BOCCA DELLA SELVA, Italy: Valentin Paret-Peintre won the 10th stage of the Giro d’Italia on Tuesday, claiming the honors on the Bocca della Selva summit finish while Tadej Pogacar maintained his overall lead.

Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale rider Paret-Peintre earned on the Italian Grand Tour his first ever professional win, finishing the 142 kilometer stage from Pompei ahead of fellow Frenchman Romain Bardet and Visma rider Jan Tratnik.

The 23-year-old follows in the footsteps of his elder brother Aurelien, who won a stage on the Giro last year and finished fifth on Tuesday, one minute and 25 seconds behind his sibling.

The pair shared a brotherly hug after the stage before the younger Paret-Peintre spoke to media.

“I can’t describe what I feel now, it’s just amazing. I was there to get a good result in the stage and why not win?” he said.

Paret-Peintre finished 29 seconds ahead of Bardet who has jumped up the general classification after gaining nearly three minutes on the day.

Bardet now stands in seventh at 4min 57sec, which is two minutes adrift of Geraint Thomas in third.

Bardet, who is 10 years Paret-Peintre’s senior, is just under five minutes behind pink jersey wearer Pogacar, who had a relatively quiet day and maintained his healthy lead over main rivals Dani Martinez and Thomas.

“I watched him [Bardet] when I was young, when he finished on the podium of the Tour de France,” added Paret-Peintre.

“I dreamed of seeing him one day, and today I battled with him and I beat him.”

Paret-Peintre won the stage after being part of the day’s big breakaway which at its height was some 30 riders strong.

He worked with Bardet on the final climb before attacking 3km from the finish to blaze past Visma-Lease a Bike rider Tratnik, who had tried to go it alone some time before but run out of legs just as the race came to its climax.

“I think 4km to go, 3km to go, I started to feel a bit of weakness in my legs,” said Tratnik.

“I look behind and they pass me with double speed and then for me it was just a battle to the finish line. In the end, third place we can be happy.”

Wednesday’s 11th stage takes the peloton 207km from Foiano di Val Fortore to Francavilla al Mare on the Adriatic coast, where the sprinters should have a chance to shine.

RIYADH: The father of British boxing champion Tyson Fury has promised his sons will only fight in Saudi Arabia going forward as he hailed the hospitality of the people of the Kingdom, and even said he wants to be like them.

“Tyson Fury and the Fury family will only fight again in Saudi Arabia,” John Fury said. “This is where our heart is, we love it, the people love us”.

“Long live Saudi Arabia!” he said lifting his hands to the sky, during a passionate press conference in Boulevard City in Riyadh.

Tyson Fury faces Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight world title on Saturday at Kingdom Arena.  

“I can’t express how much I enjoy this country and the people,” he said. “And I just want to be like them…because the worst man in Saudi Arabia is better than John Fury”.

“The Brits are traitors, aren’t they?’ Fury said, without elaborating on who he was referring to, and accused them of committing  treason against ‘their King,’ a reference to Tyson’s nickname ‘Gypsy King’.

“Forget Great Britain, our heart, look here, beating in my body, is in Saudi Arabia because we get treated like proper people, how we deserve to be treated.”

He went on to say that Britain had never made him “feel well” and because “they could not get behind the champion,” they stand to miss out.

Saudi Arabia has become a hub for premier world boxing contests over the past few years with authorities investing heavily to bring the biggest bouts to local and international audiences.

Turki bin Abdulmohsen Alalshikh, the head of the Kingdom’s General Entertainment Authority, has spearheaded this boxing revival.

Fury snr. had high praise for the authority’s chief, “he has done the best job in the world,” he said, adding that only Saudi Arabia could have set up the Tyson-Usyk fight.

“Nobody could ever have put this fight on except Turki Alalshikh and the great Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

Previous bouts in the country have garnered the attention of fans globally and has marked the Kingdom as a new home of international boxing.

In March, British heavyweight Anthony Joshua knocked out Francis Ngannou in the second round.

Another member of the Fury family, Tommy, beat YouTuber-turned-fighter Jake Paul on points in a contest in Diriyah last year.

In 2022, Usyk successfully defended his belts in a rematch against Joshua in Jeddah on points, with the Londoner failing to win back his titles against the Ukrainian.

In 2019, Joshua defeated Andy Ruiz Jr. in a revenge match at Diriyah Arena in Riyadh after the American surprised the Brit with a defeat in New York.  

George Groves was knocked out by Callum Smith in the seventh round in an all-British grudge match in Jeddah in 2018.

Tyson-Usyk was delayed in February after a freak cut to Tyson during sparring, but both spectators and organizers are glad that the boxing spectacle is set for this weekend.

Fury snr. told Arab News that both fighters are at the top of their game and are veterans of the sport.

“It’ll be a good fight”.