Mathieu van der Poel, with streaks on his smiling face, raised his arms under an indecisive sky that alternated the jets of water with the rays of the sun. He bathed in both after attacking at the right time and with the right force.. After having fallen when slipping on a treacherous floor and combining greatness with risk, courage with shock, and pleasure with anguish.

Sore, but happy; with red scratches, drenched in sweat and water; the uniform torn, but the body intact; Dirty asphalt, but resplendent with glory, he was proclaimed world champion. Behind him, an impressive trio, unbeatable, the rest, except Evenepoel, of the top favourites: Wout van Aert, at 1:37. And, at 1:45, Tadej Pogacar, who surprisingly beat Mads Pedersen in the sprint. A dream podium, a gift for the official photo of an unforgettable World Cup.

Mathieu, winner in San Remo and Roubaix, offered some doubts after his weak performance in the Tour. Even so, he never lacked for a barrage of favorable forecasts.. The route favored him and, in the end, the route and the man honored each other. A “parcours” similar to a criterium, but brutal. To a “kermesse”, but wild. They were 271 kms., Many of which, the last, after leaving Edinburgh, in a street circuit in Glasgow. And, in addition, a circuit with 460 curves, 45 per lap. And endless steep “studs”. Technical, tough, dangerous… weird. The anticipated World Cup, the World Cup in summer was the World Cup in autumn. In other words, from the Scottish summer: water and 14 degrees.

But it turned out, in the end, a monument to cycling within a demolition task that exhausted the men until turning any of the fifty survivors into a hero. The entire race, from the first metre, was nothing more than a preparatory exercise for the tremendous finish. A World Cup is like a classic. And, as in all classics, there is always an early break from modest runners and destined for failure.. This time it was carried out by nine adventurers without hope, but with honor.

They endured a lot. They came to have an advantage of, rounding, eight minutes. So, with 192 km to go. for the finish line, the race was neutralized due to a protest demonstration, worthy of a better cause, whatever, and, above all, a more appropriate setting. Since no camera recorded it, no one found out who the “protestants” were, who stuck to the road with some potion, or what they were complaining about or what they were demanding. They altered the course of events, screwed up in bulk, and got nowhere. Congratulations.

But somehow the test took on new life. The peloton stretched and quickened the march. The escapees, however, managed to reach the circuit with a 4:52 advantage. They were slowly but inexorably losing it until their disappearance. Two moments marked the future of the test. When there were still 55 kms left!, a bold Alberto Bettiol left the group. He revolutionized everything in a peloton that lost people, recovered them, although not all of them and, in general, pedaled with “the hook” and offered changing and, of course, exhausting alternatives.

With 16 men remaining, still with Bettiol ahead, the Ecuadorian Narváez skidded on the already slippery ground and, sliding across the width of the road, crashed into the fences. The accident caused an instant touch to Zafarrancho. The “Fab Four” (Van der Poel, Pogacar, Van Aert, Pedersen) were left alone and left behind a trio made up of Powless, Schmid and Skujins. A little further back, conspicuously, Evenepoel, Neilands, Kung and Dinham.

The quartet caught Bettiol. And, at that moment, Van der Poel attacked. You already know the result. The last Dutch world champion was Joop Zoetemelk 38 years ago. Van der Poel has wound up History while helping to make it. Ion Izagirre, dragged by Matteo Trentin, who tripped over the legs of the fences, abandoned. And Alex Aranburu finished nineteenth, 8:30 behind Van der Poel.

Aleix Espargaró knew how to wait for his moment. Although, perhaps, he could have passed before a Pecco Bagnaia who led practically the entire race, the Aprilia rider knew how to save his ace up his sleeve just for when the current world championship leader could no longer reply.

In the penultimate sector, a few meters from the checkered flag, with increasingly pressing rain, Aleix took advantage of the speed he had been displaying throughout the weekend at Silverstone to open up the throttle, take the lead and score thus the second MotoGP victory of his career.

This British Grand Prix, which is added to the Argentine Grand Prix won last year, has undoubtedly suited him wonderfully.. And the truth is that Bagnaia can't regret his second place much either, since it allowed him to widen the gap a little more with his most direct pursuers in the table: Jorge Martín, who remains second, was sixth, and Marco Bezzecchi, for now, still third in the running, he crashed after engaging in a very intense duel with Pecco for many laps.

«It has been crazy, from the first round. Even starting from 12th place, I felt good on the bike, it was one of those days where you feel invincible. The bike turned well and had very good braking stability. The truth is that my plan was to overtake Pecco and try to get away, but, with the rain, I thought it was better to keep the place, let him open the track and have something else at the end to try to overtake him.. The last few laps have been very dramatic, many riders were following us and the bike began to slip. In the end, it was unbelievable”, said Aleix Espargaró himself as soon as he finished the race. His last move was completely masterful. For this reason, it is not surprising that many drivers, including Pecco Bagnaia himself, congratulated him effusively on his victory.

