Van der Poel in history, Toulouse uncompromising in the Champions Cup, Kopecky’s revenge… Sports summary of the weekend

Paris-Roubaix, Ligue 1, Champions Cup and Formula 1… The weekend was full of sports news.

In a sporting weekend dominated by Paris-Roubaix and Mathieu Van der Poel’s crushing victory, Paris Saint-Germain stood out for a lack of inspiration on Saturday against Ligue 1 last-placed Clermont (1-1), French clubs almost achieved full success in the Cup champion, and Max Verstappen won again on Sunday in Japan.

Paris-Roubaix: Van der Poel alone in the world, Kopecky takes revenge

World champions confident on the cobblestones of the hell of the north. On Saturday, Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx) showed Mathieu Van der Poel the way forward, winning his first Paris-Roubaix after a small group sprint at the Roubaix velodrome. The final was full of uncertainty in which she won ahead of the Italian Elise Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) and the British Pfeiffer Georgi (DSM). Quite the opposite of the men’s race.

The Dutchman, also with his rainbow jersey on his back, left the rest of the peloton 60 kilometers from the finish on Sunday to launch a solo attack to retain his title. A historical double since then he became the first runner, since Tom Boonen in 2009, to accomplish this feat. The grandson of Raymond Poulidor raised his hands on the track of the velodrome in Roubaix with a three-minute lead, a huge gap, ahead of team-mate Belgian Jasper Philipsen and Dane Mads Pedersen.

Ligue 1: PSG misses a test against Barcelona, ​​Brest takes advantage

Four days before Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final against FC Barcelona, ​​Paris Saint-Germain did not field its typical team against bottom-placed Clermont on Saturday. For the occasion, Luis Enrique decided to give his managers a break and started two young U19 players (Yoram Zague and Senny Mayulu). As a result, the Parisians drew no better than 1-1 against the Auvergnats, having equalized following the introduction of Kylian Mbappé.

A disappointment that goes in favor of Brest, who won against Metz, second to last in Ligue 1, 4-3 in Sunday’s crazy game. The Bretons are now ten points behind the Parisians and are getting closer to qualifying for the Champions League. The other good performance of the weekend came from Monaco, who cemented their third place after a 1-0 win against Stade Rennes on Sunday.

Champions Cup: Toulouse, La Rochelle and Bordeaux in the quarter-finals

Three out of five for French clubs in the round of 16 of the Champions Cup. If the weekend started badly for the French teams with a very big defeat of Lyon on Saturday, early afternoon, on South African soil against the Blue Bulls (59-19), Rochelais turned the dynamics, as well as their meeting. Led 16-0 by the Stormers in Cape Town (South Africa), the reigning champions finally won with a score of 22-21, avenging the group game they also won by one unit, but their opponents (21-20). Libbok, the one who tipped the first of these two clashes, this time missed his conversion after the siren, forcing Ronan O’Gara’s men into the quarters.

Bordeaux-Bègles and Toulouse had less difficulty getting rid of Saracens (45-12) and Racing 92 (31-7), respectively. UBB will host Harlequins and Stade Toulouse will host Exeter Chiefs in two French-English duels. Rochelais, for their part, will once again have to travel to a stadium they know very well: the Aviva Stadium in Dublin to take on Leinster, just like in last year’s final which was won by the Maritimes.

Rugby 7s: Blues have podium streak, women frustrated

Without Antoine Dupont, France’s men’s rugby sevens team lost 10-7 to New Zealand in the final of the Hong Kong tournament on Sunday, but registered a third podium in three competitions, after winning the tournament in Los Angeles. Encouraging performances ahead of the Olympics, where the Blues will find half of the fight from Stade Toulouse. The French women are returning from the Asian tour empty-handed, after losing in the last seconds of the small final against Australia (21-24). In the girls’ category, the cup was also lifted by the New Zealanders, who defeated the Americans (36-7).

Formula 1: Max Verstappen wins in Japan without hesitation

Three-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull) won the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka on Sunday, his third success in four races this season in Formula 1. He started from pole position for the fourth time in as many Grands Prix this year, “Mad Max” dominated the race from start to finish to claim his 57th career win, his third straight at the Japanese circuit. Nice revenge for the Dutchman, forced to retire in Australia.

His teammate Sergio Pérez took second place and enabled Red Bull to achieve its third double success in four Grands Prix. He ranks second in the world championship with 64 points, 13 less than Verstappen. Spain’s Carlos Sainz, a surprise winner in Melbourne, finished on this unoriginal podium this season, ahead of Monegasque team-mate Charles Leclerc, whom he overtook a few laps before the end of the Grand Prix.