Cycling

Tadej Pogacar has won his third Tour de France.

The 25-year-old Slovenian beat out Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark, the two-time defending champion who came in second overall and on the stage.

Pogacar finished Sunday's 34-kilometer (21-mile) time trial tace through the roads from Monaco to Nice in 45 minutes, 24 seconds, just over a minute ahead of the second-place Vingegaard.

Pogacar claims the Tour de France fresh off a win at the Giro d'Italia, making him the first cyclist to win both events in the same year since Marco Pantani did in 1998. Pogacar win on Sunday gives him his third Tour de France general classification win since 2020. He has also won 17 individual stages of the race since 2020.

Rather than finishing in Paris as it does in typical years, this year's Tour de France finished in Nice, France, due to the upcoming Olympic games.

Pogacar's rivalry with riders like Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Primož Roglič has made for an interesting storyline over the past few years, and Pogacar admitted he's enjoyed the high level of competition.

"Yeah, I think in the last two years we've been hearing that this is the best era of cycling, the best competition ever," Pogacar said in a post-race interview (h/t the Guardian). "If I would not be competing myself, I would think it myself [and] I could also say it's the best cycling era ever, at least for the GC. This kind of competition with Remco, Jonas and Primož, it's just incredible … I think we can all enjoy this moment of cycling. It's beautiful in my opinion."

At just 25 years old, Pogacar has already established himself as a legend, but he'll only look to further submit his cycling legacy in the coming years.

Julien Bernard found out the hard way what happens when you show affection to your family during the Tour de France.

Per Reuters, the International Cycling Union fined Bernard 200 Swiss francs ($223 U.S. dollars) for stopping to kiss his wife and son during the time trial seventh stage of the event on Friday.

The moment happened early in the time trial, which took place in Bernard's home region in Burgundy, amid a sea of supporters. Bernard spotted his wife, who was holding the couple's son, and kissed them both before resuming his ride.

Reuters noted the International Cycling Union said in a statement that Bernard's actions were inappropriate and damaged the image of the sport.

Bernard seemed to take the whole thing in stride. In a post written in French on X (h/t James Moultrie of CyclingNews.com), he said he had no issue paying the fine to get that moment.

"Sorry, but what was that? I love you so much," Bernard wrote. "And sorry UCI Cycling for having damaged the image of Sport. But I am willing to pay 200CHF every day and relive this moment."

Bernard wound up finishing in 61st place out of 174 riders in the time trial. He enters stage eight of the Tour de France on Saturday in 39th place overall, trailing leader Tadej Pogačar by 20 minutes, 41 seconds.

The 32-year-old Bernard is competing in the Tour de France for the fourth time in his career. This is his first appearance at the event since 2021 when he finished 37th.

A jury in Texas has sentenced Kaitlin Armstrong to 90 years in prison for the murder of 25-year-old professional cyclist Anna "Mo" Wilson, according to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN).

Wilson was found dead with multiple gun shot wounds at the home of a friend in Austin, Texas, in May 2022 just three days before she was set to compete in a 157-mile bike race.

Wilson briefly dated Armstrong's boyfriend, who is also a professional cyclist, in the fall of 2021 and the two went swimming and had a meal together on the day she was killed. Prosecutors said Armstrong "gunned down Wilson in a jealous rage."

Armstrong tracked Wilson to her friend's apartment through a fitness app and shot her three times, investigators said. Armstrong's vehicle was seen near the apartment at the time of the shooting and bullet casings found at the scene of the murder matched a gun she owned.

Armstrong fled to Costa Rica after the shooting using her sister's passport. She spent more than $6,000 on a nose job and also changed the color of her hair in an effort to evade authorities.

After 43 days on the run, Armstrong was arrested in Costa Rica on June 29, 2022, and deported to the United States in July to face a first-degree murder charge.

Armstrong also faces a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution and a separate felony escape charge after trying to flee authorities during a medical appointment outside of prison on Oct. 11.

