Ten things to know from last week. September 6-12, 2022 included: a new #1 in tennis, Vuelta a España, an upset in Volleyball, etc.
Five things to know from last week
  1. Vueltas. 22-year-old Remco Evenepoel (BEL) won the Vuelta a España, which is his first overall win in a Grand Tour, and took two stages. He took the lad from the sixth stage, out of 21 in total. Mads Pedersen (DNK) won the points classification and Richard Carapaz (ECU) the Mountains classification. There was also a Women’s Challenge by La Vuelta, which was won by Annemiek Van Vleuten (NED). She has now secured the #1 spot in the 2022 UCI Women’s World Tour.
  2. New number one. Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) and Casper Ruud (NOR) squared off in the US Open men’s singles final to determine the new #1 in the ATP ranking. 19-year-old Alcaraz won in four sets. Iga Świątek (POL) beat Ons Jabeur (TUN) in the women’s final. This might have been the last tournament for Serena Williams (USA).
  3. Upset the locals. The sensational local Polish team was defending the FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship which they had won in the two previous editions. They eliminated the United States and Brazil en route to the Final but they were upset by a sensational Italy that beat them 3-2 to claim their fourth world title. Simone Giannelli (ITA) was named the “Most Valuable Player”.
  4. British PGA. Shane Lowry (IRL) won the BMW PGA Championship -originally called the British PGA Championship- one stroke ahead of Rory McIlroy (IRL) and Jon Rahm (ESP). Some LIV Golf players crossed over to earn World Ranking points. The best was Talor Gooch (USA), tied at fourth. The LPGA saw Ally Ewing (USA) win the Kroger Queen City Championship. Liz Young (ENG) won her first Ladies European Tour title, at the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open.
  5. Will Power! Australian Will Power (Penske) won the IndyCar title for a fourth time, with a third place in the final race, behind incumbent Champion Álex Palou (ESP, Ganassi) and Josef Newgarden (USA, Penske), who finished second in the standings. The finale at Laguna Seca afforded great overtaking maneuvers and heartbreak for Callum Ilott (ENG) and the small Juncos Hollinger team, as they had to abandon with a mechanical failure after having qualified in second. In Formula 1, Max Verstappen (NED, Red Bull) won again, this time in a Grand Prix where he had never delivered a podium: the Italian Grand Prix. He finished under a yellow flag, ahead of Charles Leclerc (MCO, Ferrari).
  6. Nine in a row! Emil Johansson (SWE) continues on a roll, as he won his ninth straight Freeride Mountain Bike World Tour event, by taking home the Red Bull District Ride in Nürnberg, Germany. He also won the Best Trick competition.
  7. Stand up! Connor Baxter (USA) might be the best stand-up paddler of all time, considering his multiple World Championships in the last decade, across the very different organizations that sanction the sport. This time he won the International Canoe Federation’s version of the World Championship, in both the sprint and technical competitions. Michael Booth (AUS), the other giant in the sport, won the long distance event.
  8. Eight txapela. Javier Urriza (ESP) now has a better case for being considered the best Remonte player in history, by taking his 8th “txapela” in the Individual Championship, which is less than Koteto Ezkurra’s (ESP) eleven but more Championships in total if we consider Individual and Pairs tournaments. He has appeared in the last eleven finals, winning eight of them. He beat Barrenetxea IV (ESP) 27-30.
  9. Rock crawling. Jesse Haines and Chris Poblano (USA) are, together and individually, the most World Extreme Rock Crawling Grand National titles one can put together, and they triumphed once again, as they did last year, in 2017 and other years in the last decade. They won the Unlimited category with -266 points.
  10. Travel racing. On the water, 25-year-old Tom Laperche (FRA) only won one leg but was consistent enough to win this year’s edition of the Solitaire du Figaro sailing race. He finished 28 minutes ahead of Gaston Morvan (FRA). Elodie Bonafous (FRA) finished third in one stage and became the second woman to take a step on the podium since the race started in 1970. In the air, father and son Wilhelm and Benjamin Eimers (DEU) won the 65th Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett, flying 1572.36km in their hot air balloon. Wilhelm, 72, has won the race five times, the first time being in 1995.