what to also remember from the sports weekend

Yes, five days after its elimination in the semi-final of the Champions League, PSG saw its chances of winning the Ligue 1 fade away after its draw on the lawn of Stade Rennais.

Neymar and PSG did not do better than a draw on the lawn of Rennes, Sunday May 9

Yes, the handball players from Nantes, who had never before participated in a European “Final Four”, created the feat by winning the European League (the European Cup bis). A reward obtained after a success over the Hungarians of Siofok (36-31), reigning champions, Sunday in Baia Mare (Romania).

Yes, after several months of intense negotiations and many departure rumors, Neymar has signed a new contract with PSG. The Brazilian is now linked with Paris until 2025.

But something else happened this weekend that you might have missed.

The three weekend lessons

  • The competition, you will keep on crushing
Filippo Ganna celebrates his victory on the first stage of the Giro, in Turin on May 8, 2021

As in October, for the start of the 2020 edition of the Giro d’Italia cyclist, Filippo Ganna got everyone to agree on the occasion of the first stage of the Giro, Saturday 8 May. On the inaugural 8-kilometer time trial in Turin, the world champion in the specialty easily won and took the pink jersey of the leader of the general classification. The 24-year-old Italian has seen his popularity climb in his country, where Vincenzo Nibali (36) remains the runner most appreciated by the tifosi.

In Turin, Ganna did less well than in October. On the inaugural time trial of the 2020 edition, the Ineos rider had 22 seconds behind his runner-up, the Portuguese João Almeida. This time, he was only 10 seconds ahead of his compatriot Edoardo Affini. The gap is still significant, and proves once again that Ganna has no equal currently in the time trial.

The weekend ended perfectly for Ganna: the Italian crossed his native region, Piedmont, in the 2e stage Sunday, and managed to keep his pink jersey. ” I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep it. I will do my best but as soon as the road goes up, priority will be given to the leaders », Assured Ganna. In 2020, the Ineos rider had held two days ahead of the general.

  • From the beaten earth, you will finally make do
Aryna Sabalenka after her match against Ashleigh Barty in Madrid on May 8, 202.

Aryna Sabalenka gains confidence in ocher, and it’s not Ashleigh Barty who will say otherwise. The Belarusian won her 10e professional title in Madrid, eliminating in the final the world number 1 (6-0, 3-6, 6-4). At the same time, she opened her counter on clay, a surface that had only smiled on her until then very little. But since the start of the season, things have looked a lot different.

“Something has changed in my head, I’m not really afraid of this surface anymore. I feel a little more confident, I kind of understand that I can play well on clay », explained the 23-year-old, just after her victory. At the same time, it made its entry into the World Top 5 (4e), and take the opportunity to take a little revenge. In the final in Stuttgart two weeks ago, it was dominated by… Barty! Bodes well for her as Roland-Garros looms (May 23 to June 6).

Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Müller and Manuel Neuer celebrated Bayern Munich's 9th consecutive title on Saturday 8 May at the Allianz Arena

And of ” neun »For Bayern Munich! The Bavarian club won its ninth straight Bundesliga title on Saturday, the longest running streak in the five major European football leagues. The Bayern players learned the news of their title as they prepared for their game against Borussia Mönchengladbach following the loss of runner-up Leipzig.

At Bayern, to party, we hit our opponents. The unfortunate players of Mönchengladbach passed by and conceded six goals against the Bavarians and a wild Robert Lewandowski (6-0): the Pole scored a hat-trick, and is now 39 goals in 27 league games.

With this 31e title, Bayern will be able to embroider a new star on its jersey: with 30 championships won, a German club has the privilege of inscribing five stars on its tunic. The Bavarian club had to wait another year because the title acquired in 1932 does not count in the “Bundesliga era” which began in 1963. From now on, Bayern is aiming for a 10e title in a row. Recently Celtic Glasgow and Juventus Turin saw their streak end at 9.

The weekend video

It is now a custom. With every Crusaders title, rugby team coach Scott Robertson shows off his dancing skills. On Saturday, after his team’s victory in the final of Super Rugby Aotearoa, against the Waikato Chiefs (24-13), the New Zealander did not fail to honor this tradition by making a few breakdancing movements on the Rugby lawn. League Park in Christchurch City, in front of over 17,000 spectators.

This is the Crusaders’ fourth consecutive title in Super Rugby Aotearoa, the New Zealand side of a competition that in recent years brought together teams from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Japan and from Argentina. The 2021 edition has refocused on the first two countries.

The weekend figure

100

At 36, Lewis Hamilton is already… a hundred years old. On Saturday, the British driver of the Mercedes team pocketed the 100e pole position of his career on the Spanish Grand Prix circuit. A symbolic level, that ” Sir Hamilton celebrated in the best possible way by winning the race the next day. A 98e success on the track which has something to disgust the young and impetuous Max Verstappen, who seeks at all costs to dethrone “King Lewis”, seven-time winner of the drivers’ world championship.

The declaration of the weekend

“I’m going to make it easy for the club, because they’ve always given me everything but for now we’re focused on the remaining four games and finishing the season well. “

Eliminated in the semi-finals of the Champions League by Chelsea on Wednesday May 5, Zinédine Zidane released these enigmatic remarks on Saturday May 8, at a press conference. While Real Madrid missed the opportunity against Sevilla to regain the lead in La Liga three days from the end of the Spanish league, the future of “Zizou” seems very uncertain. After leaving Real for the first time in 2018, the Frenchman could fly to other horizons. His name is very regularly mentioned on the side of Juventus in Turin.

The weekend quiz

Denis Ménétrier and Valentin Moinard

The world