Wilson, a Vermont native, was a rising star in gravel and mountain bike racing. She was projected to win the 157-mile race she was expected to compete in in Texas before her death.

Kaitlin Armstrong was convicted of murder on Thursday and faces a potential life sentence for the killing of former professional cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson, according to the Associated Press. Wilson was 25 at the time of her death.

Authorities searched for 43 days in an attempt to track down Armstrong, 35, who fled the country after killing Wilson and had plastic surgery in Costa Rica in an effort to evade arrest before she was ultimately caught.

Prosecutors argued that Armstrong killed Wilson out of jealousy after Wilson had a meal and went swimming with former pro cyclist Colin Strickland, who was Armstrong's boyfriend at the time. Wilson and Strickland had previously had a brief romantic relationship in the months prior to the murder.

No witnesses were present in the apartment where Wilson was murdered, which was a key point in the defense's arguments. But per the AP, "Strickland testified that he had to hide Wilson's phone number from Armstrong under a fake name in his phone. Two of Armstrong's friends said she told them she wanted to, or could, kill Wilson."

Additionally, "satellite records, phone-tracking data and surveillance video from a nearby home" indicated that Armstrong was driving close to the apartment and parked in a nearby alley before the murder took place. Other evidence showed that Armstrong had been tracking Wilson's location via a fitness app. And shell casings at the scene matched a weapon Armstrong owned.

Armstrong was then interviewed by police and fled the country the next day, stealing her sister's passport.

Wilson was considered and up-and-coming star in pro gravel and mountain bike racing, and was preparing for a race in Texas at the time of her death.

Magnus White, a 17-year-old junior national champion cyclist, died Saturday after being struck by a car while training.

USA Cycling released a statement Sunday announcing White's death, saying the young cyclist was riding in his hometown of Boulder, Colorado, when the accident took place. He was training for the upcoming Junior Men's Mountain Bike Cross-Country World Championships.

"We offer our heartfelt condolences to the White family, his teammates, friends and the Boulder community during this incredibly difficult time. We ride for Magnus," USA Cycling said in the statement.

White won the junior national championship in cyclocross in 2021, earning him a spot on the USA Cycling national team. He competed in the 2022 and 2023 Cyclocross World Championships and was beginning to rise on the mountain biking scene as well.

Earlier this year, White competed his way onto the Mountain Bike World Championships Team. He was preparing for next month's event, which is set to begin Aug. 10 in Scotland.

"[White] was a rising star in the off-road cycling scene and his passion for cycling was evident through his racing and camaraderie with his teammates and local community," USA cycling said in the statement.

Jonas Vingegaard claimed his second straight Tour de France title as the event wrapped up Sunday in Paris.

"I'm very happy to win my second Tour de France," Vingegaard said Saturday after putting one hand on the overall winner's medal following Stage 20. "It was my big goal of the year and once again I must thank my team a lot. I really appreciated the battle I had with Tadej. He's a super great guy. It's been an amazing fight since Bilbao."

The 26-year-old first claimed the yellow jersey after the sixth stage, the 145-kilometer journey from Tarbes to Cauterets. He didn't relinquish it for the remainder of the race.

Vingegaard's Stage 16 win also saw him build a massive lead that carried him through to the end. The gap between he and second-place Tadej Pogačar went from 10 seconds to 1:48 following the time trial.

"I think it was one of my best days on the bike ever," he told reporters. "I mean at one point I started doubting my power meter was broken. I think today all the hard work paid off."

Pogačar was immediately aware of the impact the stage had on the race as a whole.

"Today I could not do more, maybe it was not my best day," he said. "The Tour is not over but he gained a lot of time. We will try, but it will be much harder than last year. I gave everything."

Pogačar won the penultimate stage Saturday but still trailed Vingegaard by 7:29. That allowed Vingegaard to enjoy a leisurely stroll to the Champs-Élysées in the French capital.

