22 NEWS
THE WEEK3August 2019SportFormula OneRed Bull driver
Max Verstappen won the
German Grand Prix; Ferrari’s
Sebastian Vettel came
second.
Rugby leagueWarrington
beat Hull 22-14 in the
Challenge Cup semi-finals
to set upafinal against
St Helens.
SwimmingAt the World
Aquatic Championships,
Great Britain won the men’s
4x100m medley relay, giving
Adam Peaty his third gold of
the tournament.
CricketAustralia beat
England by seven wickets to
win the Twenty20 portion of
the Women’s Ashes.“Welcome to the Egan Bernal era,” said David
Walsh in The Sunday Times. On Sunday, the
22-year-old Colombian, having sealed victory
in the Tour de France the day before, rolled into
Paris wearing the yellow jersey. ButIdoubt that
any of his future victories will be as nail-biting as
this, his first. Bernal’s victory capped one of the
greatest Tours yet seen:a“truly engrossing” race,
unpredictable from the first to the last. In stage
after stage, the French cyclist Julian Alaphilippe
held onto his lead, only to fade on the final ascent.
But in the end, Ineos, the successor to Team Sky,
proved that they had inherited the “Tour-winning
DNA” of their predecessor: last year’s champion,
Bernal’s teammate Geraint Thomas, came second,
giving Ineosarare one-two on the podium.Everyone expected great things of Bernal, said
Matt Lawton in The Mail on Sunday. But no one expected them
quite so soon. This time last year, he wasadomestique, whose
sole purpose was supporting Thomas and Chris Froome, the four-
time champion. And he would never have had “the opportunity
to contest the yellow jersey” this time had Froome’s horrific
accident in June not denied Ineos their team leader, and Thomas’s
accidentamonth later forced them to appoint Bernal joint-leader.
Once it was clear that the powerful Colombian had the edge,
everyone at Ineos got behind him. Bernal is the youngest winnerin 110 years, and the third youngest in history,
said Jeremy Whittle in The Observer. He is also
the first Colombian to win the race. His country
has waitedalong time forachampion: in the
1980s, climbers like Luis Herrera and Fabio Parra
had “a major impact” on the Tour. More
recently, in 2013, Nairo Quintana was runner-up
to Froome. So “Bernal’s win has kicked down a
door that was already slightly ajar”.To think this team were supposed to be finished,
said Tom Cary in The Sunday Telegraph. When
Sky announced last year that they were pulling
the plug on funding, there were doubts that
anyone would come to the rescue. But Ineos,
the chemicals giant, stepped in–and now the
team have equalled their best-ever result. It’s
atestament to Dave Brailsford, their general
manager, who, in the words of one of his rivals, has an unerring
ability to “reach intoatoilet and pull out chocolate”. The earlier
triumphs of the Sky/Ineos team were built on British talent, but
the group now has “more of an international”–and specifically
Latin American–flavour: Iván Sosa, another young Colombian,
is on their books, and Richard Carapaz, an Ecuadorean, is set to
join. And while Froome and Thomas may well return next year,
they will be 35 and 34 respectively. “After six British wins in
seven years, it could beawhile before we see another.”Tour de France: is Bernal the future of cycling?It was cricket “played in anAlice in Wonderland
fantasy world”, said Mike Atherton in The Times.
To say that Ireland went into last week’s Test
against England as underdogs would beahuge
understatement: they had played only two
previous Tests in their history, and lost both of
them. England, meanwhile, had just won the World
Cup. Yet on the first day, something extraordinary
happened: England were bowled out before lunch,
for amere 85. It looked as if victory was in Ireland’s
grasp. But in the second innings, England “shattered
Ireland’s dream” by blowing them away for 38 runs
–the lowest total in any Test since 1955. In all my
years of watching Test cricket, “I cannot remember
the general standard of batting” being as low as this.England’s batting certainly leavesalot to be desired, said
George Dobell on ESPNcricinfo. And it will desperately need toimprove if they are to win the Ashes, which began on
Thursday. The real problem is the “fragility” of the
top order. The first three batsmen last week–Rory
Burns, Jason Roy and Joe Denly–had just 11 caps
between them, the fewest of any England top three
in 67 years. It was announced this week that Joe
Root, the captain, would move up the order from
No. 4toNo. 3, but that will only beapartial
solution. Australia’s batsmen are vulnerable, too,
said Simon Wilde in The Sunday Times, but crucially
they have good bowlers. In fact, both sides have an
embarrassment of bowling riches–sowecan expect
this to be “a bowler’s series”. Butaworry for
England is that, while their priority for the summer
was winning the World Cup, the Australians care
more about winning the Ashes–and they have “planned more
thoroughly than usual”. England must kick any World Cup
hangover quickly. “The Aussies are coming for them.”Cricket: ashaky Ashes warm-upBernal: savouring his first titleBurns: top of the orderThe curious case of Gareth Bale Sporting headlinesGareth Bale is “Britain’s most
successful footballing export”,
said Sam Dean in The Sunday
Telegraph. In the six years since
he joined Real Madrid for
s100.8m–aworld record at
the time–hehas won the
Champions League four times,
as well asaSpanish league title.
Yet the 30-year-old Welsh
forward has become his club’s
least popular player. Mocked by
his teammates for his obsession with golf–they
call him “the Golfer”–heisalso booed by the
fans. Last week, Madrid’s manager, Zinedine
Zidane, suggested it would be “best for
everyone” if Bale left, but the player’s proposed
move to Jiangsu Suning,aChinese club, has
fallen through. So he looks set to spend another
season ataclub that doesn’t want him.Truth be told, “Bale never
quite got going in Spain,” said
Jonathan Wilson in The
Guardian. He has been hindered
by injuries–17ofthem, to be
precise. And he has rarely
played in his best position,
which is on the left. But he
has still scored three goals in
Champions League finals.
One of them, his remarkable
bicycle kick against Liverpool
last year, was “arguably the greatest goal
scored inamajor final”. He could surely find
suitors elsewhere, but they are priced out by
his wages of £600,000aweek. “The culture of
superclubshas led toacult of superplayers,
and the problemwith superplayers is that
only superclubs and Chinese franchises can
afford them.”Bale: too pricey for most clubs