Joe's Jocks

Nan Oliveras

Undreamt, a Roland Garros wrap up

Rafael  Nadal must have had some premonition of greatness when he looked forward to this morning's French Open finals at Roland Garros.  Even if he did not, his playing proved his greatness, as he defeated another top player, Austrian Dominic Thiem, in straight sets to take the championship.  The win, he said, was undreamt of...  

Winning his 11th French Open crown was not what Rafael Nadal 'ever dreamed of' but in doing so, he clinched his 17th grand slam title.  He did so winning 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 despite a worrying injury scare in the closing stages of the final.  He now has 17 grand slam titles, just three behind Roger Federer, but he always shines the brightest at the French Open.  In reaching his 11th title at the French Open, he matched Margaret Court's record of titles at the Australian Open, set in the 1970s. 

The ever polite and gracious Spaniard said "It's really incredible. I played a great match against a great player."   In the third set, thinking he might have broken his finger, play was suspended for a doctors visit, but after discovering he was cramped, and had no breaks, play resumed. 

The win was not a predetermined victory.  Dominic Thiem is the only man to have beaten Nadal on clay in the past two years. 

Being the French Open final, and Paris being Paris in the Springtime, many celebrities turned out to watch the action.   

Former French soccer great and just resigned coach Zinedine Zidane took a break from the hubub surrounding his recent resignation from Real Madrid to be present, and was greeted with great aplomb. Nadal is a great fan of Real Madrid and has recently spoken very kindly about the former coach. 

 Also present among the spectators were  Tim Roth, Hugh Grant, Marion Cotillard and Jean Dujardin. 

Skiing

Gus Kenworthy

Richard Freitag

Andreas Wellinger, Richard Freitag

Stefan Kraft

Winter Olympics are approaching.  Are you ready for skiing? 

Austria: Ski Jumper Gregor Schlierenzauer

Gregor Schlierenzauer is an Austrian ski jumper. He began his senior career at age 16  in 2005–06 with one win and three additional podiums in the Ski Jumping Grand Prix, and made his World Cup debut in 2005-06 World Cup. Despite his young age, Schlierenzauer has the most World Cup victories in history. 

He achieved the first of his 53 World Cup wins in December 2006 in Lillehammer. In February 2013 he surpassed Matti Nykaenen with his 47th win in Harrachov and since then he is the record winner in the World Cup. Schlierenzauer then said: "It feels good to be a legend in my sport." Besides wins at the 4-Hills-Tournament 2011/12 and 2012/13 he took the overall World Cup title twice, became Ski Flying World Champion 2008, won six gold medals (individual and team) at World Championships and Olympic gold in the team event 2010 in Vancouver

In January of this year, at age 26, Gregor Schlierenzauer withdrew from ski jumping indefinitely. The Austrian explained on his website: "I'll take an indefinite break after ten years of elite sports, I want out of the spotlight."  In short, he was tired and wants to recoup some excitement for the sport and for life, and to regain some sense of privacy in his life. 

Awards

53x World Cup Victories
2x Overall World Cup Winner
1x Olympic Champion Team
1x Olympic Silver Medal Team
2x Olympic Bronze Medal Winner
6x World Champion
4x Ski Flying World Champion

2x Four Hills Tournament Champion

His website:

Gregor Schlierenzauer

Gregor Schlierenzauer Gregor Schlierenzauer

Skiing

Felix Gottwald

Jared Goldberg

Vincent Descombes-Sevoie

Cycling wraps up

Alberto Contador

Armindo Fonseca

The Vuelta a Espana and the Tour of Britain both wrap up this weekend, with only the Worlds left in a few weeks in Qatar. 

Are you still following?  Riding?  Keep at it.  Here's some inspiration: