what to remember (also) from the sports weekend

Oui, Julian Alaphilippe achieved the feat of winning Sunday a second consecutive world title at the cycling world championships in Belgium.

Yes, Paris-Saint-Germain continue their clear round in Ligue 1 after their victory on Saturday against Montpellier, while Lyon had a complicated evening against Lorient.

Yes, British driver Lewis Hamilton notched a hundredth victory in Formula 1 after his success on Sunday at the Russian Grand Prix.

But there were other things that happened this weekend that you might have missed.

The three weekend lessons

  • Cornered in the ropes, you will end
Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, victorious over Briton Anthony Joshua, in the ring at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday 26 September.

And the new champion is… Oleksandr Usyk. To everyone’s surprise, the 34-year-old Ukrainian boxer was unanimously declared the winner on points after his fight against Anthony Joshua on Saturday night at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. In front of his audience, he was relieved of his WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight world champion belts.

Dominated from the first rounds, the Briton was never able to turn the tide. Forced to seek victory by K.-O. during the last round, it was even he who was very close to finishing on the mat. In the ropes, he was “saved” by the bell.

“You haven’t seen the best Usyk”, boasted the Ukrainian after his victory. Joshua, he has already made an appointment for a rematch as allowed by a clause in the contract between the two fighters. The 100% British heavyweight unification fight against Tyson Fury is in jeopardy.

  • Your goal, you will not lose sight of
Kenenisa Bekele at the end of the Berlin Marathon, September 26, 2021.

His obsession did not ultimately allow him to surpass himself. At 39 years old and after being deprived of the Tokyo Games by his Federation, Kenenisa Bekele wanted to beat Eliud Kipchoge’s world record (2 h 1 ’41’ ‘) during the Berlin marathon. In 2019, in the German capital, the Ethiopian missed his goal with only two seconds behind.

Sunday, he failed again. Starting very strong – he was 26 seconds ahead of Kipchoge’s reference time after 15 km of the race – Bekele finally finished 3e, behind his compatriot Guye Adola (2 h 5 ’45’ ‘) and William Yegon (2 h 6′ 14 ”) with a time far from his ambitions (2 h 6 ’47’ ‘).

Not enough to bring it down: “For the future, I have great confidence in my abilities. My plan is not just to break the world record, I want to go further. “ Like running the marathon in less than two hours? “One day I will try. I know it will be very hard, but I have confidence ”, concluded Bekele, who will compete in the New York City Marathon on November 7.

  • To take your revenge, you won’t forget
Manchester City and Gabriel Jesus took over Chelsea and Antonio Rudiger this Saturday at Stamford Bridge, London.

Chelsea-Manchester City: it was the poster for the last final of the Football Champions League on May 29 in Porto. Almost four months after the unexpected European coronation of the London club, the two teams met in the English league. And on Saturday, at Stamford Bridge, it was the Citizens of Pep Guardiola who won 1-0.

Premier League leader at kick-off, Chelsea was paralyzed by the Mancunian club. Thus, Romelu Lukaku and his teammates did not frame the slightest shot. Opposite, the superb goal (with success) from Gabriel Jesus (53e) came to concretize the domination of Manchester City. Thanks to this victory, the Citizens are repositioning themselves on the podium before challenging Paris-Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes this Tuesday in the Champions League.

The weekend image

New Zealand wins the 2021 Rugby Championship. In this tournament bringing together the best selections of the Southern Hemisphere, the All Blacks secured their coronation on the penultimate day with a victory – the fifth in as many games – snatched Saturday in the last minutes against the South Africa (19-17). But a controversy has overshadowed this success.

On Friday, Michael Hooper, Ardie Savea and Siya Kolisi, captains of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa respectively, posed with the competition trophy in Townsville, Australia. Without Julian Montoya, captain of Argentina, the fourth participant of the Four Nations. He was invited, but a schedule change in his team’s flight to Townsville prevented him from arriving on time.

“The guys and the staff really thought it was a lack of respect”, said Mario Ledesma, Argentina manager, regretting that the promotional photoshoot could not have taken place at another time.

The declaration of the weekend

“To stick such a price to the second, it’s impressive! “

The words are from Ludovic Royé, national technical director of the French Canoe-Kayak Federation, to describe Boris Neveu’s performance at the world championships. On the waterfront of Bratislava (Slovakia), the 35-year-old Frenchman won his second world title in K1 on Saturday after that won in the United States in 2014. And how! With an absolutely brilliant time, in 83’92, Neveu put Marcello Beda (87’75) and Joan Crespo (87’90) almost four seconds.

“He has shown everyone that he can go very, very fast. To stick such a price to the second, it’s impressive! He was sweating serenity. You had to be strong at all levels in this basin, it was ”, therefore rejoiced Ludovic Royé. The first interested party welcomed this “Crazy weekend, it’s great”, just three days after winning the team title.

Seventh at the Tokyo Games, this world coronation brings a little balm to the heart of the Frenchman, who ensured that a title like this “Boosts you, makes you want to go further and be present in 2024 in Paris”.

The weekend sportswoman

The Italian Elisa Balsamo raises her arms at the finish in Leuven.

If Italy did not get a medal in the men’s road race of the World Road Championships, Elisa Balsamo took charge of collecting gold on Saturday in the women’s race between Antwerp and Louvain, in Belgium. After four hours of effort, the 23-year-old rider won the sprint ahead of Marianne Vos, winner of the event in 2006, 2012 and 2013. On arrival, the Italian couldn’t believe it: “Do you realize that I beat Marianne Vos today?” It’s crazy ! “.

Great disappointment for the Dutch favorite who was able to tackle this final straight in ideal conditions thanks to her teammates. “We wanted to toughen up the race even if the scenario was good for me. It all went very well until the final stretch, but hey, Elisa was faster… ”, recognized the vice-world champion on arrival.

Behind the Italian and the Dutch, the Polish Katarzyna Niewiadoma completed the podium of the race. The first Frenchwoman, Audrey Cordon-Ragot, finishes at the 27e square.

The weekend figure

7

Corsican football has been waiting for this for more than seven years. the “Ritorno di u derby” took place on Saturday between Bastia and Ajaccio at the Armand-Cesari stadium, on behalf of the 10e Ligue 2. We had to go back to April 2014 to find the trace of an official confrontation between the two island rivals, following in particular the administrative relegation of Sporting to National 3 in 2017. A match that is used to electrify passions in Corsica.

This was the case this weekend, in front of the 10,000 Bastia supporters present in Furiani – the Ajacciens were banned from traveling. Eighteenth in the standings before the meeting, Bastia had separated from his coach Mathieu Chabert during the week. But we must believe that the derby has transcended the Bastiais, who brought down Ajaccio for the first time this season. The ACA, who fell from the podium, will have the opportunity to take their revenge in the second leg on March 12, 2022.

The weekend quiz


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