Ewan sprints to stage 21 victory, Bernal wins the Tour: Daily News Digest
Welcome to your Daily News Digest. Here’s what’s happening today:
Caleb Ewan wins the final stage of the Tour de France, Egan Bernal takes the overall title, Mathieu van der Poel and Jolanda Neff take European cross-country mountain bike championships. Those stories and more in today’s Daily News Digest.
Story of the Day: Ewan sprints to victory on the Champs-Élysées, Bernal wins the Tour de France
Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) claimed the final stage of the 2019 Tour de France, sprinting to his third win of this year’s race on the Champs-Élysées. The 25-year-year-old Australian topped Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) and Niccolò Bonifazio (Total Direct Energie) in Paris.
“It’s unbelievable. When we rolled onto the Champs-Élysées, to honest, I almost had tears in my eyes,” said Ewan, whose Tour start this July was the first of his career. “It was such a surreal feeling. I can’t believe I just won the stage.”
Egan Bernal (Ineos) finished safely to secure Colombia’s first ever Tour de France victory. His Ineos teammate Geraint Thomas closed out the race in second overall, with Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma) rounding out the final podium.
Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas on stage 21 of the Tour de France. Photo: Peter de Voecht/PN/Cor Vos © 2019
“I know I’ve won the Tour but I still don’t believe it,” Bernal said. “I’ll need a couple of days to get used to it.”
More to come…
Moving Pictures
Huge crowds of cycling fans are celebrating Egan Bernal’s win in his hometown of Zipaquira, Colombia, and it’s pretty cool to watch.
¡ZIPAQUIRÁ SALTA DE ORGULLO! Así vivieron sus habitantes el triunfo de Egan Bernal. https://t.co/oxlWHbduEe #TDF2019 ???????????? pic.twitter.com/gRsT1CYo8m
— El Espectador (@elespectador) July 27, 2019
Also cool to watch: this ITV profile on photographer Kristof Ramon, whose images help bring so many CyclingTips stories to life.
Race Radio
Brailsford: Froome’s recovery is ahead of schedule
While his Ineos teammates are celebrating an impressive one-two finish at the Tour, four-time overall winner Chris Froome working to come back from the injuries that sidelined him for this year’s race. He recently posted a video to social media of him pedaling with one leg, and according to Ineos team principal Dave Brailsford, Froome is recovering well at the moment.
“He’s well ahead of where he was hoping to be,” Brailsford told the BBC.
“In typical Chris Froome fashion, he’s putting everything into his recovery.”
Van der Poel, Neff take European mountain bike championship victories
Mathieu van der Poel nabbed the European cross-country mountain bike title on Sunday. The Dutchman had plenty of time to celebrate as he rolled down the finishing straight in Brno, Czech Republic. Florian Vogel (Switzerland) and Milan Vader (Netherlands) rounded out the podium.
On the women’s side, Jolanda Neff (Switzerland) defended her title, taking a convincing win ahead of Yana Belomoina (Ukraine) and Elizabeth Brandau (Germany).
Van Aert still in the hospital
Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) is still recovering from the crash that knocked him out of the Tour de France and left him with a deep gash in his leg.
After crashing during the stage 13 time trial, the Belgian was taken to a hospital in Pau and underwent an operation. Then, he was transferred to a different hospital.
“Over there, they examined me again,” van Aert said, according to Cycling Weekly. “It seemed the first operation wasn’t enough to ensure the recovery. That’s why I needed a second one.”
Van Aert had been hoping to return home, but will now spend more time recovering in the hospital.
Naesen finishes the Tour on steel
Oliver Naesen’s bike for the final stage of the 2019 Tour stood out in the peloton. Fifty years since Eddy Merckx won his first Tour de France, Naesen finished stage 21 on a steel ride, the Eddy Merckx Corsa Road Rim.
Ag2r La Mondiale might not have won a stage at this year’s Tour, but with Naesen on the classic machine and Romain Bardet sporting polka dots in Paris, the French team undeniably closed out the race in style.
Happy Birthday to …
Sep Vanmarcke (EF Education First) is 31. The Belgian’s palmares is loaded with podium finishes at the Spring Classics, and although a Monument win still eludes him, he does have an Omloop Het Nieuwsblad title on his list of achievements.
Sep Vanmarcke on the attack at the Tour of Flanders. Photo: ©kramon
Fellow Belgian Rik Van Linden is 70. Van Linden won stages at all three Grand Tours, and claimed the points classification at the 1975 Tour de France.
In case you missed it …
Feature Image: Caleb Ewan wins stage 21 of the Tour de France. Photo: Dion Kerckhoffs/Cor Vos © 2019
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