Yes, Lyon relaunched in the race for Europe by beating Monaco at the Louis-II stadium (3-2), after a crazy match. The Monegasques have given up all hope of a title.
Yes, La Rochelle overpowered the Irish Leinster (32-23) on Sunday at the Deflandre Stadium, and joined Toulouse in the final of the European Rugby Cup, a first for the Maritimes.
Yes, hundreds of Manchester United fans invaded the Old Trafford lawn on Sunday to protest against the club’s American owners, forcing organizers to postpone the game against Liverpool.
But something else happened this weekend that you might have missed.
The three weekend lessons
- For Europe your luck next year, you will try again
The Parisians probably thought they had done the hardest two weeks ago, when they had eliminated the Lyonnaises, five-time defending champions of the Football Champions League, in the quarter-finals. But the adventure stopped in the next round, against Barcelona. After a 1-1 draw in Paris, Marie-Antoinette Katoto’s partners lost 2-1 in the second leg in Catalonia.
PSG were quickly surprised by the Dutch Lieke Martens, author of a double at the half-hour mark, but Katoto relaunched Paris three minutes later. The players of Olivier Echouafni, however, failed to score a second time, synonymous with qualification.
There will therefore be no French club in the final of the Women’s Champions League, for the second time only since 2010. The Barcelona women, drastically beaten in their only final in 2019 against Lyon (4-1), will have a second luck against the English Chelsea, novices at this stage of the competition, who beat Bayern Munich (4-1) in London.
- Of that damn turn # 4, you’ll be wary
The bad demons pursues Marc Marquez. Back in Jerez, on the circuit where he crashed at the start of last season, depriving him of the race for nine months, the six-time Moto GP world champion tasted the bitumen again this weekend in Andalusia. The Spanish rider suffered an impressive crash during the third free practice session on Saturday, which he escaped with a “Cervical contusion”.
Marc Marquez standing but stunned after a fall at very high speed on the same circuit where he had crashed violently… https://t.co/inZJ2N9nZY
Doctors cleared him to continue competing, but during the warm up, Marquez fell again, in the same turn as last year, fortunately much more lightly. The Spaniard finally completed his second Grand Prix of this season in ninth place, far behind the winner, Australian Jack Miller. Disillusionment for the Frenchman Fabio Quartararo who, after having started from pole position, crossed the finish line with a disappointing 13e square. Now second in the general classification, “El Diablo” was visibly suffering from an injury to his right forearm.
- Your qualification for the Tokyo Olympics, you will win
?? Chorzow World Relays (?? Poland): Full box for the Blue ? https://t.co/wn2qzBtx4J ? #WorldRelays https://t.co/kvd6rAjkIq
The male torchbearers had already, thanks to their results at the Doha Worlds in 2019, composted their ticket for Tokyo, not the women. It’s been done since this weekend. The Blue in the 4×100 meters and the 4×400 meters won, Saturday in Chorzwow (Poland), during the World relay, their qualification for the Olympic Games (from July 23 to August 8).
Amandine Brossier, Sokhna Lacoste, Shana Grebo and Floria Gueï – for her return to the international level after having a child in 2019 -, finished third in their 4x400m series, behind Cuba and the Netherlands. Enough for a place in the final on Sunday and to see Japan. Orlann Ombissa-Dzangue, Cynthia Leduc, Maroussia Paré and Sarah Richard-Mingas then won their 4x100m series to also validate their place at the Olympics.
Sixteenth in the series, the mixed 4x400m relay with Amandine Brossier, Elise Trynkler, Christopher Naliali and Thomas Jordier, however, failed. Last chance at the end of June, via the world ranking, for this new Olympic discipline.
The weekend image
Welshman Geraint Thomas has a sense of humor. On Saturday, while he was fighting with the Canadian Michael Woods for the stage victory in the Tour de Romandie, the winner of the Tour de France 2018 crashed quite spectacularly in the heavy rain of Thyon (Switzerland).
GERAINT THOMAS FALL IN THE LAST METERS! Woods victory! # TDR2021 https://t.co/Nu4qj40hcO
The rider of the Ineos formation lost the stage, which he nevertheless finished third, but kept smiling at the many montages on the Internet having made fun of his fall. He even took one over his Instagram account, where we see him scoring a test under the Welsh colors. It took him well.
Sunday, Geraint Thomas finished 3e of the fifth and final stage, a 16 km time trial won by the French Rémi Cavagna, and won the race in front of the Australian Richie Porte.
The weekend figure
35
Unrivaled in the Dutch league, Ajax Amsterdam stalled on Sunday after their 4-0 victory over FC Emmen on 35e national title of its history. Three games from the end of the season, Erik Ten Hag’s men, with 79 points, cannot be joined by their runner-up, PSV Eindhoven. Ajax thus achieve the double, two weeks after having dominated Vitesse Arnhem (2-1) in the final of the Cup.
The weekend champions
? ?? The Landaise Madeleine Larcheron outclasses her competitors and takes the lead in the French skating championships… https://t.co/ENFrZldyBa
Skater Madeleine Larcheron, well on the way to being part of the France team at the Tokyo Olympics, was crowned at 15 for the second time French bowl (or park) champion, Sunday in Chelles (Seine-et-Marne): the park is the other discipline of skateboarding, with street included in the Olympic program. In men, it is the very young Tom martin who, at only twelve, won the national title.
The national meeting of Chelles marked the resumption of skateboarding competitions, after eighteen months without any ordeal because of the Covid-19.