Pogacar's fifth Tour, Norris's first F1 win, and Vessat's record: a sports weekend
The Slovenian dominated the fastest Tour in history, the Briton triumphed in Hungary, and the Frenchman broke a 19-year-old record in the 400 meters.
The Slovenian dominated the fastest Tour in history, the Briton triumphed in Hungary, and the Frenchman broke a 19-year-old record in the 400 meters.
The last weekend of July 2026 brought a series of top sporting results - from Tadej Pogacar's historic fifth Tour de France victory, to Lando Norris's first win of the Formula 1 season, to the breaking of the French record in the 400 meters. French media Le Figaro and France Info provide an overview of the most important events.
Tadej Pogacar (27) continues to dominate the cycling world. On Sunday, July 26, he finished his fifth Tour de France in Paris (after 2020, 2021, 2024, and 2025), tying legends Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain atop the all-time list. The final stage was shortened due to fires in Gironde, and was won by Mathieu van der Poel. The day before, Richard Carapaz (EF Education) won the penultimate stage.
The Slovenian won overall with a lead of 6 minutes and 26 seconds ahead of Belgian Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora) and 9 minutes and 42 seconds ahead of Mexican Isaac Del Toro (Red Bull-Bora), according to France Info. Young Frenchman Paul Seixas (4th, +11:56) fought for a podium spot for a long time, but Del Toro secured third place with an attack on the Col de Sarenne climb. Two other Frenchmen finished in the top ten: Lenny Martinez (5th, +13:02) and Jordan Jegat (10th, +33:21).
According to Le Figaro, Pogacar achieved five stage wins during this Tour de France (Les Angles, Gavarnie, Le Lioran, Markstein, and Alpe d'Huez), bringing his career total to 26 stage triumphs and spending 71 days in the yellow jersey. The climbs of the Tourmalet (43'12") and Alpe d'Huez (35'27") were record fast. The average speed of this year's Tour was 43.227 km/h, surpassing last year's record of 42.728 km/h. The eleventh stage (Vichy-Nevers) was the fastest ever at 50.91 km/h, with Norwegian Soren Waerenskjold winning that stage.
Despite a large number of French riders at the start (30), local cyclists did not win a single stage for the first time since 1999, notes Le Figaro. In total, eight countries celebrated at least one stage win, with Belgium leading with six victories (Tim Merlier 3, Remco Evenepoel 2, Jasper Philipsen 1). The last in the overall standings ("lanterne rouge") Dutchman Cees Bol finished 6 hours and 22 minutes behind Pogacar.
Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring brought the first win of the season to current world champion Lando Norris (McLaren). The Briton started from pole position and triumphed ahead of Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), who drove an excellent race from seventh on the grid. According to France Info, Antonelli thus extended his championship lead, while Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) is now 50 points behind the leader and George Russell (Mercedes) trails by 59 points.
At the national championships in Albi, 24-year-old Samuel Vessat ran the 400 meters in 44.24 seconds, breaking the oldest French athletics record held since 2007 by Leslie Djhone (44.46). Vessat, who has only been in athletics for two years after a basketball career, is now second on the European seasonal list ahead of the European Championships (August 10-16), according to France Info.
Among other notable results: Hilary Kpatcha jumped 6.96 m in the long jump (third-best European result of the year), Just Kwaou-Mathey defended his title in the 110 m hurdles (13.34), and his 13.20 in the heats secured him a place at the European Championships. In the pole vault, Marie-Julie Bonnin cleared 4.60 m and Thibaut Collet 5.87 m. European champions in the 3000 m steeplechase, Alice Finot and Alexis Miellet, won national titles, while in the 800 m, young Louey Ouerrat surprised defending champion Gabriel Tual.
Quentin Halys (29) earned his first ATP title of his career by defeating Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik in the Kitzbühel final. On his way to the trophy, he overcame four higher-ranked players, including Bublik (11th in the world). A day later, Luca Van Assche (22) also won his first ATP tournament, defeating Belgium's Alexander Blockx in the Estoril final. This achievement will see him enter the top 50 for the first time (48th place), according to France Info.
At the World Fencing Championships in Hong Kong (July 22-30), French saber fencer Sara Balzer won silver, while Toscane Tori took bronze. Gold went to German saber fencer Larissa Eifler (31st in the world). In badminton, Toma Junior Popov became the first Frenchman to reach the final of a Super 1000 tournament (China Open), but was defeated by Taiwan's Chou Tien Chen (6th in the world). Slalom canoeists and kayakers won three medals at the World Championships in Oklahoma City, all in non-Olympic team events, but without a single individual gold, unlike last year's five titles.
