Van der Poel in history, Toulouse uncompromising in the Champions Cup, Kopecky’s revenge… The sports recap of the weekend

Paris-Roubaix, Ligue 1, the Champions Cup and Formula 1… The weekend was dense in terms of sporting news.

In a sporting weekend dominated by Paris-Roubaix and the crushing victory of Mathieu Van der Poel, Paris Saint-Germain stood out for its lack of inspiration on Saturday against Clermont, last in Ligue 1 (1-1) , the French clubs almost achieved a full success in the Champions Cup, and Max Verstappen won again on Sunday in Japan.

Paris-Roubaix: Van der Poel alone in the world, Kopecky takes his revenge

World champions confident on the cobbles of the Hell of the North. On Saturday, Belgian Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx) showed Mathieu Van der Poel the way forward, winning his first Paris-Roubaix after a small group sprint on the Roubaix velodrome. A finish full of suspense which saw her win ahead of the Italian Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) and the British Pfeiffer Georgi (DSM). Quite the opposite of the men’s race.

The Dutchman, also with his rainbow jersey on his back, dropped off the rest of the peloton 60 kilometers from the finish on Sunday, to take on a solo raid and retain his title. A historic double since it became the first runner, since Tom Boonen in 2009, to accomplish this feat. The grandson of Raymond Poulidor raised his arms on the track of the Roubaix velodrome with a three-minute lead, an abysmal gap, over his Belgian teammate Jasper Philipsen and the Dane Mads Pedersen.

Ligue 1: PSG misses its rehearsal before Barcelona, ​​Brest takes advantage

Four days before its Champions League quarter-final against FC Barcelona scheduled for Wednesday, Paris Saint-Germain did not field its typical team against Clermont, last in the championship, on Saturday. For the occasion, Luis Enrique decided to give his executives plenty of room to breathe and started two young U19 players (Yoram Zague and Senny Mayulu). As a result, the Parisians obtained no better than a 1-1 draw against the Auvergnats, after an equalizer snatched after the entry of Kylian Mbappé.

A disappointment which benefits Brest, which won 4-3 against Metz, penultimate in Ligue 1, in a crazy match on Sunday. The Bretons are now ten points behind the Parisians and are getting closer to qualifying for the Champions League. The other good operation of the weekend was signed by Monaco, which consolidated its third place after its 1-0 victory against Stade Rennes on Sunday.

Champions Cup: Toulouse, La Rochelle and Bordeaux in the quarterfinals

Three out of five for French clubs in the Champions Cup round of 16. If the weekend had started badly for the French teams with a very large defeat for Lyon on Saturday, early in the afternoon, on South African soil against the Blue Bulls (59-19), the Rochelais reversed the dynamic, like their match. Led 16-0 by the Stormers in Cape Town (South Africa), the reigning champions finally won by a point 22-21, taking their revenge on the group match also won by one unit, but by their opponents (21-20). Libbok, the one who tilted the first of these two clashes, this time missed his transformation after the siren, propelling Ronan O’Gara’s players into the quarters.

Bordeaux-Bègles and Toulouse had less difficulty in getting rid of Saracens (45-12) and Racing 92 (31-7) respectively. UBB will host Harlequins and Stade Toulouse will host Exeter Chiefs for two Franco-English duels. The Rochelais will, for their part, have to travel again to a stadium that they know perfectly: the Aviva Stadium in Dublin to challenge Leinster, exactly like in last year’s final, won by the Maritimes.

Rugby 7s: the Blues have a string of podiums, the women frustrated

Without Antoine Dupont, the French men’s rugby sevens team failed in the final of the Hong Kong tournament against New Zealand (10-7) on Sunday, but signed a third podium in three competitions, after its victory during the Los Angeles tournament. Encouraging performances before the Olympic Games, where the Blues will find the scrum half from Stade Toulouse. The French women’s team returns empty-handed from its Asian tour, after losing in the last seconds of the small final against Australia (21-24). Among the girls too, it was the New Zealanders who lifted the trophy, after dominating the Americans (36-7).

Formula 1: Max Verstappen wins without trembling in Japan

Three-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull) won the Japanese Grand Prix hands down, his third success in four races this season in Formula 1, on Sunday at Suzuka. Started in pole position for the fourth time in as many Grand Prix this year, “Mad Max” dominated the race from start to finish and won the 57th victory of his career, the third in a row on the Japanese circuit. A nice revenge for the Dutchman, forced to retire in Australia.

His teammate Sergio Pérez took second place and allowed Red Bull to achieve a third double in four Grands Prix. He takes second place in the world championship with 64 points, 13 less than Verstappen. The Spaniard Carlos Sainz, surprise winner in Melbourne, completed this unoriginal podium this season, ahead of his Monegasque teammate Charles Leclerc, whom he overtook a few laps from the end of the Grand Prix.