The Tyson Fury show, the coronation of Remco Evenepoel, the return of Fabio Quartararo … What to remember from the weekend in sport

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A young Belgian prodigy crowned on the Ardennes roads between Liège and Bastogne in cycling, a solid Dutch winner on the Italian roads in F1, and a stainless British boxer in the Wembley ring: the sports weekend was once again rich in emotions. Back to what you shouldn’t miss.

Liège-Bastogne-Liège: the advent of Evenepoel

Belgium was waiting for Wout Van Aert, the Quick Steps were rolling for Julian Alaphilippe, but it was ultimately Remco Evenepoel who triumphed in the streets of Liège. For his first participation in the Dean of the Classics, the 22-year-old prodigy probably didn’t expect so much, he who loves this race more than any other. But after his teammate Alaphilippe fell 60 km from the finish (the Frenchman was evacuated by ambulance), Evenepoel took matters into his own hands.

Acting leader of the Wolf Pack, the young wolf showed his fangs on the Côte de la Redoute, thirty kilometers from the finish line. His thunderous attack left all the other favorites on the mat. Nothing could stop Evenepoel, aerial, who took over the members of the breakaway one by one before finishing alone. A boss victory for the Belgian crack who participated for the first time in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Winner in the Ardennes, Remco Evenepoel holds the first Monument of his career, at just 22 years old.

F1: Verstappen doubles up

On the Imola circuit, a roaring weekend was expected for Ferrari, under the eyes of thousands of tifosi of the Scuderia. But the prancing horse stable was eventually eclipsed by the bulls of Red Bull. Because in this double Grand Prix weekend, it was Max Verstappen who tamed Charles Leclerc. And rather twice than once. During the sprint race on Saturday, the Dutchman first got the better of the Monegasque by overtaking him on the penultimate lap.

And again on Sunday, for the “classic” race, made unstable by weather that was more Breton than Italian. After a totally failed start, Charles Leclerc suffered the events, despite his second position on the starting grid. Overtaken by Sergio Perez while Max Verstappen was already in the lead, the Ferrari driver also left the track at the end of the race, which made him slip to sixth place. Tough weekend for Ferrari, which also saw Carlos Sainz go off the track from the start. In addition to the victory, Max Verstappen obtained the point for the fastest lap and is therefore 27 points behind Leclerc overall.

Moto GP: French double in Portugal

The boss is back. We had to wait for the fifth Grand Prix of the season, but Fabio Quartararo finally found the joys of a victory. The Frenchman, reigning world champion, splashed the Portuguese GP with all his mastery with his Yamaha. Starting in fifth position, Quartararo managed a great start to return to the front entry positions, before taking the lead and literally flying away with several seconds in advance.

Thanks to this ninth career victory, the Frenchman achieved a nice double blow by taking control of the world championship at the same time with the Spaniard Alex Rins (Suzuki). Starting on pole, the other Frenchman, Johann Zarco, signed his second podium of the season after his third place in Indonesia in March and advanced to fifth place overall. A beautiful Portuguese weekend for the Habs, who will want to do it again next week in Spain.

Women’s Champions League: OL takes an option for the final

Penalties and dumplings: this was the menu for the semi-final first leg of the Franco-French Women’s Champions League between Lyon and PSG. At the time of leaving Groupama Stadium after their 3-2 defeat, the Parisiennes, weighed down by three errors from their goalkeeper Barbora Votikova, have reason to regret. PSG had however taken the match by the right end, thanks to the opening of the early score of Marie-Antoinette Katoto.

But brought back into the match by Wendie Renard’s equalizer from the penalty spot, the Lyonnaises then took the lead through Macario, who was already behind the penalty. And on the way back from the locker room, the American scored twice to give OL some air, before Dudek closed the gap with a penalty on the hour mark. Result of the races: OL approach the return match with a meager advantage. Nothing is therefore done to know who will face the winner of Barcelona-Wolfsburg in the final.

Boxing: the last symphony of the Gipsy King

At 33, Tyson Fury probably played his last fight on Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London. And in front of 94,000 supporters, the WBC heavyweight world champion retained his crown against his compatriot Dillia Whyte. The “Gipsy King” has, at the same time, extended his unbeaten streak to 33 fights, for a draw. For his first home date since 2018, Fury put up an intelligent fight, gradually wearing down his opponent without being flamboyant.

It was in the sixth round that Fury made the powder speak, with a colossal uppercut that knocked out Whyte. KO in the arms of the referee, Whyte could not resume the fight. After announcing several times that this would be his last outing, Tyson Fury will be able to enjoy a sweet retirement with the 150 million dollars that this victory brings him. Although many believe that this retreat is just a bluff by Fury.


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