Monday, July 22, 2024

They say the hallmark of a champion is to perform when it matters most, when the pressure is highest, so what does that make Tadej Pogacar? A sadist, perhaps. On Sunday, with the yellow jersey already sewn up, with nothing to gain and everything to lose, he stormed to an otherworldly time-trial victory on stage 21, just because he could.

He had spent most of the past three weeks tearing the peloton to shreds, launching vicious attacks which splintered the chasing pack, each surge like a grenade thrown into the bunch. On this final ride, a 34km time-trial from Monaco to Nice, he fired one more, crushing not only his nearest rival Jonas Vingegaard but the time-trial world champion Remco Evenepoel too. Only in the last few metres of this 3,498km race did he let up, raising two hands to the sky as he crossed the line.

The Tour de France can be won in myriad ways. Geraint Thomas eked out seconds at opportune moments, gradually growing his gap. Chris Froome controlled every aspect of the race from inside his bunker of Sky domestiques. Here, Pogacar bullied the peloton from pillar to post, grabbing the yellow jersey on stage two, taking his first win on stage four and then obliterating his rivals on stages 14, 15, 19, 20 and again on 21.

His haul of six stages is the most of any Tour de France winner since Bernard Hinault in 1979. Aged 25, he has three yellow jerseys and is in the midst of a season from the gods, completing the first Tour-Giro d'Italia double this century. After losing to Vingegaard in 2022 and 2023, Pogacar has never looked stronger, reaching levels perhaps no modern-day rider ever has.

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Tadej Pogacar answers doping question after dominant Tour de France win: 'There will always be doubts'

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Xander Schauffele won his second major in three months at the 152nd Open at Royal Troon to complete an American clean sweep of the game's biggest titles in 2024.

Schauffele carded a flawless closing 65 to finish nine under par, two shots clear of overnight leader Billy Horschel and Justin Rose, who led early in the final round and had threatened to become the first English winner of the Claret Jug since 1992.

South Africa's Thriston Lawrence, who held the lead after 11 holes on Sunday, finished a shot further back in fourth following a 68.

Schauffele, who registered a major record of 21 under par to win the US PGA at Valhalla in May, is the first player to win two majors in a year since Brooks Koepka in 2018.

The 30-year-old world No 3 is also the seventh American winner in the last eight Opens at Royal Troon – Sweden's Henrik Stenson having denied Phil Mickelson in a thrilling duel in 2016 – and he will head to Paris to defend his Olympic title in brilliant form.

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The 2024/25 domestic season is just around the corner and the new fixture list for the campaign has been announced - with a blockbuster match-up on the opening weekend, with last year's runners-up Manchester City heading to the Emirates Stadium to take on Arsenal.

Those clubs were in the title hunt throughout the season, Arsenal eventually finishing third five points off the pace, while City lost out on first place to Chelsea only on goal difference. That clash means Dutch forward Vivianne Miedema's league debut for the Citizens could come against her former club, having left Arsenal in summer after seven years in north London.

As for the reigning champions themselves, they begin a new era following Emma Hayes' departure, with new head coach Sonia Bompastor starting her reign against Aston Villa.

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