after the first mountain showdown in this year's Le Tour By Olympics.comTwo-time defending Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar has done it again Pogacar produced an unstoppable assault on the final meters of the 176.5km stage from Tomblaine to La Super Planche de Belles Filles on Friday (8 July) edging out his main rival Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) in a sprint finish The two stars broke the heart of breakaway rider Lennard Kamna in sight of the finish line The German was the last rider of an 11-man breakaway group Pogacar now leads Vingegaard in the overall standings by 35 seconds with Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) in third at 1:10 behind My boys were working well today and I really had to push to the finish line," said Pogacar "A very special day today as we opened a foundation for cancer research today đŸ„‡","event":null,"destination_url":"","entry_point_tag":"base","entry_point_type":"instory_campaign"}" data-tracking="click" href="https://www.olympics.com/en/sign-in?entry_point_type=instory_campaign&entry_point_tag=base&template=base&origin=https%3A%2F%2Folympics.com%2Fen%2Folympic-channel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Olympic Membership - Free Live Stream Sports & Original Series - join now Olympic cycling includes five disciplines: road Some of the best riders in the world shared their take Fri 1 July: Stage 1 – Copenhagen-Copenhagen (time trial who also took the yellow jersey for overall lead of the race's general classification Sat 2 July: Stage 2 – Roskilde-Nyborg (202.5 km) - Won by Fabio Jakobsen (Netherlands) Wout van Aert (Belgium) claimed overall race lead Sun 3 July: Stage 3 – Vejle-Sonderborg (182 km) - Won by Dylan Groenewegen (Netherlands) Wout van Aert (Belgium) retained overall race lead Mon 4 July: Transfer Day - from Denmark to France Tue 5 July: Stage 4 – Dunkerque-Calais (171.5 km) - Won by Wout van Aert (Belgium) Wed 6 July: Stage 5 – Lille Metropole-Arenburg Porte du Hainaut (157 km) - Won by Simon Clarke (Australia) Thu 7 July: Stage 6 – Binche-Longwy (220km) - Won by Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia) Fri 8 July: Stage 7 – Tomblaine-La Super Planche de Belles Filles (176.5 km) - Won by Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia) Sat 9 July: Stage 8 – Dole-Lausanne (186.5km) Sunday 10 July: Stage 9 – Aigle-Chatel les Portes du Soleil (193km) Tuesday 12 July: Stage 10 – Morzine Les Portes du Soleil-Megeve (148.5km) Wednesday 13 July: Stage 11 – Albertville-Col du Granon Serre Chevalier (152km) Thursday 14 July: Stage 12 – Briancon-Alpe d’Huez (165.5km) Friday 15 July: Stage 13 – Le Bourg d’Oisans-Saint Etienne (193km) Saturday 16 July: Stage 14 – Saint Etienne-Mende (192.5km) Sunday 17 July: Stage 15 – Rodez-Carcassonne (202.5km) Tuesday 19 July: Stage 16 – Carcassonne-Foix (178,5km) Wednesday 20 July: Stage 17 – Saint-Gaudens-Peyragudes (130km) Thursday 21 July: Stage 18 – Lourdes-Hautacam (143.5km) Friday 22 July: Stage 19 – Castelnau-Magnoac – Cahors (188.5km) Saturday 23 July: Stage 20 – Lacapelle-Marival - Rocamadour (time trial Sunday 24 July: Stage 21 – Paris La Defence Arena – Paris Champs Elysees (116km) On 24 July 2021 the man known as The Locomotive (La Locomotora) stormed to victory on one of the hardest courses ever to become just the second Ecuadorian gold medallist in Olympic history Blaine’s working-class Queensland family represented everything Michael Shelley hated about Australia The only problem was his children were Blaines When journalist and author Lech Blaine was 11 years old, his mother Lenore would often joke she could write a book about the trouble that lay just beyond their Toowoomba driveway. “I’d been so terrified of them, even when I was still a teenager,” Blaine explains, now 32. “Even after I’d moved away from Toowoomba I used to dread their potential arrival.” Read moreIt could seem there was no escaping the Shelleys. In his latest book Australian Gospel: A Family Saga Blaine tries to make sense of the deep ties binding the families together Joshua and Hannah Shelley – the biological children of Mary and Michael removed as babies and toddlers from their care by social service workers concerned about their treatment and placed into the care of foster parents – Tom and Lenore Blaine Mary and Michael would never stop trying to recover their children; by law or by threat of force The Shelleys were a pair of self-styled Christian prophets sharing their custom blend of Old Testament brimstone and back-to-the-earth hippie culture with anyone who listened For years the pair had hitchhiked their way around Australia and New Zealand leaving a scorched-earth paper trail across courtrooms They quickly burnt through the goodwill of anyone who helped them and waged scornful campaigns of harassment against those who didn’t That placed them on a collision course with the Blaine family; two working-class parents and their chaotic brood of rugby-loving foster kids with matching back yard haircuts being raised against the backdrop of small-town country pubs they represented everything that was morally and spiritually corrupt about modern Australia Lenore and Tom Blaine foster family and location were a closely guarded secret They spent decades harassing social workers sending death threats to the premier of Queensland Despite the restraining orders and stalking charges the Shelleys would haunt the Blaines for years with a near-constant stream of threatening and pleading letters sent from wherever Mary and Michael were in the world Blaine began piecing together the story after moving back home at 21. His mother had been diagnosed with a rare and terminal neurodegenerative illness and as he tried to make sense of her future he also found himself grappling with the family’s past “She’d kept this meticulous record of everything and passed all that stuff on to me,” he explains “So I spent that summer organising her nursing home placement and going through basically everything that she had.” a decade of emails that the Shelleys had inundated her inbox with “I got so addicted to information at times,” he says thanks to a lot of the information that Mum had kept I realised how much more interesting the Shelleys were than these really quite terrifying monstrous people in my imagination as a child.” With his mother too sick to write the story His mother’s archive told one side of the Shelley story But as he began to reach out to social workers and other witnesses Blaine knew there was another source he needed to hear from: Michael Shelley “I lived in absolute fear of him,” Blaine says “I actually still can’t believe that I really did it.” Michael responded to Blaine’s first tentative email and was soon sharing his own personal archive of over 400,000 words of material including unpublished autobiographical accounts Even from someone Blaine knew was an “incredibly unreliable narrator” Blaine’s siblings were burnt-out from years of Michael’s fiery attempts to reconnect – often by accusing his children of being a “TRAITOR” “brainwashed” by authorities and the Blaines But Lech Blaine’s correspondence struck a different tone to the harassing messages his family had received for years Free weekly newsletterEach week our editors select five of the most interesting entertaining and thoughtful reads published by Guardian Australia and our international colleagues Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Saturday morning I think that he was more angry at my foster siblings because they weren’t paying him any attention or trying to get in contact “This is a guy who had spent decades desperately trying to get people to read his writing and to ask him what he thinks about things I was really one of the only people who’ve ever actually showed much interest in what he had to say.” Michael Shelley the biological father of the foster siblings of Lech BlaineShelley’s own voluminous writings filled in the gaps in the public record his mother’s records and Blaine’s own childhood memories “I got a much better sense of who they were before they’d suffered nervous breakdowns and I got a genuine sense that they weren’t evil privileged Sydney socialites whose relationships and exploits had garnered magazine front pages and newspaper column inches The Shelleys found each other in the wake of breakups and breakdowns beginning a decades-long co-dependency that saw them drop out of mainstream Australia for good Blaine was also committed to recognising how his own parents’ complexities shaped their family experience He could see how his “larrikin” Dad’s sense of humour was a “coping mechanism for some of the things that he suffered when he was quite young” He understood how his mother was an excellent foster carer because she was nonjudgemental “she didn’t radiate any sense of superiority to children” and Michael and Mary Shelley all passed away years ago and as Lech Blaine worked on the book his