 Tour director Christian Prudhomme (l) and Duesseldorf mayor Thomas Geisel Race broadcasts in Germany of the world's most famous road race have been hit in recent years over doping scandals and poor viewing figures. German TV pulled out of covering the event in 2007 after German rider Patrik Sinkewitz failed a doping test ahead of the race. Coverage returned in 2008 but was pulled again in 2012 because of poor viewing figures. Public broadcaster ARD showed the Tour last year with German riders enjoying renewed success on the road. "We were recently feeling there was a willingness. Germany had loved the Tour before hitting a low," Prudhomme said at a ceremony at the German embassy in Paris on Thursday. "Then we felt something was happening with the (German riders') victories and requests from the cities (to host stages). So the Grand Depart in Duesseldorf will turn this renewal into a reality." It will the first time that the Tour departs from Germany since it started from West Berlin in 1987. The race will start on July 1 with a 13-km individual time trial tailor-made for local favourite Tony Martin, a triple-time trial world champion. Martin wore the overall leader's yellow jersey last year and Marcel Kittel and Andre Greipel are among the top sprinters in the world with 14 Tour stage wins between them in the past three years. "The choice of Germany is a strong signal from the organisers," Duesseldorf mayor Nikolaus Landrut said. |
vendredi 15 janvier 2016
Germany ready to embrace Tour De France again - Prudhomme
Bryant, James remain top in third returns of NBA all-star balloting
 Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant and the Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James continue to lead their respective conferences after the third returns of the 2016 NBA all-star balloting were announced Thursday by the league. Bryant, who plans to call it quits at the end of this season - his 20th - tops all players with 1,533,432 votes for the league's 65th mid-season showcase to be played February 14 in Toronto. The 17-time all-star would be joined in the West starting frontcourt by the Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant with 774,782 votes and Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green with 499,947. Reigning league MVP Stephen Curry of the Warriors with 1,206,467 votes - second behind Bryant - and Thunder's Russell Westbrook with 609,901 would be paired in the back court. "King" James, seeking his 12th all-star in 13 seasons, heads the East with 830,345 votes. He would be joined up front by Indiana Pacers' Paul George with 569,947 votes and New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony with 368,336 votes, who has moved past Detroit Pistons' Andre Drummond by 7,029 votes. Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade and Cavaliers' Kyle Lowry remain the leading vote-getters in the East backcourt with 736,732 votes and 399,757 respectively. | |||
Roma welcome back coach Spalletti for a second stint
 New AS Roma headcoach Luciano Spalletti arrives at Fiumicino airport, Rome New AS Roma headcoach Luciano Spalletti arrives at Fiumicino airport, Rome to coach the team for the second time, the Roma club said Thursday. "We are very excited to welcome Luciano Spalletti back to Roma," club president James Pallotta said. "He is a proven winner with a strong track record of success. We are looking forward to working together to take Roma to where we believe it should be." Spalletti, 56, was dismissed from the club in September 2009, early in his fifth season with the Giallorossi having been appointed in 2005. He then took over Zenit St Petersburg to 2014, winning two Russian league titles and a national cup. At Roma he finished second in three seasons and twice won the Italian Cup. "I've never forgotten my time here and Roma has never left my heart," Spalletti said. "I'm excited because I know what the merits of this city, this club and this team are. It's exciting to work with such worthy people." A group of fans greeted him at Rome's airport as he returned from Miami where he is said to have signed his new contract with Pallotta and his US staff. The terms of his agreement with the Giallorossi remained undisclosed. Roma currently sit fifth in the league, with a seven-point gap from leaders Napoli at the halfway point of the season. They have won only one of the last seven league games. |
Perfect Wierer glides to second career biathlon World Cup
 Dorothea Wierer of Italy Thursday to clinch the second biathlon World Cup win of her career in an individual race in Ruhpolding, Germany. Wierer triumphed in 40 minutes 19.9 seconds over the 15-kilometre course, winning by 54.8 seconds from former world champion Kaisa Makarainen. The Finn missed once from four trips to the shooting range, as did overall standings leader Gabriela Soukalova who was third, 1:09.9 behind. The Czech Soukalova retains the overall lead on 551 points from France's Marin Dorin Habert, who was sixth, on 506 and Germany's Franziska Hildebrand, who missed the final podium place by less than a second, on 466. A men's 4x7.5km relay is scheduled for Friday in Ruhpolding. |
Norway win biathlon relay; Germans stopped by penalty laps Today
 Norwegians (L-R) Tarjei Boe, Emil Hegle Svendsen, Johannes Thingnes Boe and Ole Einar Bjoerndalen celebrate their win route to victory in a biathlon World Cup men's relay on Friday while world champions Germany missed the podium after a mid-race lapse at the shooting range. Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, Johannes Thingnes Boe, Tarjei Boe and Emil Hegle Svendsen won the 4x7.5-kilometres relay in 1 hour 17 minutes 5.0 seconds on a snowy afternoon. Tarjei Boe turned a 20-second deficit at the halfway mark into a lead of more than a minute, and Svendsen was untroubled even though he had to reload twice in his final trip to the shooting range. Russia, the Olympic champions and winners of the first season relay, trailed by 14.6 seconds in second place and Austria came third with a deficit of 35.8 seconds. The hosting Germans' dreams of victory ended in the second leg when they faded to 16th after Johannes Kuehn missed three targets and had to ski three penalty laps. They recovered to finish fifth, almost two minutes behind the winners. The Ruhpolding events continue Saturday with mass start races for men and women. |
