27-17), Pau largely disposed of Brive (40-23), Union Bordeaux-Bègles and Lyon won in pain against Biarritz (30- 27) and Racing 92 (37-35).
Monaco and Kovac: the end of the story
Six short lines to summarize a year and a half of history, it’s short. And Monegasque leaders seem in a hurry. On Saturday, the asemist club formalized the departure of its Croatian coach, Niko Kovac with these words: “Arrived in the Principality in July 2020, Niko Kovac has led the team 74 times. AS Monaco will announce the name of its new coach very soon. Until then, Stéphane Nado, coach of the N2, is providing training of the professional group “.
He should be replaced in the coming days by Philippe Clément, ex-coach of Club Bruges, already present in the stands of the Robert Diochon stadium in Rouen, Sunday, to witness the Monegasque victory against QRM (1-3).
The Covid, a pet peeve of sport
Premier League, Bundesliga, Top 14, Coupe de France, Liga: the competitions and athletes spared by the Covid are rare. This weekend, the announcements of new cases followed one another. While the gauges announced by the Government come into force on Monday, the Omicron wave is submerging the world of sport.
The medical point before #VOCPSG @Aspetar
– Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) January 2, 2022
In the NBA, the authorities of the American championship are showing imagination to prevent the virus from stopping the championship. For now, it works, but at the cost of some unlikely situations.
Still in the United States, 70 North American Championship games have been postponed. NHL players will not be making their way to the Beijing Games, with franchises keen to take advantage of this period (February 6-22) to catch up on late games.