siblings wanted the same treatment in the book as their elders: to be seen as complex Lech Blaine (far right) with his siblings (L-R) John Hannah and Steven“They weren’t expecting me to paint like a rose-coloured portrait of them,” he says to paint a rose-coloured portrait of hope in modern Australia Through tracking the lives of his siblings and their siblings Blaine shows that whether someone’s life becomes an Australian dream or nightmare can hinge on an opaque mix of nature systematic factors beyond most people’s control and sheer luck The final result where the pangs of terror are never far from the next belly laugh To understand the story from his siblings’ perspective “I think it just created a real intimacy.” the Shelleys had threatened to tear the Blaine family apart piecing together their story helped bring them even closer Australian Gospel: A Family Saga by Lech Blaine is out on 5 November through Black Inc Books Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker European Indoor 3000m bronze medallist Melissa Courtney-Bryant had the best win of her life to take the women's 1500m in a PB 4:00.45 Her previous best was 4:01.81 set in Stockholm in 2020 Raynold Kipkorir won the men's 1500m in a PB 3:31.60 just ahead of Isaac Nader as both Matt Stonier and Elliot Giles were inside 3:34 in season bests A post shared by Melissa Courtney-Bryant (@melissa1bryant_) World champion Kristjan Ceh won the discus throw with 71.86m setting a Slovenian record with a world lead and now has a share of fourth place all-time along with Olympic champion Daniel Stahl Eugene Amo-Dadzie smashed his PB with a European lead of 9.93/0.1 ahead of Nigeria’s Seye Ogunlewe 10.04 and go equal fourth all-time in the UK Lukas Weisshaidinger threw 66.90m in the discus Andrew Coscoran broke Ray Flynn's 41-year-old Irish record of 3:33.5 with a win in 3:32.68 ahead of 18-year-old Niels Laros who broke the Dutch senior record as well as the junior record Nigg Griggs broke the Irish junior record with 3:36.09 in ninth Scott Lincoln won the men's shot with a 20.53m throw Audrey Werro was second in the 1000m in a world under-20 record of 2:34.89 200 (-0.3): 1 Clarence Munyai RSA 20.55; 2 Sinesipho Dambile RSA 20.57; 3 Mickael-MĂ©ba Zeze 20.91; 4 Benji Richardson RSA 20.95; 5 Adam Gemili GBR 21.19 400: 1 Collen Kebinatshipi BOT 45.28; 2 Zibani Ngozi BOT 45.45; 3 Gilles Biron 45.53; 4 Teo Andant 45.66; 5 Alexander Doom BEL 46.03 1500: 1 Andrew Coscoran IRL 3:32.68 NR; 2 Niels Laros NED 3:32.89 NR NU23R NU20R; 3 Samuel Tanner NZL 3:33.15; 4 Casey Comber USA 3:34.24; 5 Benoit Campion 3:34.34; 6 AdriĂĄn Ben ESP 3:34.35; 7 Ossama Meslek ITA 3:34.53; 8 Kasey Knevelbaard USA 3:34.55; 9 Nicholas Griggs IRL 3:36.09 NU20R; 10 Cameron Proceviat CAN 3:36.65; 11 Vincent Ciattei USA 3:37.24; 12 Álvaro de Arriba ESP 3:37.73; 13 Mohamed Ismail Ibrahim DJI 3:38.11; 14 Thomas Keen GBR 3:38.56; 15 Giovanni Filippi ITA 3:38.95 3000SC: 1 Conseslus Kipruto KEN 8:17.16; 2 Isaac Updike USA 8:17.47; 3 George Beamish NZL 8:17.93; 4 Djilali Bedrani 8:18.21; 5 Nicolas Daru 8:21.84; 6 Nahuel Carabaña AND 8:25.98 NR; 7 Gonzalo Parra ESP 8:26.66; 8 Enrico Vecchi ITA 8:27.21; Zak Seddon GBR DNF SP: 1 Scott Lincoln GBR 20.53; 2 Eric Favors IRL 19.70 JT: 1 Pedro Henrique Rodrigues BRA 79.91; 2 Yuta Sakiyama JPN 78.08 1000: 1 Janat Chemusto UGA 2:34.35; 2 Audrey Werro SUI 2:34.89 WU20R; 3 Elena BellĂČ ITA 2:36.35; 4 Zoya Naumov ESP 2:36.76; 5 Tanja Spill GER 2:43.45 5000: 1 Judy Kiyeng KEN 15:15.39; 2 Asayech Ayichew ETH 15:18.77; 3 Mariana Machado POR 15:19.76; 4 Amy-Eloise Markovc GBR 15:28.66; 5 Daiana Ocampo ARG 15:48.86 400H: 1 Cassandra Tate USA 54.90; 2 Sarah Carli AUS 55.05; 3 Eleonora Marchiando ITA 56.04; 4 Camille Seri 56.55 PV: 1 Margot Chevrier 4.61; 1 Angelica Moser SUI 4.6 LJ: 1 Hilary Kpatcha 6.79; 2 Jazmin Sawyers GBR 6.78; 3 Ivana Vuleta SRB 6.72; 4 MarĂ­a Vicente ESP 6.57; 5 Éloyse Lesueur-Aymonin 6.52 Brilliant 1500m running @AndrewCoscoran & @nickgriggs4321 đŸŽ„ @PGriffinFC pic.twitter.com/gg1LHpdxpp — David Gillick (@DavidGillick) June 17, 2023 Jessie Knight was the sole British winner as she set a season's best of 54.32 in the 400m hurdles Reece Prescod was well beaten in the 100m by American Cravont Charleston 9.95 to 10.14 Former world finalist Zak Seddon went close to his steeplechase PB with 8:21.71 which left him fourth Jemma Reekie was third in the 800m in 1:59.41 while that position was matched by Ellie Baker who ran a PB 4:03.95 in the 1500m which was narrowly won by Ireland's Sarah Healy (4:03.85) Sarah McDonald ran her fastest time for four years with 4:05.59 in ninth as she returns from injury Timing your finish by perfection đŸ€ winning the @paavonurmigames 400m hurdles in 54.32.@Jessie_Knight gets the job done in Turku đŸ’Ș#ContinentalTourGold pic.twitter.com/RCkJ9UArPt — World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) June 13, 2023 Isabelle Boffey easily won the women's 800m in 2:01.83 Levy Kibet ran a fast 5000m in 13:04.21 and there was a sensational debut by European Indoor 1500m finalist George Mills who moved into the UK all-time top 30 with a superb 13:18.33 A post shared by AW (@athletics.weekly) European 200m champion Zharnel Hughes won the 100m in 10.00/-0.9 200 (0.6): 1 Erriyon Knighton USA 19.77; 2 Reynier Mena CUB 20.09; 3 Joe Fahnbulleh LBR 20.23; 4 Alexander Ogando DOM 20.27; 5 Andre De Grasse CAN 20.33; 6 Joshua Hartmann GER 20.39; 7 Mouhamadou Fall FRA 20.65; 8 Luxolo Adams RSA 20.79 400: 1 Wayde van Niekerk RSA 44.38; 2 Muzala Samukonga ZAM 44.49; 3 Vernon Norwood USA 44.51; 4 HĂ„vard Bentdal Ingvaldsen 44.86 NR; 5 Matthew Hudson-Smith GBR 44.92; 6 Bayapo Ndori BOT 44.99; 7 Zakithi Nene RSA 45.34; 8 Anthony Zambrano COL 46.45 1500: 1 Jakob Ingebrigtsen 3:27.95 AR; 2 Mohamed Katir ESP 3:28.89; 3 Yared Nuguse USA 3:29.02 AR; 4 Timothy Cheruiyot KEN 3:29.08; 5 Mario GarcĂ­a ESP 3:29.18; 6 Azeddine Habz FRA 3:29.26; 7 Olli Hoare AUS 3:29.41 AR; 8 Narve Gilje NordĂ„s 3:29.47; 9 Josh Kerr GBR 3:30.07; 10 Neil Gourley GBR 3:30.88; 11 Abel Kipsang KEN 3:31.76; 12 Andreas Almgren SWE 3:32.00 NR; 13 Teddese Lemi ETH 3:32.24; 14 Charles Grethen LUX 3:36.27 400H: 1 Karsten Warholm 46.52; 2 CJ Allen USA 47.58; 3 Wilfried Happio FRA 48.13; 4 Ludvy Vaillant FRA 48.59; 5 Trevor Bassitt USA 48.63; 6 Khallifah Rosser USA 48.87; 7 Abdelmalik Lahoulou ALG 49.27; 8 Julien Watrin BEL 49.45 PV: 1 Armand Duplantis SWE 6.01; 2 Chris Nilsen USA 5.91; 3 Ernest John Obiena PHI 5.81; 4 Sam Kendricks USA 5.71; 5 Ben Broeders BEL 5.71; 6 Sondre Guttormsen 5.71; 7 PĂ„l Haugen Lillefosse 5.61; 8 Renaud Lavillenie FRA 5.41; 8 Bo Kanda Lita Baehre GER 5.41; Simen Guttormsen NH LJ: 1 Simon Ehammer SUI 8.32; 2 Marquis Dendy USA 8.26; 3 MiltiĂĄdis TentĂłglou GRE 8.21; 4 Steffin McCarter USA 8.04; 5 Thobias Montler SWE 8.01; 6 Tajay Gayle JAM 7.87 HT: 1 Wojciech Nowicki POL 81.92; 2 Rudy Winkler USA 79.42; 3 Ethan Katzberg CAN 77.93; 4 Eivind PrestegĂ„rd Henriksen 76.52; 5 PaweƂ Fajdek POL 76.50; 6 Bence HalĂĄsz HUN 75.26; 7 Thomas Mardal 74.76 IPC 100 (0.4): 1 Salum Ageze Kashafali 10.39; 2 Djamil Skandar Athmani ALG 10.52; 3 Felix Streng GER 10.82 National 1500: 1 Even BrĂžndbo Dahl 3:39.40; 2 Senay Amlesom Fissehatsion ERI 3:40.24 Mile: 1 Birke Haylom ETH 4:17.13 WU20R; 2 Cory McGee USA 4:18.11; 3 Jessica Hull AUS 4:18.24 AR; 4 Nikki Hiltz USA 4:18.38; 5 Worknesh Melese ETH 4:19.09; 6 Linden Hall AUS 4:19.60; 7 Hirut Meshesha ETH 4:20.00; 8 Winnie Nanyondo UGA 4:20.03; 9 Janat Chemusto UGA 4:20.04; 10 Josette Andrews USA 4:21.98; 11 Ciara Mageean IRL 4:22.03; 12 Axumawit Embaye ETH 4:24.01; 13 Claudia Bobocea ROU 4:25.02; 14 Gabriela DeBues-Stafford CAN 4:32.59 1500 splits: 1 Birke Haylom ETH 3:59.49; 2 Jessica Hull AUS 4:00.33; 3 Cory McGee USA 4:00.61; 4 Nikki Hiltz USA 4:01.42; 5 Janat Chemusto UGA 4:02.00; 6 Hirut Meshesha ETH 4:02.09; 7 Linden Hall AUS 4:02.34; 8 Worknesh Melese ETH 4:02.53; 9 Winnie Nanyondo UGA 4:03.38; 10 Josette Andrews USA 4:03.79; 11 Ciara Mageean IRL 4:04.11; 12 Axumawit Embaye ETH 4:04.74; 13 Claudia Bobocea ROU 4:06.55; 14 Gabriela DeBues-Stafford CAN 4:12.80; 3000: 1 Beatrice Chebet KEN 8:25.01; 2 Lilian Rengeruk KEN 8:25.90; 3 Margaret Kipkemboi KEN 8:26.14; 4 Alicia Monson USA 8:29.43; 5 Weini Kelati USA 8:32.50; 6 Sarah Chelangat UGA 8:32.53 NR; 7 Agnes Ngetich KEN 8:32.62; 8 Caroline Nyaga KEN 8:34.85; 9 Maureen Koster NED 8:35.93; 10 Elly Henes USA 8:36.86; 11 Emily Infeld USA 8:41.29; 12 Hawi Feysa ETH 8:49.89; 13 Jessica Warner-Judd GBR 8:53.10; 14 Diane van Es NED 8:56.28 400H: 1 Femke Bol NED 52.30; 2 Rushell Clayton JAM 53.84; 3 Gianna Woodruff PAN 54.46; 4 Janieve Russell JAM 54.91; 5 Anna Hall USA 55.28; 6 Viktoriya Tkachuk UKR 55.36; 7 Anna Ryzhykova UKR 55.53; 8 Line Kloster 56.44 TJ: 1 Yulimar Rojas VEN 14.91w; 2 Leyanis PĂ©rez CUB 14.87; 3 Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk UKR 14.75; 4 Shanieka Ricketts JAM 14.33; 5 Thea LaFond DMA 14.21; 6 Tori Franklin USA 14.16; 7 Keturah Orji USA 14.15; 8 Maja Åskag SWE 13.73 SP: 1 Sarah Mitton CAN 19.54; 2 Maggie Ewen USA 19.52; 3 Danniel Thomas-Dodd JAM 19.44; 4 Chase Ealey USA 19.44; 5 Auriol Dongmo POR 19.44; 6 Adelaide Aquilla USA 19.17; 7 Axelina Johansson SWE 18.72; 8 Sara Gambetta GER 18.37; Fanny Roos SWE NM; Jessica Schilder NED NM DT: 1 Jorinde van Klinken NED 66.77; 2 Valarie Allman USA 66.18; 3 Sandra Perković CRO 65.26; 4 Claudine Vita GER 62.96; 5 Kristin Pudenz GER 62.82; 6 Liliana CĂĄ POR 61.47; 7 Shanice Craft GER 60.73; 8 MĂ©lina Robert-Michon FRA 60.64 4x400: 1 GBR 3:28.38; 2 SUI 3:29.48; 3 FIN 3:29.65; 4 ESP 3:29.90; 5 NED 3:30.53 National  200 (0.2): 1 Torrie Lewis AUS 23.07; 2 Ama Pipi GBR 23.19 » Subscribe to AW magazine here » For more recent results, CLICK HERE Marc Scott and Mary Ngugi in winning form at Podium 5km Meet Eugene Amo-Dadzie – "The world's fastest accountant" This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed All the action on the first summit finish of the race Tour de France 2022 complete guide Stage 7 preview Stage 6 results How to watch the 2022 Tour de France – live TV and streaming - Thrilling race up La Super Planche des Belles Filles sees final rider caught by Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar - Pogačar retains yellow jersey after he moves past Vingegaard to take it on the line Hello and welcome to Cyclingnews' live coverage of stage 7 of the Tour de France It's around half an hour until stage 7 of the Tour de France gets underway Stay with us all day for updates on all the action as the race heads from Tomblaine 176.3km south to La Super Planche des Belles Filles the first summit finish of this year's Tour Yesterday's explosive stage from Binche to Longwy saw the yellow jersey change hands as Tadej Pogačar put in a huge injection of pace at the finish to take the stage win and the maillot jaune.  After a day spent in the break, taking his yellow jersey on one final mad sojourn Wout Van Aert reverts to his green jersey today The Belgian leads the points classification by 61 ahead of Fabio Jakobsen in second Magnus Cort (EF Education-EasyPost) continues his reign in polka dots as King of the Mountains Will he contest for the points available on today's ascents - two category threes prior to the category one finish at La Super Planche des Belles Filles The white jersey has a new owner - although not its rightful one Tadej Pogačar continues to lead the young rider classification but Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) will wear the jersey on his behalf which sees him currently in 5th position on GC La Planche des Belles Filles has been a decisive climb in a number of previous editions of the Tour de France The last time it featured in the Tour was in the infamous final time trial of the 2020 edition where Primož Roglič snatched defeat from the jaws of victory as Tadej Pogačar stormed to victory on the stage and took control of the yellow jersey at the crucial moment While Roglič would likely love to bury the demons today it's a big ask following a crash earlier in the week on stage 5 The climb itself has been extended from its original form - the 'Super' section that has been added relates to around 700m of climbing on gravel Strava's visualisation provides a comparison of how an average amateur would fare on the climb The countdown begins as the peloton prepares to take on Stage 7, ascending La Super Planche des Belles Filles. Will @TamauPogi take the KOM? Where would you find yourself finishing? Your behind the scenes look at @LeTour here: https://t.co/09B9vnCM82 pic.twitter.com/uLcmvW4ApoJuly 8, 2022 "It feels great to be in yellow especially on today's stage so I think today things will be more settled." The riders are just a few hundred metres from the beginning of stage 7 of the Tour de France has a mechanical issue dealt with and catches up with the peloton ahead of the official start The Tour de France peloton heads through the streets of Tomblaine on their way to the stage start Christian Prudhomme waves the yellow flag and we are underway There is likely to be another battle for the breakaway today as the climbers look to maximise on their first legitimate opportunity to open up their legs Teams interested today include Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert who put pressure on at the front of the bunch stringing it out into a long line along the streets of Tomblaine More mechanical issues for UAE Team Emirates as George Bennett receives assistance off the back of the bunch He struggled yesterday with similar issues combined with the high pace and had a fight on his hands to get back into the peloton AG2R Citroën instigate attacks at the front B&B Hotels are also paying close attention to the moves at the front of the race Following a breathless start to yesterday's stage in which it took over 80km for the break to be established it will be interesting to see how long the battle goes on for today.  Mikkel Honoré (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) finds space between himself and the rest.  The mechanical issues continue for UAE Team Emirates This time Marc Soler has to drop back to the team car Not an ideal start for the race leader's team still working alone - he is currently 9 seconds ahead It will be tough for Honoré to maintain this if he doesn't get some company soon Six riders have joined Honoré in the breakaway attempt including two riders from Trek-Segafredo - Mads Pedersen and Giulio Ciccone There are still a number of riders trying to pull clear of the peloton Riders from Bahrain-Victorious and Team BikeExchange-Jayco are the next to try their luck The second time Soler has struggled at the back of the peloton as he receives a push start from a team mechanic following another stop Lennard Kämna of Bora-Hansgrohe pushes the pace - today would be an ideal chance for him to go for a stage take over at the front of the group and begin to make an impact A number of splits have appeared with a group of six riders ahead of another group of six and the rest of the peloton fight to bring them back There's a brief hiatus as the road kicks up and the splits at the front disappear Marc Soler is clearly having a difficult start to the day - he's still out the back of the peloton trying to resolve the mechanical issues that continue to plague him It's stalemate as the bunch are back together again Patience will be required for any riders determined to be a part of today's breakaway A fresh attack from Mikkel Honoré is quickly reeled back in again A few more riders have a crack at getting away including riders from BikeExchange and Lotto Soudal turning streets as they wait for their opportunity to drop the hammer and try to get a gap The peloton are stretched out once again in a long line Just over 25km have been covered and there's still no sign of a breakaway establishing itself The riders at the front are all looking at each other A line of breakaway hopefuls try the snap the elastic but there's nothing doing and they concertina back into the bunch Two Bora riders are joined by three more riders including Peter Sagan of Team TotalEnergies Two riders from both Bora and TotalEnergies along with one from Movistar Still the attacks are neutralised by the teams controlling the race and we are no closer to establishing the day's break There is clearly interest from a range of teams in being a part of this move and it has the potential to become unwieldy if they are all involved With UAE Team Emirates policing any and all moves it's hard to tell exactly which ones they will deem appropriate with Cofidis and B&B Hotels the latest aggressors Chaos once more at the front of the bunch as more riders try to escape with huge numbers trying to make the break now shows his face at the front of the attack for the first time today but Lotto Soudal and B&B Hotels have sent riders in pursuit Geschke has some breathing room now as the rest of the chasers look at one another the first rider since Honoré to actually gain a decent gap Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) rides straight past the chasing group and in pursuit of Geschke Ganna drills it across to Geschke and they become a group of two They have 10 seconds over the peloton who are not satisfied Despite doubling in size with Ganna's arrival the breakaway pair still can't make any head way The pair of Ganna and Geschke have 14 seconds - the biggest gap of any breakaway effort so far today and the breakaway pair have 17 seconds on the rest It's not 100% clear whether they are content to let this one go or if anyone else will try their luck at bridging across There is still plenty of interest in getting across the tougher the job - they are up to 20 seconds that was a strange one - Filippo Ganna sits up and removes himself from the break Ganna drops back to the bunch as the hopefuls gather themselves for another stab at their escape attempt and Bora-Hansgrohe the usual suspects trying to get away from the rest suddenly we have a leading group of 11 riders and the peloton call time on the attacking and block the road Magnus Cort decides belatedly that he wants to be a part of the group and tries to bridge across to them He is only around 9 seconds ahead of the bunch There are still riders hopefully trying to make it across from the teams who have missed out - the likes of AG2R-Citroen Mathieu Van der Poel chases back on at the back The breakaway settle in for the day as the peloton eases the pace with Magnus Cort collected back into the fold there's a good chance it could be a day for them today Two of the riders have battled for victory on the same climb previously - Ciccone and Teuns came first and second on the stage finish in 2019 Teuns vs. Ciccone - Round 2. They were 1st and 2nd on same MTF in 2019 Tour. #TDF2022July 8, 2022 The yellow jersey looks calm and assured at the front of the bunch The UAE team apparently aren't in the mood to sit back and let the breakaway have all the fun today They up the pace and the gap goes down to 2:16 Despite a strong composition and good numbers there's an ominous sense that the breakaway are already doomed with Pogačar's team mates turning the screw at the front of the group.  