Ambitious German Hulkenberg hopes for best F1 season Today
 Force India Formula driver Nico Hulkenberg of Germany new Formula One season when he wants to make the podium at last in a steadily improving Force India team. "I want to make this my best season in F1: in terms of points and my position at the season's end. And I want to push myself on to the podium - hopefully and finally!" Hulkenberg said in an interview published Friday on the F1 website. Force India got their best result in fifth place in the constructors' standings last year and Hulkenberg was 10th in the 2015 drivers' list behind teammate Sergio Perez. Hulkenberg has been racing in F1 since 2010 and believes that Force India can make another step forward in the next campaign which starts in March. "I believe that we will be competitive again in 2016 ... From what I have seen of what the team is doing and developing, I think we can challenge for good results - probably even better than in 2015. Hulkenberg also made headlines last year by winning the famous Le Mans 24 Hours sports car race in his debut in a Porsche together with Earl Bamber und Nick Tandy. But he won't be able to defend the title because it clashes with F1 racing this year. "I must admit Le Mans was very special," he said. "What happened in Le Mans is a good example that shows the power of sport. Nothing is really impossible. Le Mans was not just about the title but also about the emotional experience that came with it for me - that there is still the 'winning gene' within me!" |
mercredi 13 janvier 2016
Wolfsburg striker Dost sidelined with foot fracture
 Wolfsburgs Bas Dost training and could face surgery and a lengthy absence, the Bundesliga club said Wednesday. Wolfsburg said the Dutchman Dost broke a metatarsal Tuesday at a winter training camp in Portugal and would undergo further medical examinations in after his return to Wolfsburg. Managing director Klaus Allofs said that Dost will likely have to go an operation which would keep him out of training for around six weeks. Dost has scored seven goals this season for Wolfsburg, who are seventh in the league which restarts on January 22. |
Spalletti returns at Roma to replace Garcia Yesterday
 coach Luciano Spalletti Roma after an absence of six years, taking the place of Rudi Garcia, Italian media reported Wednesday. Spalletti, 56, reportedly signed a contract until 2017 in Miami in a meeting with club president James Pallotta and his staff in the US. Garcia reportedly had to go in his third season after Roma managed only one win from the last seven games and have slipped to fifth place in the Serie A at the halfway mark of the season. Roma are yet to make an official announcement on Garcia's fate or a possible signing of Spalletti. Spalletti's first term at the club was from 2005 until 2009. H led them to three runner-up finishes in the Serie A and two Champions League quarter-finals. He then coached Zenit St Petersburg to two Russian titles before being dismissed there in 2014. # Notebook * * * * The following information is not intended for publication ## Editorial contacts - Reporting by: Alberto Cagliano - Editing by: John Bagratuni - Tel: +49-30-285231472;international@dpa.com dpa cag bag |
Suspended FIFA president Hawit extradited to US
 National Football Federation of Honduras's Secretary Alfredo Hawit Alfredo Hawit to the United States on Wednesday, the Swiss Justice Ministry said. Hawit, president of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and a vice president of the football world governing body FIFA, was arrested on December 3 in Zurich on US corruption charges. Along with a row of other Latin American football officials, Hawit is accused of having taken large bribes in exchange for awarding marketing contracts for football tournaments. Hawit, a Honduran national, was flown to New York after having agreed to his extradition last week. Six of the nine football officials who were arrested in Zurich in May and December as part of the US corruption case have now been handed over to the United States. Julio Rocha, Costas Takkas and Rafael Esquivel continue to contest their extradition and remain in Swiss custody. |
Chile pair banned for World Cup qualifiers
 Eduardo Vargas of Chile Midfielder Valdivia, who has a long record of disciplinary issues, was given a four-match ban for vigorous protestations after the final whistle in Chile's 3-0 qualifying defeat by Uruguay. Striker Vargas was banned for two matches for making obscene gestures to fans during the same game. Chile's next four matches are against Argentina, Venezuela, Paraguay and Bolivia. They lie fifth in South America's 10-team standings with the top four automatically qualifying for Russia 2018 and the fifth-placed side going into a playoff against a team from Oceania. |
mardi 12 janvier 2016
Tufa and Keitany set for another London Marathon duel
Ethiopian title holder Tigist Tufa will renew her rivalry with Kenya's Mary Keitany at this year's London Marathon after both confirmed their participation in the April 24 event, organisers said on Tuesday.Tufa, 28, scored a stunning upset with a great burst of speed over the last three miles to beat twice winner Keitany.
Tufa finished sixth at the worlds and third in the New York City Marathon, which Keitany won, last November.
"Winning in London was the greatest moment in my career so far," Tufa said in a statement issued by the organisers.
"I am happy to be returning to London to defend my title."
Keitany is set to be Tufa's strongest foe again and is the fastest woman on the start list with a personal best and African record time of 2 hours 18 minutes 37 seconds.
Inscription à :
Commentaires (Atom)