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