Cycling

12:30 PM ET Associated Press MUR-DE-BRETAGNE, France — What his grandfather failed to do in 14 editions of the Tour de France, Mathieu van der Poel achieved at his first attempt. The Tour debutant pointed a finger toward the sky in memory of his grandfather, Raymond Poulidor, as he crossed the finish line of the

1:10 PM ET Associated Press LANDERNEAU, France — Dutch rider Demi Vollering won a sprint finish Saturday to claim a maiden victory in La Course, the women’s one-day race organized as a Tour de France curtain-raiser. There were several unsuccessful attacks in the final 3 kilometers uphill before former champion Marianne Vos launched the sprint

11:39 AM ET Associated Press LANDERNEAU, France — World champion Julian Alaphilippe won the crash-marred opening stage of the Tour de France to snatch the race leader’s yellow jersey on Saturday. The Frenchman surged ahead of the main pack in the final steep climb leading to the finish in Landerneau, crossing the line with an

7:25 AM ET Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic are the clear favourites for this year’s Tour de France, but an aggressive and star-studded Ineos-Grenadiers team may hold the key to the race, which sets out from the port city of Brest on Saturday. Pogacar blew Roglic away in the final time trial to win the

6:10 AM ET Associated Press AIGLE, Switzerland — The manager of a women’s cycling team was suspended for three years by the sport’s governing body on Wednesday for alleged sexual harassment of several riders. Marc Bracke’s behavior “constituted sexual harassment” of female cyclists, the UCI’s disciplinary commission ruled in the case against the director of

2:17 PM ET Mark Cavendish was named in the Deceuninck-Quick Step team for the Tour de France on Monday, confirming his return to the race after three years away. The announcement comes days after team manager Patrick Lefevere said the British sprinter would remain at home for the Grand Tour, which starts on Saturday. Sam

11:31 AM ET Associated Press PARIS — A women’s version of the Tour de France will be held in 2022 with a start on Paris’ iconic Champs-Elysees boulevard after the conclusion of the men’s race, organizers announced Thursday. The “Tour de France Femmes” aims to become a permanent fixture on the women’s world tour cycling

11:38 AM ET Associated Press MILAN — Colombian rider Egan Bernal appears to have finally put his back problems behind him as he added the Giro d’Italia title to his Tour de France win on Sunday. Bernal, who won the Tour in 2019, safely maintained his advantage on the final day’s time trial to Milan.

1:35 PM ET Associated Press LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Belarus was stripped of hosting next month’s European track cycling championships on Thursday amid international outrage after a passenger jet was diverted to Minsk so a dissident journalist could be arrested. The European Cycling Union cited the “current international situation” for canceling the event in Minsk scheduled

6:25 PM ET Associated Press BERLIN — Germany’s national track cycling team will not compete at next month’s Elite Track European Championships in Belarus in response to what the West has called a state-sponsored hijacking involving an opposition journalist. Raman Pratasevich was arrested after being pulled off a flight that was diverted to Minsk on