Assuming he's back for the 2024 Tour de France, Vingegaard will look to be the first cyclist to win three straight since Chris Froome in 2017.

Perhaps Pogačar will manage to avenge his own back-to-back-to-back bid getting spoiled by the Dane in 2021.

Jacopo Venzo, a 17-year-old cyclist from Italy, died Saturday from injuries suffered in a crash while racing Friday.

According to Reuters (h/t ESPN), Venzo'a race team, Campana Imballaggi Geo&Tex Trentino, released a statement on the talented cyclist's passing:

"With tears in our eyes and devastated hearts we announce that our junior Jacopo Venzo has left us. The boy had been the victim of a very bad fall yesterday on the downhill during the first stage of the Tour of Upper Austria.

"Jacopo was an extraordinary young man with a future all to write in sports and especially in life, and for that it hurts even more. We ask that the family's privacy be respected, and we thank everyone who will make us feel their support."

The crash occurred during the first stage of the Junioren Rundfahrt, which is a bike race in Austria. Per Reuters, Venzo was airlifted to the Kepler clinic in Linz after the crash, but he could not be saved.

After news of Venzo's death broke, the Junioren Rundfahrt was canceled Saturday.

Venzo's death marked the second time a high-profile cyclist has passed due to injuries suffered in a crash over the past month.

In June, Switzerland's Gino Mäder died at the age of 26 after crashing during the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse.

Swiss cyclist Gino Mäder died Friday at the age of 26 from injuries suffered in a crash during the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse on Thursday.

According to BBC Sport, Mäder crashed into American cyclist Magnus Sheffield and fell into a ravine. Mäder was resuscitated at the scene and airlifted to a hospital, but he died Friday.

Mäder's team, Bahrain Victorious, released a statement in honor of the late cyclist, writing: "Gino was an extraordinary athlete, an example of determination, a valued member of our team and the whole cycling community. His talent, dedication and passion for the sport has inspired us all."

Tour de Suisse race director Olivier Senn also released a statement regarding Mäder, saying:

"We're heartbroken, the whole organization, the teams and the riders. It is devastating what happened, really hard to put into words. We just stood together with all the teams and riders in memory of Gino and that's all that counts for us at the moment.

"Gino was a fantastic rider and an excellent human, he was really a good person and he doesn't deserve to leave the world like this."

Mäder began his career as a track cyclist before transitioning to the road and turning professional in 2019.

Mäder won a stage in the 2021 Giro d'Italia and finished fifth overall in the 2021 Vuelta a España, earning him the young rider classification.

Mäder also finished second overall in the Tour de Romandie last year and fifth overall in the Paris-Nice race this year.

The sixth stage of the Tour de Suisse was canceled Friday, but cyclists will ride the final 20 kilometers of the stage in Mäder's honor, per the BBC.

Kenyan cyclist Sule Kangangi died after crashing Saturday during the Vermont Gravel Race.

He was 33.

"Sule is our captain, friend, brother. He is also a father, husband and son. Gaping holes are left when giant's fall. Sule was a giant," AMANI, Kangangi's racing team, said in a statement. "Instead of leading us at the front of the pack, he will now lead us as our guiding pole star as we press forward in the realization of his dream."

The Vermont Overland is a 59-mile dirt road course that featured more than 900 competitors this year. The crash took place on the final leg of the course.

"Vermont Overland is completely heartbroken by the tragic death of Suleiman 'Sule' Kangangi during The Overland yesterday," Overland owner Ansel Dickey said in a statement. "He was a kind friend and an inspiring and heroic athlete to his teammates and the gravel cycling community at large. We extend our deepest sympathies to his family, his friends, Team Amani, and the people of Kenya who are mourning his loss today."

Kangangi was a longtime road course rider who recently made the switch to dirt tracks. He was slated to compete in three different gravel races during his trip to the United States.