UAE Team Emirates have decided two minutes is the gap they are willing to allow The route goes steadily uphill for some time now with the first categorised climb of the day in around 30km Vegard Stake Laengen is called back by his team and the breakaway group drops from 11 to 10 The leading group have 1:48 over the chasing pack as the yellow jersey is clearly gearing up to make a big statement on today's summit finish keeping the breakaway on a very tight leash.  UAE Team Emirates police the bunch with yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar The gap holds steady around 1:45 as the UAE riders take the opportunity to eat and drink The climbing is backloaded on today's stage with two category 3 and a category 1 climb all coming in the final 70km shock of La Super Planche des Belles Filles the stage should see a real explosive conclusion including former winner on La Planche des Belles Filles However given the pace being set by the yellow jersey's team their efforts seem as though they may be in vain.  UAE continue to push the pace on the front The intermediate sprint is incoming - the breakaway will mop up most of the available points for that one The breakaway group rolls through the intermediate sprint not interested in contesting for points.  Van Aert and Jakobsen are visible at the front of the bunch so look out for them contesting for the remaining points shortly Christophe Laporte leads out Wout Van Aert for the intermediate points with Jakobsen opting not to sprint for the points after all Mads Pedersen takes the full 20 points from the intermediate sprint and propels himself into the top ten of the green jersey competition as the Bora-Hansgrohe riders try to drop the rest of the group Lennard Kämna looks really up for this as they begin the first categorised climb of the day and Giulio Ciccone is the first to decide he's had enough have pushed on and opened up a 17 second gap to the remnants of the group which is now scattered along the road behind The leading group have opened out their gap to the GC group which stretches to 2:30 as the rest of the breakaway struggle to stay together Some of the other breakaway riders catch the front group and they coalesce back into a group of five - Simon Geschke and Dylan Teuns are the riders to have bridged back across The gap is steady again at just over 2:30 as the peloton crests the first climb of the day and begin the descent with a small uncategorised climb in between The breakaway group of 5 attack the descent to try and extend their lead It's up to 2:47 - this group of five are working well together and are motivated to make this move stick.  Will the UAE train be able to reel them in before the final climb A chasing pair of Cyril Barthe (B&B Hotels) and Imanol Erviti (Movistar) haven't given up hope of rejoining their breakawy colleagues - they are currently 11 seconds behind the leading group of 5 The breakaway work hard to stay away on stage 7 of the Tour de France Asgreen and Ciccone are caught by the peloton and slide straight through to the back.  Erviti and Barthe make it onto the breakaway group which now number 7 riders and has pushed over 3:00 to the bunch The breakaway pushes on along reasonably flat roads with the next category 3 climb imminent in around 5km The category 3 Col des Croix is next on the menu for the riders The Col de Croix is a 3.2km ascent at an average gradient of 6.3% UAE Team Emirates have been present at the front defending the yellow jersey all day Simon Geschke is the first man to crest the climb He has taken the maximum available mountains points today and opens his account in the KOM competition immediately going into second place in the standings behind Magnus Cort One climb remains and it's a brute - 7km long at an average gradient of 8.7% - with the final gravel stretch packing pitches of up to 24% It's undoubtedly going to cause ripples in the GC - will the break prevail and win the stage Prior to the summit finish of La Super Planche des Belles Filles the riders face an uncategorised climb though - the Col de la Chevestraye A fearsome challenge faces the riders as they reach the end of stage 7 - La Super Planche des Belles Filles The gap is holding steady at around 2:45 as UAE Team Emirates chase the 7-man breakaway as UAE ramp up the tempo in the bunch once again The peloton are tightly packed across the road as UAE Team Emirates hope for support from other teams heading into the final chase Nils Pollitt (Bora-Hansgrohe) holds firm as he has two team mates in the breakaway he's doing a fantastic job of forcing UAE to work Almost down to 20km to go - the break are still going at a steady pace UAE continue to press on at the front of the bunch two minutes - Jumbo-Visma come to the front to assist in the pacing effort Jumbo-Visma drop back again as UAE take up the reins once more with George Bennett taking up the pace-setting Marc Hirschi has been dropped from the train Arkéa–Samsic are also present at the front The gap drops below two minutes for the first time and the chase is very much on The breakaway are tackling the uncategorised climb ahead of the final climb of the day Will the break make it to the finish or will the chasing group of GC riders make the catch The colour blocking begins as the teams line up in preparation for the final kilometres on today's stage Wout Van Aert leads the charge for Team Jumbo-Visma Ineos and Groupama-FDJ are also working hard for position at the front of the bunch We are just a few kilometres away from the first summit finish of this year's Tour de France - La Super Planche des Belles Filles The breakaway are riding over the top of the uncategorised climb there will then be a short descent before the climbing begins once more ahead of the final climb Crowds line the streets and urge the 7 riders up to the summit of the uncategorised climb of Col de la Chevestraye Erviti is the first rider to drop off the pace in the front group Filippo Ganna takes up the pace at the front of the peloton 10km to go - Ganna is powering through this descent with his team in his wheel and they are not making any in-roads into the lead of the breakaway which remains around 1:40 Ineos aren't the only team visible at the front - Groupama-FDJ are also present and must be hoping to deploy Thibaut Pinot on the final climb The break are 1km from the foot of the climb The break attacks the climb and Lennard Kämna is straight on the attack with Schachmann dropping away Just four riders remain in the break - Geschke He tries to move away from the rest and gets himself a small gap The gap back to the peloton is down to 1:20 Wout Van Aert and Quinn Simmons are among the riders drifting out the back of the peloton Luke Durbridge is the next to lose touch with the front runners Geschke can't hold the next pair at arm's length - Kämna and Teuns are almost reaching him Simon Geschke of Cofidis has a few seconds over the next two on the road which is being thinned out in the lower section of this climb UAE Team Emirates take over once again at the front of the race Pogačar still has three lieutenants ahead of him.  Nairo Quintana is well-positioned for a potential attack Who will be the first to go from the main group Lennard Kämna puts in a huge dig to drop Dylan Teuns UAE are setting a sensible tempo at the front of the bunch Kämna puts in another attack and leaves Geschke in his wake.  UAE continue to pull on the front of the peloton.  Jumbo-Visma and Groupama-FDJ are the next teams on the road.  