Sports

Demi Vollering wins Tour de France Femmes with sensational solo attack on final stage

Published

34 minutes ago

August 9, 2026

Demi Vollering won the 2026 Tour de France Femmes after a sensational solo attack on the final stage saw her successfully defend her yellow jersey and secure a second Tour title.

The Dutchwoman had duelled with closest rival Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney on the fourth and last ascent of the Col d’Eze in southeastern France, with the pair wheel-to-wheel until Vollering’s attack with 16km remaining finally saw off the Polish rider who finished 1 minute and 18 seconds behind the champion.

As she crossed the line in Nice, Vollering made a heart sign with her hands and then got off her bike and lifted it above her head as she celebrated becoming the first woman to win the title twice in the modern era, which started in 2022.

There was heartbreak, however, for Marlen Reusser who was third overall at the start of the day but crashed halfway through Stage 9, ending her hopes of a podium finish. The Movistar rider, who finished 14th overall, was understandably emotional afterwards.

Paula Blasi finished the stage second, outsprinting Niewiadoma-Phinney in the chasing group, and was fifth overall but it was Germany’s Antonia Niedermaier who won the white jersey for best youth rider thanks to her fourth-place overall finish.

The Athletic breaks down the final day’s key talking points.

Vollering a dominant and deserving winner

With the yellow jersey exchanging hands over the past few days, and Niewiadoma-Phinney incensed by her encounter with Celia Gery on Saturday, the final day was set to be a true fight.

The tussle between the top two was enthralling while it lasted, with Vollering and Niewiadoma-Phinney taking turns to punch before being reeled back. But, in the end, the difference between the two riders was immense.

Demi Vollering, wearing a yellow jersey, stands on top of the podium.

Demi Vollering stands on top of the podium. (Nicolas Tucat / AFP via Getty Images)

The gap was only eight seconds heading into the final day but, such was Vollering’s dominance on the ninth stage, she finished over a minute ahead of Niewiadoma-Phinney.

As she powered into Nice, the 29-year-old was beaming and punching the air. The victory didn’t come easily — it almost felt odd she hadn’t ridden in yellow until the final day — but hints of what was to come were there on the very first day. Vollering pushing on the ascent to sprint finish on stage 1, despite Lorena Wiebes looming, was a statement of intent.

Vollering followed that up on the fifth day to take her first stage win. Mount Ventoux on Friday was a blip in her dominance as a tactical error left her battling with Reusser behind Niewiadoma-Phinney’s stratospheric effort.

But after her blistering spring season, the fairytale is now complete.

A heartbreaking end for Reusser

Reusser’s crash on the second descent of the Col d’Eze completely took her out of contention for the general classification (GC) battle.

It was a heartbreaking end for a Swiss rider who had spent three days in the yellow jersey after winning the individual time trial on Stage 4. She was 1:12 behind Vollering heading into Sunday’s final day and in good position to challenge for the title.

Sunday’s circuit was punchy, more suited to her than Mont Ventoux, and Reusser was expected to be one of the day’s key animators.

When the riders rolled back into Nice for the second time, however, she was more than six minutes behind, with broadcasters saying she had been in tears on her bike.

It was a heartwarming sight to see her surrounded by her team during the race. The crowd welcomed her with louder cheers than the group before, too, but the devastation she must have felt was palpable.

A memorable Tour and a worthy route

The Tour has been box office from start to finish — and the route has played a huge part in that.

We’ve been treated to sprints, a historic long-range breakaway, reduced GC and phenomenal climbing. Most importantly, the winner was not decided until the final stage. A stark contrast to last year’s edition, in which the winner was effectively decided on a single climb.

Though her team revealed she had to drop out due to illness, the fate of that 2025 victor — Pauline Ferrand-Prevot — exemplifies how the race has changed. The Frenchwoman was not able to make it to her preferred mountain stage in contention due to the time losses she sustained on the reintroduced individual time trial and the hilly stage five.

Put simply, it was not enough to be just a good climber or a puncheur for the general classification of this race. The route had more meters of elevation than last year’s in the same number of days of racing — 1,175km with 18,795m vertical gain — making the hilly days harder and scooping many more riders into contention.

The individual time trial was also a key aspect of this, creating time gaps the favorites were forced to react to.

Heading into the final stage, there was nothing off the table, hearts were in mouths all day. And that’s how it should be.

Provisional overall standings:

Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez)
Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon/SRAM) + 1 minute 18 seconds
Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team L’Imad) + 4:29
Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon/SRAM) +5:10
Paula Blasi (USA Team L’Imad) +6″13

Stage 9 Top 5:

Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez), two hours, 44 minutes and 43 seconds
Paula Blasi (UAE Team L’Imad) + 1:04
Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon/SRAM), same time
Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek), same time
Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon/SRAM) +1:06

Sports

Jannik Sinner withdraws from Cincinnati Open with knee injury as ATP takes another hit

Published

19 seconds ago

August 9, 2026

qasimgillani

MONTREAL — Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from the Cincinnati Open with a right knee injury, he announced Sunday, meaning the world No. 1 will miss both of the prestigious hard court tune-up tournaments heading into the U.S. Open. The 24-year-old also skipped the Canadian Open, which is underway in Montreal this week, to prioritize his health.

“After consulting with my doctors and my team, I have to announce that I need to withdraw from the Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati,” Sinner’s statement read. “My right knee has been bothering me and even though we have been working hard with my medical team, I have to accept that I’m not ready to compete yet.”

