Oui, the OM-PSG clasico ended in a scoreless draw.
Yes, a Frenchman was crowned world champion in the premier motorcycle category.
Yes, the alpine ski season has resumed with the giant slalom victories of Mikaela Shiffrin and Marco Odermatt.
But there were other things that happened this weekend that you might have missed.
The three weekend lessons
- The head of your rival, you will keep underwater
Winning a clasico can change everything in a season, even when you are a sick FC Barcelona and in need of results. Real Madrid knew this well and made a point of not offering medication to their rivals on Sunday. At Camp Nou, Barça’s home, Real Madrid showed pragmatism to win and take the lead in the championship.
It was David Alaba who first opened the brand (32e), by signing in the most beautiful way his arrival at Real Madrid in the offseason, before Lucas Vazquez ensures the victory of his family (90e + 4).
Despite the reduction of the score by Sergio Agüero in the last seconds (90e + 7), Barça does not come out of its crisis and remains stuck in ninth place, far from its standing. Real Madrid are second, one point behind Real Sociedad.
- The last one on the track, you will stay
This Sunday in Roubaix, the Italian Elia Viviani became the world champion of elimination in track cycling. For those who struggle in mental arithmetic, the event is much easier to understand than the points race or the American for example. The principle: the last rider of each intermediate sprint is eliminated.
ELIA VIVIANI !!! ? CAMPIONE DEL MONDO ?in the Men’s Elimination Race! # Roubaix2021 https://t.co/ZuFBWzWgUZ
On the Roubaix velodrome, Viviani (passed to a gut of elimination at the start of the race) made use of her profession and her burst of speed to beat the Portuguese luri Leitao during the last sprint. At 32, the regular on the road offers his first track world title in the city of his current sponsor, Cofidis.
But not for long. After two mixed seasons, the sprinter will leave the northern team at the end of the season. The rider is announced with insistence on the side of Ineos-Grenadiers where he would find another rider, the world champion of the omnium, the Briton Ethan Hayter.
- Your losing streak, you will stop with the way
Biarritz Olympique breathes. Beaten in his last four Top 14 meetings, the promoted had been standing still since his victory against Racing 92 on September 18. Barry Maddocks players displayed an ultra-attractive face against Brives to win widely (37-9), offensive bonus to the key.
The key precisely, the BO took thirty minutes to find it. Time for Francis Saili to break the defensive curtain and go register the first try of the Basques after a penalty quickly played (33e). The third row even offered a double in the second period (69e), shortly after the test of Tomas Cubelli (61e).
The game turned into a demonstration in the final minutes, with Johnny Dyer’s new tries (75e) and Henry Speight (77e), on an action of more than 60 meters. This victory takes the Biarrots out of the relegation zone (12e), and gives hope to an Aguilera stadium that has been waiting for this kind of performance for a long time.
The weekend image
A legend may have been born with Fabio Quartararo’s first MotoGP title, another is about to bow out. Seven-time Moto GP world champion, Valentino Rossi will definitely store his bike in the garage at the end of the season, in November. At 42, “the Doctor” no longer plays the leading roles on the circuits, but still has a unique popularity rating.
The proof, this Sunday again, with a 10e however anecdotal place for a champion like him, during the Grand Prix of San Marino, contested in Italy. For his last race in front of his home crowd, Rossi gave himself a wonderful moment of communion with his fans.
The declaration of the weekend
” I want to win the Davis Cup, but I want to win the real Davis Cup, not a tournament agreed to by one person. “
Alexandre Zverev continues his boycott. After skipping the Davis Cup in 2019, the German is still opting for the empty chair policy this year, as the team competition will be held from November 25 to December 5. The reason: Zverev tastes very little of the Davis Cup format change, historically played out over several weekends throughout the season.
Present at a press conference before the Vienna tournament on 4e mondial tackled without naming Gérard Piqué, initiator of this change with his company Kosmos. Before adding, ” i didn’t play it two years ago and this year i will be doing the same. I am a man of my word. This is not the real Davis Cup. The format should change. ”
The sportswoman of the weekend: Letesenbet Gidey
A first, and what a first for Letesenbet Gidey! At 23, the Ethiopian competed in the first half-marathon of her career, in Valencia, on Sunday. Result: a blazing time of 1 h 02 min 52 s, and a slap in the previous world record held since April by the Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich (1 h 04 min 2 s).
A nice performance for the bronze medalist of the Tokyo Olympics over 10,000 meters, and above all one more line on an already stratospheric record. In addition to this record, Letesenbet Gidey also holds those on track in the 5,000 meters (14 min 6 sec 62 hundredths) and the 10,000 m (29 min 1 sec and 3 hundredths). For the anecdote, Giday would currently be third in the French… male record in 2021 with this record time on “semi”.
FLASH: Letesenbet Gidey ?? smashes world half marathon record with 1:02:52 at @MedioMaratonVLC to take more than a… https://t.co/XkzksWZi54
The weekend figure
5
The crowd of supporters leaving the stands at Old Trafford in the second half was not disappointing. Sunday, Manchester United suffered the humiliation of being beaten on their lawn by rival Liverpool, while conceding the trifle of five goals (5-0). Lost on the lawn like a Harry Maguire systematically late on each offensive, the Manchester players took to the water from all sides. And Mohamed Salah rushed into the gaps to register a hat-trick. Back at half-time, Paul Pogba did not participate for long in the stampede, being excluded at the hour mark on an uncontrolled tackle.