The GC group has slimmed significantly now Thibaut Pinot is unable to stay with the pace and is dropped Ben O'Connor is also struggling at the back of the group Plenty of riders dropping out the back of the group as the intensity increases Aleksandr Vlasov struggles - this doesn't look good for his GC hopes with most of the key players still present Neilson Powless is next to be dropped - his second place on GC in jeopardy This climb is really picking out who has got a chance of hanging on in the GC race and who hasn't but with 2.8km to go and some brutal gradients left to face his chances of victory seem to be diminishing Tom Pidcock is now at the back of the group of GC riders UAE have just one domestique left - Rafal Majka Pogačar looks over his shoulder - you sense an attack is imminent Kämna remains 47 seconds ahead and pulls out a few more seconds The gradient is cruel as Kämna attacks the gravel segment The flamme rouge for Kämna - he has one last kilometre between himself and victory The dust is thick in the air as Kämna hits the gravel Majka waves the yellow jersey through and he attacks into the final section Vingegaard and Roglic are in close behind the yellow jersey Kämna has less than 400m to go to what would be an incredible stage victory The gradient kicks up for Pogacar and the rest Vingegaard passes Pogacar and flies past Kämna Tadej Pogačar wins stage 7 of the Tour de France ahead of Jonas Vingegaard That final couple of hundred metres was one of the most brutal finishes in recent memory Vingegaard attacked first but Pogačar caught and passed him just before the line The rest of the riders drag themselves one by one over the summit Heartbreak for Lennard Kämna after a heroic ride saw him almost make it to the line Reeling from the intensity of those final few hundred metres with Vingegaard putting in a very strong ride Pogačar embraces his fiancée Urska Zigart at the finish The GC looks very different following today's stage Geraint Thomas and Adam Yates occupy third and fourth place in the standings The gruppetto come in as those who have completed the stage ride back down again Jonas Vingegaard: "it was definitely a brutal finish I tried in the end but he just came with 20m to go and I didn't have an answer.  especially in the end in the last k when Jonas attacked But my boys were working all day and I had to push to the finish line especially Urska was at the finish line and my family at the bottom of the climb "We opened a foundation today for cancer research today - I'm wearing special shoes just for today I'm really happy and proud to take this win on La Planche des Belles Filles Vingegaard; I think he's right now one of the strongest climber in the world probably the best climber in the world and a really compact rider and a strong team around him A little bit is always good but we know in cycling no gap is enough." Tadej Pogačar wins stage 7 of the Tour de France In the end to lose it by ten seconds is a pity The bunch never let us go really far and the group was not working well together Then it was 1:30 and I thought it was going to be tight Then I felt really good and could do a fast rhythm so I think I'm a good rider for breakaway attempts so I hope we have more chances in the Alps and Pyrenees." Tadej Pogačar retains the yellow jersey following victory on stage 7 of the Tour de France Thanks for joining us for what has been another thrilling day of racing at the Tour de France Wout Van Aert after the stage: "It was quite an easy day it was a hard pace in the bunch because UAE really wanted to race for the stage win I tried to help the guys toward the last climb and I think they did well and his green jersey defence: "He is definitely a guy who goes well over the climbs and some who I'm also not planning to put so much energy into it like I did yesterday Read about how the stage unfolded and how the action has affected the GC standings here. as the peloton tackle a hilly test from Dole to Lausanne the two-man showdown that many predicted is taking shape with Britain's Bradley Wiggins already in the yellow jersey — and driver's seat — while Cadel Evans isn't The 31-year-old Briton and his Team Sky dominated the race's first summit finish Saturday with Christophe Froome winning Stage 7 ahead of Evans and Wiggins close on the Australian defending champion's back wheel In the 123-mile trek from Tomblaine to La Planche des Belles Filles Wiggins took the overall lead from Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara and gave Britain its first yellow jersey in 12 years — and the first for Sky we won the stage and took the yellow jersey," Wiggins said in French "This is my first time in the yellow jersey It's incredible — it's been a dream of mine since I was a kid." As the pack disintegrated on the final climb Evans tried an attack just before the super-steep patch in the last half-mile leading Evans to wonder what he might be in for later a time-trial and one-day classics specialist who had worn yellow since winning the prologue a week ago 52 seconds behind Froome — but more importantly 1:50 back of Wiggins who began the day 7 seconds behind Cancellara in second place Vincenzo Nibali of Italy was fourth to climb to third overall a three-time Olympic track gold medalist looking to become Britain's first Tour champion became the pre-race favorite after winning the Paris-Nice Tour de Romandie and Criterium du Dauphine stage races this year Wiggins has more breathing room than Cancellara when he was leader Only five riders are within a minute of Wiggins who won the 2009 Giro d'Italia and the Spanish Vuelta — twice had had 22 riders within 48 seconds of his lead as Saturday's stage began With two time trials and more climbing days in the Alps and Pyrenees still to come Wiggins played down speculation that he might've taken the lead too early with the finish in Paris on July 22 "You can't get too cocky in this race and choose when you take the yellow jersey I'd much rather be in yellow than in hospital — like half the peloton," he said referring to injuries from crashes in recent days Race organizers also tallied Saturday the full fallout of two bunch crashes a day earlier including a high-speed one as riders were jockeying for position in a final sprint A total of 13 riders dropped out due to injuries in the spills bringing the number of withdrawals through seven stages to 17 — the highest number at this point since 1998 One of them was Garmin-Sharp leader and Giro champion Ryder Hesjedal of Canada Wiggins crashed out of the 2011 Tour with a broken collarbone and said he felt "lucky" he has been trouble-free this year Uncertainties remain and two weeks is a long time But all signs read green for Wiggins: Sky is one of the strongest teams; it has launched a methodical approach to winning; the route this year is heavily weighted on time-trials which are his specialty And with two-time Tour champion Alberto Contador out serving a doping ban Evans sensed he's in for a challenge from Sky it's going to be difficult," the 35-year-old BMC team leader said in French who took the polka-dot jersey as the Tour's best climber said he was surprised Evans couldn't keep pace The Australian was puffing and his face glistening with sweat as he crossed the finish To me that says one thing — that he didn't have the legs," Froome said "It really wasn't a big acceleration that I put in I went for it and just coasted toward the line and he's not going to surprise us in the next few days I think that he and Bradley looked to be quite on par." and obviously Cadel is still the defending champion he just never gives up — and that's going to be the Cadel that we are going to see," Wiggins said Team manager Dave Brailsford acknowledged Sky would be having an upbeat evening Saturday for the stage win and yellow jersey plus other positive signs like strong climbs from Richie Porte and Froome "We managed to stay out of trouble during that first week We had a bit of a question mark about Richie because he crashed three times yesterday," he said where does this guy come from?' He showed today he can back it up And he's one of the best climbers in the peloton right now." The stage marked the first of three summit finishes this year Nimbler climbers took the limelight after a first week dominated by sprinters across the flatter regions of Belgium and northern France The final ascent to La Planche des Belles Filles was relatively short as far as the Tour's biggest climbs go with a grueling 14-percent gradient in the last 500 yards had never previously led riders to La Planche des Belles Filles a group of beautiful young French women — the "belles filles" — committed mass suicide in black waters of a lake to escape the looming clutches of Swedish invaders But the leader of the Nordic horde had fallen in love with one of the women and pulled out her lifeless body — carving a wooden epitaph to honor them The three-week race takes riders on another bumpy ride on Sunday with seven climbs in the 97.5-mile loop from Belfort to Porrentruy in Stage 8 France - Bradley Wiggins gave Britain its first Tour de France leader in 12 years on Saturday wresting