Sinner last played at Wimbledon, where he hoisted his fifth Grand Slam trophy, and showed no signs of injury during his grass-court run. But he joins a mounting — and increasingly troubling for the sport — list of banged-up players in men’s tennis that’s left some of the ATP’s top-tier tournaments without its biggest stars.

Carlos Alcaraz is still rehabbing a right wrist injury and hasn’t played since April, and neither he, Sinner nor Novak Djokovic played at the Canadian Open this week. The event is a Masters 1000 tournament, which is the level just below a Grand Slam and is considered among the most prestigious events on the ATP Tour, aside from the year-end Finals.

Beyond Sinner, Alcaraz and Djokovic, whose absence was no surprise as the 39-year-old mostly saves his body to compete in Grand Slams these days, the draw at the Canadian Open has been rife with upsets and injuries to top-ranked players.

No. 2 Felix Auger-Aliassime, the tournament’s hometown hero and biggest draw, pulled out with a back injury before his first-round match. Taylor Fritz lost in the second round, with murmurs of a foot issue trickling out after the match. Frances Tiafoe retired from his third-round match and later posted on social media that he had a cyst removed from his hand. Jack Draper was in tears during his first-round loss, his latest attempt to return to the court while dealing with bone bruising in his left elbow.

Those were just the injury-related losses. Plain-old upsets also tore through the draw, and by the middle of last week, the Canadian Open had become the first Masters 1000 tournament since 1991 in which no top-five players reached the third round.

Players tend to feel more urgency in Cincinnati than Montreal because of its proximity to the U.S. Open, which may curb some upsets. But nevertheless, men’s tennis is facing yet another two-week Masters 1000 tournament without its biggest names and the injury bug running rampant.

Sports

Braves ace Chris Sale ejected before first pitch vs. Yankees, argues with umpire

Published

7 minutes ago

August 9, 2026

qasimgillani

NEW YORK — Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale was ejected before the first pitch of Sunday’s game at Yankee Stadium.

Television cameras caught Sale having an intense conversation from inside the dugout, with plate umpire Dan Bellino leaning over the railing. The other umpires were within earshot of the conversation, and third-base umpire Dan Merzel ultimately motioned for Sale to be thrown out.

It all happened with the Yankees’ defense set, starting pitcher Cam Schlittler on the mound and Braves leadoff man Drake Baldwin nearly ready to bat.

The ejection comes one day after a contentious balk call against Sale in his start against the Yankees. Manager Walt Weiss was ejected after arguing the call, allowing Spencer Jones to score from third base with one out in the fifth inning. Sale, who had two strikes reversed into balls earlier the same inning, also complained about the call. The Braves went on to lose the game, 5-4.

After the game, Weiss said Merzel, who was the plate umpire at the time, made a “terrible call” and said Merzel explained that Sale decided to pitch out of the windup for the at-bat without declaring it to the umpire first.

“Sale declared the hitter before that he was going out of the windup,” Weiss said, according to the Associated Press. “He said he did not declare after that. He’s never done that in his career, so it’s a terrible call. I always try to show the umpires respect, and they know that, but you can’t make that call right there.”

Weiss and Bellino had a nearly nose-to-nose conversation on the field behind home plate after the first inning, but no other ejections happened.

Sale has been known to have a hot head at times, like when he cut up the Chicago White Sox’s throwback jerseys in 2016. This is his fourth career ejection and his first since Aug. 3, 2019, when he argued balls and strikes while pitching for the Boston Red Sox against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

This is not the first time someone has been ejected before the start of the game. In 2015, then-Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price was thrown out after arguing with the umpire while bringing out the lineup card before facing the Cleveland Indians. In 2024, then-San Francisco Giants manager Bob Melvin was ejected before the first pitch of a game vs. the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field because, he said, “I just talked too much” to the umpires.

Sports

Paris Saint-Germain complete signing of Lucas Digne from Aston Villa

Published

13 minutes ago

August 9, 2026

qasimgillani

PSG activated the release clause in Digne’s Villa contract Dan Mullan/Getty Images

Paris Saint-Germain have announced the signing of Lucas Digne from Aston Villa.

The 33-year-old full-back had two seasons left to run on his deal at Villa Park but he had a release clause in his contract, worth in the region of €7-8million.

A move for Digne was seen as an enticing financial opportunity by PSG, who have added an experienced France international to their side. PSG sources with knowledge of the situation, speaking on the condition of anonymity, indicated that negotiations were accelerated as Digne wanted a return to the French capital, having spent three seasons as a PSG player between 2013 and 2016.

The full-back was often Unai Emery’s first choice last season, making 32 Premier League appearances and starting 11 matches — including the final — in their triumphant Europa League campaign.

Digne went on to feature six times in his national team’s World Cup run, starting the semi-final loss to Spain and only missing two games in the group-stage.

His future at Villa Park was uncertain, however, with deputy left-back Ian Maatsen, 24, viewed as a long-term solution in the position. He follows Youri Tielemans in leaving the club this summer window after the Belgian moved to Manchester United, while The Athletic revealed Chelsea have reached a verbal agreement to sign Morgan Rogers on a £117million deal.

Villa have been active in securing incomings too, announcing the £35m signing of Joao Gomes from Wolverhampton Wanderers and finalising a club-record deal for Johan Manzambi from Freiburg, both midfielders.

PSG’s starting left-back last season was Portugal international Nuno Mendes. The French side won their fifth league title in a row in 2025-26, completing the double with their second successive Champions League win in penalties over Arsenal.

Connections: Sports Edition Logo

Aug 9, 2026