“It's been complicated, yes.. With the rain, I didn't know where the limit would be, but, as the weekend has gone, so complicated, finishing second pleases me,” said the world championship leader.

To tell the truth, Bagnaia signed a great performance almost until the end. He took the lead for the first time at the end of the first lap and, after a one-on-one with Bezzecchi, he won first place that he would not let go almost until his last breath.. The side-by-side fight between the two Italians, truncated in the end by the fall of Bezzecchi, was one of the many incentives that had a MotoGP Silverstone Grand Prix in which, in fact, the overtaking did not stop happening in the head positions.

Brad Binder and Maverick Viñales, at times, also came to roll as seconds. The most constant, despite everything, would be an Aleix Espargaró who would end up achieving a more than fair prize for his good work with the piloting. Above all, when, in the final moments of the race, the rain began to become more intense. So much so that a change of motorcycle was even allowed, something that, however, only a handful of riders would resort to. Among them, a Fabio Quartararo who saw how the fairing of his mount had been completely destroyed after a spectacular brush with Luca Marini.

The Marquezes

Álex Márquez, winner of the sprint race on Saturday, for his part, was betrayed by the mechanics of his motorcycle on this occasion. The one from Cervera had no choice but to abandon after detecting some problems with the change. And much worse luck befell his older brother, Marc, who once again hit his bones on the asphalt.

Enea Bastianini and Joan Mir, for their part, could not finish the race either. As for the rest of the Spanish riders in contention, in addition to sixth place that allows Jorge Martín to remain second in the World Championship, Raúl Fernández was finally tenth; Augusto Fernández, eleventh; Pol Espargaró, who was finally able to finish the race on Sunday despite the precautions expressed this weekend, the weekend of his return to the circuits, finished twelfth and Iker Lecuona, for his part, closed the standings with his seventeenth place.

Ricky Rubio has received dozens of signs of support this Saturday from former teammates such as Jose Manuel Calderón or Pau Gasol as well as active players such as Willy Hernangómez or Rudy Fernández after announcing that he is going to “stop his professional activity” as a basketball player to “take care of his mental health”.

“We have known each other for many years and you know what I think of you. Now more than ever. I love you very much. We are with you. Much encouragement”, has published his former teammate in the Spanish team Calderón on his social networks.

The two-time NBA champion and former teammate Pau Gasol also wanted to dedicate an affectionate message to the point guard of the Cleveland Cavaliers. “Always on your team, Ricky. We are all with you,” he wrote.

Willy Hernangómez, a current teammate in the national team and with whom he has spent these weeks preparing the World Cup in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia, also sent his message of support: “Never too high, never too low…. RR”.

“In 'La Familia', people have always come before results. All my love and support for Ricky, and my admiration for his transparency and through it his ability, once again, to lead by example,” coach Sergio Scariolo said on his Twitter profile.

His colleague Sergio Llull has also wished him “lots of encouragement” on social networks: “May that smile never disappear. We love you”

The Spanish team managed to make history this Saturday in a rather atypical World Cup. Jorge Vilda's team reached the quarterfinals after beating Switzerland by a landslide (1-5). It may not seem like a great achievement, but it is the first time in this tournament that Spain has managed to pass a tie. In the two previous tournaments they had lost in the group stage, in Canada 2015, and in the round of 16 against the United States, in France 2019. So what happened last day is no small thing.

The coach had already predicted at a press conference that they were going to win this game, and he was not wrong. Few were the ones who trusted, and more when they saw the starting eleven for which Vilda bet. Five changes were made, with two rookies in the tournament. It was the case of Cata Coll and Laia Codina. The absence of Misa Rodríguez was a bit surprising, but after the win nobody noticed it.

The team went on the attack from the first minute, seeking to get ahead early on the scoreboard. It was there that the figure of Aitana Bonmatí emerged, who took the trophy for the best player of the match, and no wonder. He scored a double and gave two assists. Alba Redondo, Jenni Hermoso and Laia Codina also scored. The latter managed to make up for a mistake it had made minutes before, after scoring an own goal that equalized Switzerland. A predicament that lasted very little.

With this victory it has been possible to verify that Spain is prepared to compete and that the setback against Japan is now a thing of the past, but that it has helped them come back stronger. Now the national team is waiting to find out who will be their rival in the quarterfinals. He will find out this morning after the match between the Netherlands and South Africa (4:00 am).

surprising eliminations

The Spanish team has begun to be seen as one of the favorites to lift the title. There are other countries that were also on the list and have had a pretty amazing tournament, but not exactly for the better.. Brazil fell in the group stage, something that had not happened since 1995. His elimination was not the only surprise, Marta, one of the most well-known faces of the team announced that his retirement as an international.