the yellow jersey from Fabian Cancellara after being helped by a powerful escort in the race's mountain debut the Sky squad was dominant up the first summit finish to allow Christopher Froome to win the seventh stage from Tomblaine to La Planche des Belles Filles ski station The 198-kilometer trek into the Vosges range went a long way toward shaping the three-week race as experts predicted before the start - a showdown between Wiggins and defending champion Cadel Evans In a five-rider breakaway group on the final climb Evans tried an attack just before the super-steep climb in the last kilometer but Froome beat him by two seconds as Wiggins stayed close to the Australian's back wheel with Wiggins becoming the first Briton since David Millar in 2000 to wear the yellow jersey the Swiss time-trial specialist who had worn the jersey since winning the prologue a week ago 52 seconds behind Froome - but more importantly 1:50 back of Wiggins who began the day seven seconds behind Cancellara in second place overall we won the stage and took the yellow jersey," Wiggins said It's incredible - it's been a dream of mine since I was a kid." Only five riders are within a minute of his Wiggins' time This article was published more than 2 years ago wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the seventh stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 176.5 kilometers (109.7 miles) with start Tomblaine and finish in La Super Planche des Belles Filles (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)Daniel Cole/The Associated Press Tadej Pogacar won his second Tour de France stage in a row in the first summit finish of the race to extend his lead in the yellow jersey on Friday who came agonizingly close to a breakaway win and then Jonas Vingegaard with one last sprint at the top of La Planche des Belles Filles a ski resort in the Vosges mountains of eastern France Pogacar started the day with a four-second lead over Neilson Powless and ended it with a 35-second advantage over Vingegaard we know in cycling no gap is enough,” was the verdict of Pogacar who praised Vingegaard as “probably the best climber in the world” at the moment and his Ineos Grenadiers teammate Adam Yates was 8 seconds further behind Alexander Vlasov and Daniel Martinez were among the general classification contenders who lost time who rode to a stunning stage win in the Alps in 2020 was part of a seven-man breakaway heading into the mountains and clung on to the lead solo for almost all of the last three kilometers The mountain hits a 24% gradient near the top and the last section is on gravel making it one of the Tour’s most fearsome climbs The mountain was the site of Pogacar’s breakout moment on the 2020 Tour when he took the yellow jersey from fellow Slovenian Rogli on the penultimate stage and went on to win the race He said he dreamed of winning at La Planche des Belles Filles ever since finding out it would be part of this year’s Tour maybe since the route was already discovered It’s the second time Pogacar has taken back-to-back stages after victory in stages 17 and 18 in the Pyrenees last year Report an editorial error Report a technical issue Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community. 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For more information on our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines and our Terms and Conditions Leaders sweep past Kämna in battle to top of La Super Planche des Belles Filles edging out Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) atop the Super Planche des Belles Filles to extend his overall lead Pogačar's teammates whittled down the yellow jersey group on the first mountain stage of the race and Pogačar himself forced the issue on the steep gravel tracks at the very top of the 7km he was surprised by a late attack from Vingegaard who zipped past the final breakaway survivor Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe) an agonising 100 metres from the line Pogačar was initially gapped by the rider now considered his biggest threat but he remarkably found a final acceleration to nudge past Vingegaard just before the line whose overall hopes took a severe blow on the cobbles on Wednesday crossing the line a couple of seconds further back alongside Geraint Thomas who emerged as the best of the Ineos Grenadiers leadership trio on their first big test of the race Adam Yates and Dani Martínez made the initial selection but suffered on the steep upper slopes with Yates finishing ninth at 29 seconds from Pogačar The most significant development from a general classification perspective was the time loss suffered by Aleksandr Vlasov the Bora-Hansgrohe leader was dropped more than 3km from the summit and ended up losing 1:39 started to struggle around the same time and Ben O'Connor (AG2R Citroën) was dropped even earlier and after losing time on the cobbles saw any GC hopes go definitively up in flames Romain Bardet (DSM) and Enric Mas (Movistar) produced good rides to finish in the top 10 and limit the damage to Pogačar to around 20 seconds and Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) finished around the 45-second mark After the dust at the top of the Planche settled with Vingegaard now his closest challenger in second while the French duo of Gaudu and Bardet lie at around 90 seconds especially in the end in the last part when Jonas attacked "But my boys were working all day and I had to push to the finish line The peloton rolled out of Tomblaine under blue skies and the first summit finish stage of the Tour de France started out with 100km of largely flat terrain The opening phase saw a protracted battle for the breakaway despite the best efforts of Bora-Hansgrohe he couldn't believe his luck: world time trial champion Filippo Ganna (Ineos) was coming across The pair combined to gain 20 seconds on the peloton but Ganna's team told him to sit up and he gave Geschke an apologetic pat on the back before drifting back to the bunch making their way over to Geschke to form a breakaway of 11 riders Schachmann and his teammate Lennard Kämna the Trek-Segafredo duo of Giulio Ciccone and Mads Pedersen several teams who missed the move fired up the action again briefly Magnus Cort (EF-EasyPost) and Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech) went clear but could not close the gap while riders from AG2R and Intermaché launched more futile moves the breakaway didn't just sail into the distance They gained just over two minutes but then Pogačar's UAE teammates came to the fore to control the gap clearly wanting another stage win for the Slovenian they called Stake Laengen back to help chase down the move he was originally a part of The intermediate sprint came with 75km to go and Pedersen helped himself to the maximum haul of points before green jersey Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) beat Fabio Jakobsen (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) to the remaining scraps from the peloton The day's first climb came soon after the sprint and there was immediate action in the escape on the category-3 Col de la Grosse Pierre (3.1km at 6.4%) Ciccone shot out the back then Pedersen followed Geschke and Teuns dragged their way back but Asgreen Barthe and Erviti were also dropped for good Geschke attacked for the two mountain points at the top of the climb before Erviti and Barthe came back on the other side The whittled-down breakaway used their new impetus to take their lead out to three minutes by the second minor climb the Col des Croix - 3.2km at 6.3% - where Geschke again took maximum points with the gap steadily falling as GC teams started to get organised in the final 20km Erviti was dropped as the breakaway hit the climb with a lead of 1:30 over a peloton led by Ineos and Ganna Schachmann's work was soon done and he left Kämna to it on the lower slopes Barthe also quickly fell away before Geschke launched the first attack When Teuns and Kämna kicked to go after him Kämna kicked viciously away from Teuns and breezed over to Geschke The difference in speed was remarkable and it was no surprise when Kämna kicked again to go clear at the head of the race 5km from the summit UAE took over from Ineos on the lower slopes The likes of Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel were quickly dropped and it wasn't long before some more surprising damage who already lost time on the cobbled stage along with local hero Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) and Jakob Fuglsang (Israel-Premier Tech) McNulty then pulled aside and handed over to George Bennett Kämna enjoyed a slight plateau with 2km to go before the climb kicked up again ahead of the final steep haul on the gravel as Majka gave his last effort the front of the yellow jersey group Pogačar then burst out of the saddle and immediately opened a gap onto the gravel Pogačar was happy to lead the group that had been whittled down to 12 Pogačar then