It always seems like the landing of a spaceship, like an almost extraterrestrial event, when the Tour de France arrives in a village like Colombey les Deux Églises. It is literally haunted as a destination, with all its temporary structures, laid cables and the caravan made up of countless trucks and cars.

The inconspicuous town of Colombey les Deux Églises, surrounded by fields, has just 700 inhabitants. Its most famous citizen was the former French President Charles de Gaulle, for whom a monument and museum were erected at the highest point of the town.

Girmay strikes again

Birniam Girmay, however, became the general of the eighth stage. The Eritrean, who made cycling history with his sprint victory last Monday in Turin as the first black African Tour stage winner, followed up on his own. The professional from the Belgian Equipe Intermarché-Wanty won another stage after 183 kilometers in a thrilling finish.

Second place went to Jasper Philippsen, who was the dominant force among the fast men last year with four stage wins. The wearer of the green jersey Girmay was also able to extend his lead over Philippsen in the points classification on this rainy Saturday.

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There was no change in the overall rankings. Tadej Pogacar in the yellow jersey is still 33 seconds ahead of the Belgian Remco Evenepoel, who won the time trial the day before. Behind him is defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, who is 1:15 minutes behind Pogacar.

“Girmay deserved to win”

It was also a shocking day for cycling, overshadowed by a serious accident during the Tour of Austria, which was taking place at the same time. The 25-year-old Norwegian André Drege fell on the descent from the Grossglockner and suffered fatal injuries.

The German Pascal Ackermann once again proved his good form by finishing fourth in Colombey les Deux Églises. But it was not enough for a decisive advance in the sprint. Although he was well positioned on Girmay’s rear wheel, the Palatinate rider missed the right moment to start his sprint. “In the end I was just as fast as the guys in front. But Girmay deserved to win, that was a strong performance,” said Ackermann on ARD. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

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Girmay is an expert at surviving hilly stages (five classified climbs, 2400 meters of elevation) like this one and still having full power in the sprint. It was not expected beforehand that it would be a mass finish. But because so many racing teams have sprinters on board, it is almost in the general interest of the peloton to let it come down to a sprint decision.

Girmay had already proven by successfully completing the flat section to Turin that he can currently hold his own with punch and self-confidence. “It’s incredible to win twice,” said the 24-year-old. “I would like to dedicate this victory to my parents, who supported me so much in being able to become a cyclist in the first place.”

“Planned long in advance”

Mads Petersen (Team Lidl-Trek) is also a proven expert for finishes like the one in Colombey les Deux Églises. However, the former world champion left the tour this morning due to injuries sustained in a fall on the fifth stage. With Petersen’s presence and a strong Lidl-Trek team pushing the pace, the stage would probably have picked up speed earlier.

Georg Zimmermann, Girmay’s German teammate, also speculated. “This stage was already a topic of conversation for us in the winter, and success has been planned for a long time. That’s all the nicer because in cycling things usually turn out differently than expected,” the Augsburg native told ARD.

It has not been the Tour de France of breakaways so far. After the two victories from breakaway groups on the opening weekend, there has been nothing more to gain for the offensive forces of the peloton since then. But that is definitely not the fault of Jonas Abrahamsen, the most active rider of the first week of the Tour and wearer of the polka dot mountain jersey.

The adventurous Norwegian dominated the day after setting off early as a soloist. Despite the rain, the field had a relatively peaceful day in the saddle. 14 kilometers from the finish, the peloton caught up with Abrahamsen. The pace was then increased – until Girmay’s front wheel crossed the finish line first. In Colombey les Deux Églises, where the usual calm returned later in the evening when the Tour caravan moved on.

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Foot – Market – OM

Transfer window: De Zerbi says everything about his choice to join OM

Published on July 6, 2024 at 11:00 p.m.

Passionate about football since a young age, becoming a sports journalist quickly became obvious to Hugo. He would later discover a love for the NBA, before exploring other horizons such as Formula 1 and the NFL.

Announced in the sights of big European clubs, it is finally at OM that Roberto De Zerbi decided to continue his career. A choice on which the Italian technician returned. The latter assures that he has always been fascinated by Marseille, a warm atmosphere that reminds him of his years in Foggia. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

A choice that surprised more than one. Looking for a new coach, theABOUT finally managed to secure the services of Roberto De Zerbi. Announced in the sights of several European big names, the Italian technician finally committed until June 2027 with the Marseille club after his departure from Brighton. A surprising choice of which Roberto DeZerbi explained the reasons.

“It’s a place that has always fascinated me.”

“I thought I would stay there for a year if I didn’t find an offer that would excite me. There were contacts with important teams, but for various reasons, we didn’t find an agreement. The Marseille management was clear from the start. And then it’s a place that has always fascinated me, as a child I admired champions like Rudi Völler and Chris Waddle. It’s a place where the supporters are very warm and passionate, a bit like me,” explained Roberto DeZerbiin an interview with the Italian media Zeta.

“I chose OM because it reminds me a lot of the passion and pressure I experienced in Foggia”

It is also for its special atmosphere that Roberto DeZerbi took over the management of theABOUTwhich reminds him of his years at Foggiawhich he coached between 2014 and 2016: “I chose OM because it reminds me a lot of the passion and pressure that I experienced in Foggia. The Stade Vélodrome welcomes nearly seventy thousand people, it’s nice and warm. These environments push me to give the best of myself.”

2024-07-06 21:00:00
#Transfer #window #Zerbi #choice #join

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