Pogacar one step away from equaling the historic record in the Tour de France

Pogacar, one step away from equaling the record of five titles, leads by a wide margin before the final stage in Paris.

Publicado 50 minutes ago el 26 de julio a las 12:33 | 3 mins reading |63 vistas | por Miguel Torres

No surprises in the penultimate stage

Tadej Pogacar completed the penultimate stage of the Tour de France without problems and is one step away from adding his fifth title, equaling the historical record. The Slovenian star heads into Sunday’s arrival in Paris with a lead of 6 and a half minutes over Belgian Remco Evenepoel.

Barring an unforeseen event, Pogacar will join the Belgian Eddy Merckx, the Spanish Miguel Indurain and the French Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault as the only ones to achieve five crowns.

“I had a really good Tour. Some of our competitors were unlucky,” declared Pogacar, whose main rival Jonas Vingegaard suffered a fall and abandoned. “We pulled it off with the team and now there is only one last show left.”

Richard Carapaz won the twentieth stage, his second victory in the current edition and his third in total. The Ecuadorian overtook Sepp Kuss near the end, when the American almost fell. Evenepoel also passed him to take second place.

“There was a moment when I couldn’t believe what was happening,” said Carapaz. “This Tour has been incredible, with all the support I have received from Ecuador.”

Pogacar chose not to launch attacks, unlike what was done on Friday. Stage 20 was an alpine traverse of 171 kilometers with three maximum difficulty climbs (hors catégorie) and one category 1 climb. The runners faced the Col de la Croix de Fer, the Galibier, the Sarenne and the Télégraphe, totaling 66 kilometers of intense climbing.

Carapaz led the group to secure the best climber’s polka dot jersey. Pogacar’s group fell behind when Carapaz, Kuss, Juan Ayuso and Jai Hindley crowned the Galibier together. Pogacar’s priority was to ensure that his teammate Isaac Del Toro finished third in the standings; The Mexican has more than two minutes advantage over the Frenchman Paul Seixas.

“It was an honor to ride for Isaac today,” said Pogacar. “Crossing the finish line with him has been memorable.”

Ayuso dropped out while Kuss, Hindley and Carapaz fought for supremacy at the Sarenne Pass. Kuss lost control on the descent with five kilometers to go and almost fell over a concrete barrier; A net cushioned the blow.

Sports

Lee Kang-In joins Atlético de Madrid from PSG

The 25-year-old Korean will sign with Atlético until 2031 for around 40 million euros.

Publicado 3 minutes ago el 26 de julio a las 13:20 | 1 min reading

South Korean midfielder Lee Kang-In will join Atlético de Madrid from Paris Saint-Germain, the Spanish club confirmed on Saturday.

The agreement includes a contract until June 2031. Although the official figure was not revealed, sources estimate a transfer between 35 and 40 million euros (between 39.8 and 45.5 million dollars).

European career
Born in Incheon, Lee came to Spain at the age of 10 to train at Valencia’s academy. With the club he played 62 games. He then moved to Mallorca and in 2023 he signed with PSG. In total, he has scored 16 goals in 124 appearances.

With the South Korean team he played all three games in the group stage of the World Cup, although his team did not advance.

Role at Atlético
The Colchonero team, which finished fourth in La Liga and reached the final of the Copa del Rey last season, seeks to reinforce its creativity after the departure of Antoine Griezmann to the MLS. Lee will occupy that space in the midfield.

The Atlético board trusts that his experience in Spanish football and his ability to unbalance will bring a new dimension to the attack.

Sports

Isaac del Toro wins the white jersey in the Tour de France

The Mexican cyclist won the white jersey and was on the podium in the French round.

Publicado 17 minutes ago el 26 de julio a las 13:06 | 2 mins reading

The Mexican cyclist Isaac del Toro wrote a historic chapter for the national sport by sneaking onto the podium of the Tour de France and winning the white jersey, a distinction that rewards the best rider under 26 years of age.

A meteoric rise

The rider from Baja California placed among the top three in the general classification of the most important cycling competition in the world. In addition, he won the recognition that consecrates the most outstanding young man of the French round.

Del Toro, 22, showed consistency in the mountain and time trial stages. His performance placed him as one of the revelations of the Tour, beating rivals with more experience in the peloton.

The white jersey had previously been worn by the Slovenian Tadej Pogačar and the Dane Jonas Vingegaard, both overall winners of the race. Now, the Mexican joins that list of precocious talents.

The UAE Team Emirates team, to which Del Toro belongs, celebrated the achievement. The board highlighted their discipline and ability to adapt. “It is an honor to see it grow,” said a spokesperson for the group.

With this result, Isaac del Toro becomes the second Mexican to reach the podium of the Tour de France, after Raúl Alcalá in the eighties. The difference: Alcalá never won the white jersey.

Mexican cycling is experiencing a sweet moment. Del Toro opens a window of hope for future generations. His next challenge will be to maintain the level in the autumn classics and look for a place on the podium of the Vuelta a España.

Sports

Mexico leads the medal table after the first day of the Central American Championships

The Mexican delegation took the lead in the medal table with seven golds on the first day of competitions.

Publicado 26 minutes ago el 26 de julio a las 12:57 | 2 mins reading

Mexico did not take long to demonstrate its strength in the Central American and Caribbean Games. On the first day of competitions, held on Saturday, the Mexican delegation won seven gold medals and placed first in the medal table with 18 medals in total. Cuba (4 golds, 8 in total) and Venezuela (2 golds, 6 in total) occupied second and third place, respectively.

Excellence in archery

The recurve archery teams contributed two golds. In the women’s division, Ana Paula Vázquez, Ángela Ruiz and Alejandra Valencia—double Olympic bronze medalist—beat Colombia 5-1. “It was a close match because the Colombians are a great team with a lot of level,” Valencia declared. The victory secured their ticket to the Lima 2027 Pan American Games.

In the men’s division, Matías Grande, Raúl Rodríguez and Francisco Padilla won 5-3 against Colombia.

Other Mexican golds

In taekwondo, Cecilia Lee and William Arroyo won the mixed freestyle modality with 8,680 points, beating Guatemala (silver, 8,400) and Puerto Rico (bronze, 8,280).

In addition, Mexico added gold in: mixed badminton team (3-0 to Guatemala), 10 km of open water with Paulo Strehlke, and women’s lightweight double short rowing (Melissa Márquez and Aylin Ibarra in 2,000 meters).

First golds for Cuba and Colombia

Cyclist Marlies Mejías achieved Cuba’s first gold by winning the women’s 30 km time trial (40:15.79). Mexican Sara Roel won silver (40:33.51) and Trinidadian Teniel Campbell won bronze (40:59.31).

Colombia obtained its first gold in the men’s time trial with Walter Vargas, who beat the Mexicans Edgar Cadena (silver) and Sebastián Ruiz (bronze) by almost two minutes.

Context of the fair

This 25th edition of the Central American and Caribbean Games brings together some 6,200 athletes from 37 countries and territories. Santo Domingo is host for the third time (1974, 1986 and 2026). The competition, the oldest of its kind in the world, will run until August 8.