ramped up the pace and started to really split the group They were already tracking down Kämna when Vingegaard kicked with 200 metres to go Pogačar looked to be straining as a gap opened up but he produced a final surge as Vingegaard started to fade with even 30 metres ample distance for a turnaround on gradients so steep Results powered by FirstCycling Patrick FletcherSocial Links NavigationPatrick is a freelance sports writer and editor He’s an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish) Patrick worked full-time at Cyclingnews for eight years between 2015 and 2023 announced on Tuesday that it had decided to relegate AS Nancy Lorraine to the 5th tier of French football owing to financial irregularities when presenting its budget for the 2023/24 campaign who were relegated from the 3rd to the 4th division of French football during the 2022/23 campaign have now been relegated a further division by the DNCG also own stakes in Belgian 2nd division side KV Oostende English League One outfit Barnsley and several other European clubs the DNCG have provided little additional public context on the deal aside from the fact the club failed to provide the necessary financial guarantees to be able to begin the season in the French 4th division who won their National 3 (French 5th division) group during the 2022/23 campaign have been blocked from promotion to the 4th tier by the DNCG for a similar reason for why they punished Nancy Both clubs will have an opportunity to appeal the decision Rayan Cherki and Mathys Tel all got on the scoresheet as the France U21 side ran riot against Cyprus on Tuesday night manager Thierry Henry was left frustrated by his side’s first-half display Henry has now won all four of his games as France U21 manager In that time his side has scored an impressive 19 goals and they sit top of their group for qualification for the upcoming U21 European Championships Whilst Henry can certainly be happy with what he has seen so far as manager of Les Bleuets he was far from impressed with what he saw from his side in the first 25 minutes against Cyprus In his post-match press conference he seemed to be sending a message to his players has done us the most harm in the first 25 minutes I didn’t like that; I didn’t like that at all Understand the message,” said the former Arsenal forward Henry was notably frustrated with his side’s work out of possession and notably his side’s pressing the 9-0 victory over Cyprus was the France U21 side’s biggest in their history which dates back to Les Bleuets’ 7-0 victory over Yugoslavia in 1985 GFFN | Luke Entwistle In the wake of Riyad Mahrez’s departure from Saudi Arabia, last year’s treble winners Manchester City are looking to bring in a replacement for the former Le Havre man. One of the possible candidates, as reported by Fabrizio Romano last week The other two options on the Premier League side’s shortlist also have links to French football – namely Crystal Palace’s French youth international Michael Olise Les Gones rejected a proposal from Paris Saint-Germain earlier this summer but it remains to be seen whether they would also push back an offer from a club outside of Ligue 1 The forward impressed in the second half of last season alongside Alexandre Lacazette scoring five times and registering nine assists Both Olise and Barcola are under contract with their respective clubs until 2026 while the latter is now represented by Jorge Mondes as a result of concerns on the part of the Premier League champions over the Belgian forward’s fitness issues in the past few seasons GFFN | RaphaĂ«l Jucobin   L’Équipe and Le Parisien are reporting that Johann Lepenant’s (21) knee injury is not as bad as initially feared the Olympique Lyonnais midfielder is still expected to be absent until February Lepenant has become a peripheral figure at Lyon this season and he wasn’t even included in the matchday squad to face Stade Rennais prior to the international break Prior to Les Bleuets’ game against Austria U21 manager Thierry Henry expressed concern at Lepenant’s lack of game time but he only lasted 13 minutes before coming off with a serious knee injury Medical staff believed that Lepenant had suffered an ACL injury initial tests on Monday allude to a sprain the knee in question is still heavily swollen so a full diagnosis will be made in a fortnight’s time whilst Lepenant’s injury does not seem to be as bad as first feared L’Équipe report that he is unlikely to feature until February 2024 GFFN | Luke Entwistle Speaking to L’Équipe RC Lens forward Elye Wahi (20) spoke about failed moves to Chelsea and Eintracht Frankfurt earlier this summer The now former Montpellier forward was also heavily linked with a move to Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt that move was seemingly contingent upon Randal Kolo Muani’s departure which was only realised on the final day of the transfer window Wahi joined Lens towards the end of the transfer window for a reported €30m fee Wahi has now spoken about Chelsea’s and Frankfurt’s interest “Chelsea – I didn’t want to go there just for the sake of it I spoke with the manager there (Dino Toppmöller) He speaks French and that was important for me They had to wait for Randal Kolo Muani’s departure and waiting for it was too complicated I don’t have any regrets,” said the Lens forward Kelly once said that the difference between a boss and a leader is that a boss says The former Phoenix police lieutenant once led a raid against 30 Hells Angels and rescued several women who had been kidnapped Blaine walked into a small-scale riot in a downtown housing project and according to Gordon A "He never made captain," wrote Hunsaker in his book "Gunfights & Fighters: Reflections from a Phoenix Police Officer." "I always thought he was too cool for them and they resented it." Blaine died of heart disease on June 3 in Phoenix Though his father left the family when Blaine was only 5 family and friends say he grew up to be a strong man and a great leader "He was raised without a father or a mentor but he did all these amazing things," said Jerilynn Blaine He was quickly selected to be a Mustang Marine officer an enlisted Marine chosen for the officer program The 20-year police veteran established the city's first special enforcement unit (SWAT team) and helped developed the security system for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Blaine was also the original commander of Phoenix's police helicopter unit and an avid aviator logging more than 10,000 hours as a civil pilot and volunteering with the Civil Air Patrol remembers that his eighth birthday party featured a flight for friends and family "He took everyone for a ride in a private aircraft," recalls Blaine "Not everyone could do that for their kids." Blaine flew the children to Texas to visit their grandparents "I woke up and saw him flying with a flashlight," said Steven "He handed me the flashlight and asked me to hold it for him He had lost all power except for the engine He was very cool under the circumstances." After retiring from the Phoenix Police Department in 1975 Blaine went to work on the investigations unit of the Arizona Department of Corrections his sons later followed their father's footsteps into law enforcement if we (my brother and I) were half as good as our dad we'd be great police officers," Steven said Blaine told his sons that the best police officers were in their 40s mentally to have the experience and maturity to make decisions "He would say being a police officer takes a physical toll to wrestle in the mud and blood and beer with the bad guys," recalled Steven As hard as Blaine might be on the bad guys he flew off the cycle and landed on the hood of another vehicle "He said it was his fault for causing the accident," he explained to his son After retiring from the Department of Corrections Blaine volunteered at Ben Avery Shooting Facility And though it had been a while since he had worked for the Phoenix Police Department He was familiar with all the people who worked with him and their families and was willing to help them with whatever came up," said retired Phoenix police Officer Thomas Bradley He treated everyone with respect and love — even the bad guys He was one of those guys that everyone looked up to." Reach Dolores Tropiano at dtropiano@cox.net A Life Remembered celebrates the lives of interesting people in Arizona who have recently died send an e-mail to liferemembered@arizonarepublic.com Olympique de Marseille are continuing their quest to sign a replacement for Renan Lodi (25), who departed for Saudi Arabia earlier in the transfer window. Foot Mercato are now reporting that Les PhocĂ©ens have reached an agreement on personal terms with FC Nantes’ Quentin Merlin (21) OM have already completed the signing of one left-back this January with Ulisses Garcia making the move from Young Boys BSC another left-back is expected to arrive at the VĂ©lodrome before the