Sportsman of the Week Ending 7/20/2025

The Tour de France remains one of the most visually appealing sports events of the summer and a favorite of this Blog.  The scenes of 150+ cyclists going through the French countryside by small town churches and museums along with 4 hours of action and strategy every day.  However, it's usually settled in the big mountains of the Pyrenees or Alps and 2025 was no different.  And a familiar face dominated.  Tadej Pogačar is making a case for best ever in the sport and on his way to his third General Classification victory in Le Tour well before the age of 27.  Pogačar's biggest threat has been 2022-23 winner Jonas Vingegaard but it's been no match.  Stage 12 is where he made it happen, going one on one with Vingegaard and just crushing him to take over the Maillot Jaune probably for good.  It should be noted, Vingegaard beat the rest of the field, but Pogačar put his stamp on it. Stage 13 to leave no doubt, he won the Time Trial as well.  Maybe the Slovenian will crack in the Alps but not likely.  Tadej Pogačar is poised for his third Tour de France win on the Champs Elysees on Sunday and is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 7/24/2022

Another week, another major European sporting event leads to our weekly honors.  This time, on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.  After three weeks of grueling mountain climbs, sprints, and time trials, the Tour de France wrapped up with a surprise first time Champion.  Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark defeated the two-time defending champion Tadej Pogacar in several thrilling climbing duels over the Tour.  Stage 11 proved to be the decisive blow in the Alps, as Vingegaard and his Jumbo Visma teammates outnumbered Pogacar and gapped him by nearly 3 minutes which was more than enough to take the Maillot Jaune for good.  Pogacar attacked as he could the remainder of the tour, but Vingegaard was too much.  Pogacar settles for the white jersey for best young rider, and Vingegaard thrusts himself into Tour de France immortality and is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 7/18/2021

What a three weeks on the roads and mountains of France, as cycling's greatest event unfolded over an amazing backdrop.  A year after being postponed until fall, the Tour de France went back to its original schedule and put some normalcy back to cycling.  But the more things change, the more they stay the same.  2020 surprise winner (and prior Sportsman of the Week) left a lot less drama in this years tour, dominating from the first week through the parade on the Champs-Elysees in Paris to win back-to-back tours.  Slovenian Tadej Pogacar was a man among boys despite only being 22 years old.  A rare talent of unmatched climbing skills with ability to time trial and burst on a sprint stage with steel nerves makes it seem as if he may not lose for several years.  Several.  He won Stage 5 (time trial), took the Maillot Jaune on Stage 8, then won Stages 17 and 18 in the Pyrenees to make it easy.  There was no other rival.  He was a champion this year and will be a champion in years to come.  Our Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 9/20/2020

 

Once again, defying COVID odds, another sport had an amazing competition with an unexpected outcome.  The Tour de France, a tradition of over 100 years, slipped about 6 weeks and despite having little crowd control, managed to execute safely.  With a result nobody expected.  With favorite Primoz Roglic winning by a near one minute margin coming out of the crucial Alps stages, it was thought the final few days would be a coronation.  Oh but for the Time Trial.  Most of the Tour de France is run in packs where moves can be countered and precious seconds over rivals are hard to generate.  But the Time Trial is an event in which each cyclist is on his own for, in this case, about an hour.  And it's easy to lose time.  And lost time Roglic did.  To his fellow Slovenian countryman Tadej Pogacar (Tah-dey Po-GAH'-cha).  Pogacar reeled in his 57 second deficit and tacked on a minute advantage in winning the Time Trial on Stage 20, the penultimate stage.  He demolished the field by 2 minutes, even Roglic finished 5th out of 100+ cyclists and looked like he got whooped.  Pogacar had seemed the strongest rider the last week, but couldn't make up the time he had lost early on a mechanical failure combined with cross winds that cost him nearly 2 minutes early.  But the best cyclist won.  Oh, and Pogacar is only 21 years old (22 today, actually).  He may be the future of cycling and many more Sportsman of the Week honors to come!