But it wasn't the only big disappointment.. Germany also failed to qualify for the round of 16. To this elimination are added those of Argentina and Italy that also failed to pass the round.

The performance of the United States, current champion, was also surprising.. They qualified for the round of 16, which they will play this Sunday against Sweden, but more was expected from the American team. They only managed one victory and drew the other two games, which caused them to finish second in the group.

It is not being the World Cup of the great powers, and it is that another of the favourites, Norway, fell in the second round this Saturday against Japan. It was a duel between two world champions, in which the Japanese won 3-1. A classification to take into account because the crossing against Spain can occur again in a hypothetical semifinal.

Likewise, there are teams that have revolutionized the tournament such as South Africa, Jamaica and Morocco that for the first time have passed the group stage. And there are also some forecasts that have come true, England, Sweden and France have done their job and have passed as first. The English are the ones that a priori have more affordable qualifiers, since their most difficult match would be played in the semifinals, probably against France or Denmark, but as is already being seen in this World Cup, nothing can be taken for granted.

I was 17 years old when Ricky Rubio stormed basketball like a cyclone. It was presented to the world in 2008 in Beijing in an Olympic Games final against none other than the United States. Spain lost, but the rival point guard, a certain Jason Kidd, said of him: “The sky is the limit.”

And the truth is that at the beginning of his career he played it. Euroleague “Rising Star” Trophy plus title with Barcelona as the youngest player, best point guard in the ACB… and selected fifth in the 2009 Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

He came to the United States with the overtones of a superstar. His duo with Kevin Love wowed in Minnesota and the franchise had high hopes for him.. Until on March 10, 2012, precisely against the Los Angeles Lakers of his friend Pau Gasol, Ricky destroyed his knee.

As a result of that first step through hell, the #StayPositive of the young man from Masnou would be born. That motto in the face of adversity from a boy who has had to overcome very difficult moments in life, usually in the form of long-term injuries such as the ankle problem in 2014. A sprain that became more complicated until it ended in an operation a year later. “Situations happen to us in our lives that we have to integrate in order to overcome them and grow as people and athletes and this is not always easy,” explains David Llopis, sports psychologist.

But the worst was, without a doubt, the death of his mother in 2016 after a long fight against cancer.. An event that caused the basketball player to go through a depression as reflected in a letter in The Players Tribune in 2019. After the death of his mother, Ricky admitted that he “lived angry” and that he came to “blame basketball” for what he was feeling. So he asked for help to be able to overcome a trance that produced “no hatred” for his sport, but “not wanting to go to a game or a training session”. “When a player comes from a psychologically complicated situation, controlling emotional charges is important,” says Llopis.

From that, an even more mature and committed Ricky emerged, he created The Ricky Rubio Foundation, an institution aimed at improving the lives of cancer patients.. And he smiled again with a basketball in his hands.

I would return to heaven in 2019 dressed in the uniform of Spain. Back in China, Ricky Rubio rose together with the team with the gold medal in the World Cup. He was also chosen MVP of the tournament.. “There is a perfectionism that makes you be demanding and want to do better, but there is another that is never satisfied with what it has and this can increase the pressure on the athlete,” says the sports psychologist.

same knee

Then came the pandemic, which was also complicated for the young man, and again the well. In December 2021, he broke the same knee again, but he, always positive and forward. “When a person is not feeling well and decides to stop, it is not a whim and it is not due to lack of interest. There are some reasons, that in many cases one is not aware of what the cause is, but knows that he needs to stop”, says Llopis about the mental swell caused by the ups and downs of a long sporting life.

He returned in January 2023, 380 days after his major injury. He did it at the age of 32, with many past injuries but, it seemed, that with the illusion intact. After an irregular end to the season with his team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, everyone would expect to see him overwhelmed with enthusiasm before this new World Cup appointment with La Familia. “In the same way that there are times when one physically can't take it anymore, psychologically it also happens,” adds Llopis. Faced with the unexpected decision of the young point guard from Masnou to leave.

Rubio has decided to stop to “take care of his mental health”. Perhaps, with that sincere letter to The Players Tribune, he had already warned that this could happen: “As in any other job, there are times when you need a break and you can't have it”. Llopis agrees with the player, but adds a factor regarding the future of his decision: “A momentary withdrawal generates a release initially, but doubts will also appear. In this sense, the support and understanding of the environment is key”.

Gymnastics superstar Simone Biles, a four-time Olympic champion, returned to competition this Saturday by winning the US Classic trophy, her first competition since the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Biles, 26, bested a collection of top rivals with a terrific performance, scoring a total of 59,100 points in the uneven bars, balance beam, floor exercise and vault events.

The American, who took her long hiatus to take care of her mental health after the problems suffered in Tokyo, wore a smile from beginning to end of the event at the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, on the outskirts of Chicago (Illinois), where it was held for the 11,000 fans who filled the stands