end of the month Marseille remain in negotiations over Truffert and Tavares signings Stade Rennais’ Adrien Truffert is a notable target who after spending last season on loan at OM is now on loan at Nottingham Forest from parent club Arsenal Whilst negotiations to sign Tavares and Truffert remain open progress is being made in Marseille’s attempts to sign Merlin The France U21 international’s entourage has told Foot Mercato that an agreement has been reached between the left-back and OM whilst discussions between Les PhocĂ©ens and Nantes are progressing Olympique de Marseille and FC Nantes have reached an agreement over the transfer of Quentin Merlin (21), according to a report from L’Équipe Marseille have been in the market for a left-back since Renan Lodi’s departure to Al-Hilal earlier in the window Ulisses Garcia had been brought in from Young Boys but only to be an understudy to the first choice Adrien Truffert had been one of the priorities a deal proved difficult with Stade Rennais reluctant to sell whilst moves for Stade Brestois’ Bradley Locko and RB Leipzig’s Angeliño were also explored However, Les PhocĂ©ens instead chose to step up their pursuit of Merlin. The France U21 international has been keen on a move, and according to Ouest-France, even declared himself unavailable to face Stade de Reims this weekend in order to force through the transfer Merlin’s move now looks set to be completed Nantes and Marseille have agreed on a €12m fee this Friday and the France U21 international’s transfer is set to be completed within the next 24 hours @2025 - All Rights Reserved. Get Football Group Play Duration: 14 minutes 25 seconds14m Brought to you by Lech Blaine grew up with three foster siblings, Stephen, John and Hannah. Their biological parents were Christian fanatics — Michael and Mary Shelley. Lech Blaine has spent over a decade looking into his family history in forensic detail and has just published a memoir — Australian Gospel, a Family Saga, which at its heart is a love letter to his parents and siblings. For many years, the family lived with the fear of the Shelleys turning up. "The stalking was pretty vicious," Blaine said. "The Shelleys were just bombarding my parents with letters, accusing them of being rapists and paedophiles and, but also really weird sort of stuff. "Annotating their physical defects and calling them uneducated bogans and saying that they weren't educated enough to raise their children. "And that mum was a lesbian because her hair was short and yeah, it was really bizarre. "They were threatening to kidnap Hannah, who was 12 at the time." Protecting them was the fierce love and courage of his own parents, Tom and Lenore. "I don't remember my very early childhood, but I have this feeling still now as an adult of just immense love from both my parents, but also my siblings. "Yeah, we just had so much fun together. And I just felt so safe and so happy." Lenore and Tom Blaine with Lech (second from left) and his foster siblings in 1997.(Supplied: Lech Blaine) More EpisodesDrivePublished: 20h agoMon 5 May 2025 at 7:00am Download the ABC listen app to text and call your favourite live radio L’Est RĂ©publicain report that the Nancy shareholders are looking to buy another football club a member of Pacific Media Group who have a stake in the club via Chien Lee’s New City Capital was present at the Ekstraklasa team’s last match which they won as they sit 4th in the league The Polish side would be the 5th club within the NCC network and all experiencing struggles in their own right a week after the club’s relegation to the third tier was made official with a 3-0 loss to Quevilly-Rouen which was called off before it could reach half-time with fans throwing fireworks onto the pitch Rwandan delegation received in Gennevilliers A delegation of Rwandan survivors of genocide against Tutsi are in France giving testimonies that directly show how the French government was involved Six members of the alumni of survivors of genocide against Tutsi students’ association (GAERG) are conducting seminars in France schools on the role of foreign actors in the Genocide in charge Communication at GAERG told KT Press “The visit – ‘Tour de France Imbere Heza’ emphasizes the relationship between Rwanda and French youth giving them an insight into the role their country played in the Genocide.” the delegation will for two weeks teach the history of Genocide in secondary schools They will also share Rwanda’s journey of unity and reconciliation and how the country is rebuilding economically Testimonies will include the role French officials played in planning and executing a tragedy that cost the country over 1 million people of ethnic Tutsi in just a hundred days This trip was organized in partnership with the European Grassroots Antiracist Movement (EGAM) which brings together 35 main anti-racist organizations from 29 European countries committed to fight racism and anti-Semitism the Mayor of Gennevillier City told the visitors that they are very supportive of AERG initiative that strives to tell the truth making sure that genocide victims are remembered and perpetrators not to pretend to be innocent “We have already denounced the silence of France during the 20th commemoration of the Genocide against Tutsi and their absence during the commemoration that took place in Kigali,” he said It requires courage to denounce the violence like the one the Tutsi experienced but it is also requires courage to assume responsibility of our mistakes and errors when you are a big state like France.” Rwanda published a list of 22 senior French officers who played important role in training and arming Interahamwe militia that carried out the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi The list followed another of diplomats and political officials who also played a crucial role in the Genocide France refused to acknowledge their government’s role in the Genocide despite undisputable evidences AERG delegation will also attend the trial of Genocide perpetrator Pascal Simbikangwa who appealed to the French court against the 25-year prison sentence for Genocide offenses a delegation of more than 10 leaders in EGAM visited Rwanda to learn more about the Genocide Our goal is to establish links between the new French and the Rwandan generations,” adding that “Their new and committed generation rejects the poisoned heritage of the collaboration and questions the older generation’s silence as well as inability to stop the Genocide.” This Rwandan youth delegation will have an opportunity to attend Pascal Simbikangwa who is accused of genocide and complicity in genocide and crimes against humanity during the 1994 Rwandan genocide they hope the world to understand the Rwanda genocide and also be able to arrest all those who played in a role more especially those on the Europe continent Alberto Contador surges clear of Tour de France Vincenzo Nibali during yesterday’s eighth stage Blel Kadri earned France its first Tour de France win this year on stage eight as race leader Vincenzo Nibali showed a first glimpse of weakness yesterday Nibali retained the yellow jersey by finishing third three seconds behind Spaniard Alberto Contador Twice Tour winner Contador attacked several times on the last ascent and the Italian could not respond to the last acceleration after team-mate Jakob Fuglsang was dropped in the final climb “Alberto Contador took the race in hand The last climb suited him more than me,” said Nibali “It was very difficult and explosive We’ve all paid for the efforts of the previous days.” agreed the first week of racing was demanding “The Tour will be long for many good riders I saw a lot of good riders very tired,” said Madiot hit the tarmac again on the slippery descent from the Col de la Grosse Pierre with less than 10-km to go The Garmin-Sharp rider lost more than two minutes to Nibali and Contador promoted to Team Sky leader after defending champion Chris Froome pulled out injured following a crash finished fourth in the eighth stage ahead of French hope Thibaut Pinot “I think it is going to be a duel between Nibali and Contador I’m still a bit behind,” said FDJ.fr rider Pinot with Dane Fuglsang in second spot 1:44 off the pace just behind fellow Spaniard Alejandro Valverde Nibali said the race would not just be a battle between him and Contador He’s not here by coincidence,” the Italian champion said “I’ve also seen Valverde riding with ease There have been great riders in action today.” Among them was Kadri who was part of a five-man breakaway and never looked back as he took the polka dot jersey as the leader in the mountain classification “Our goal as a team was to win a stage The polka dot jersey is the icing on the cake,” said the AG2R-La Mondiale rider Today’s ninth stage should be quieter for the top guns a 170-km run from Gerardmer to Mulhouse that is likely to see the breakaway 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