Jacob Whitehead

London, Newcastle upon Tyne

✍️ Reporter for @TheAthleticFC. Mainly investigations with a bit of cycling & #NUFC. Read books, climb hills, make soup. 📚🏔️🥣

Articles

Giro d'Italia key takeaways: Yates' patience, the beauty of gravel

4 days ago | nytimes.com | Jacob Whitehead |Chris Waugh

An enthralling 2025 Giro d'Italia concluded on Sunday - one of the finest editions of the race for several years. In contrast to the 2024 contest, when Tadej Pogacar obliterated the opposition, winning six stages and the general classification by almost 10 minutes, this year's race was in the balance until the final weekend, with eventual winner Simon Yates ending up in the iconic pink jersey without taking a single stage in the process.
There's much to like about PSG stars

5 days ago | nytimes.com | Jacob Whitehead

Football is not demarcated by black and white any more; not since colour television sent broadcast rights spiralling and the Champions League ball was stitched from a shade named "solar slime". There is plenty to like about Paris Saint-Germain, European champions for the first time in their history. Their manager, Luis Enrique, is a kind man and an innovative coach, whose personal success is all the more gratifying for the tragedies suffered by his family.
Great Britain's Simon Yates wins Giro d'Italia, team-mate Olav Kooij takes final sprint stage in Rome

5 days ago | nytimes.com | Jacob Whitehead

Simon Yates has won the Giro d'Italia after safely finishing the 21st stage in Rome. The British rider seized the Maglia Rosa after gaining almost six minutes on Isaac del Toro over the Colle delle Finestre on Saturday. With Sunday's stage largely ceremonial, the 32-year-old simply needed to complete the stage in order to secure his first Giro title, and second Grand Tour overall.
Great Britain's Simon Yates stuns field, slays ghosts to seize Giro d'Italia lead

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Jacob Whitehead

Great Britain's Simon Yates produced the greatest climbing performance of his career on the Colle del Finestre to seize the Maglia Rosa and all but win the Giro d'Italia. The Visma-Lease a Bike rider now holds a lead of three minutes and 56 seconds over second-place Isaac del Toro, who had led the race for almost two weeks, with Sunday's final stage purely a ceremonial procession into Rome.
'I can't see out my right eye'

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Jacob Whitehead

Juan Ayuso has withdrawn from the Giro d'Italia after a bee sting left the 22-year-old struggling to see. "Yesterday during the stage, I was stung by a wasp or a hornet, and people can see how my eye looks," he told Eurosport ahead of Thursday's stage 18. "I can't see out of my right eye. I'm here because I want to support the team.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, PSG's Georgian artist whose football skills saved his father's life

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Jacob Whitehead

As a boy, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia would sit and wait for the apples to grow. Summers were spent in Tsalenjikha, his family's hometown, cradled by Georgia's Caucasus mountains. Between their house and the river was a green swathe, capped at one end by a wide iron gate. It was a perfect football pitch - but for one feature. Since anybody recalled, the gate had been topped with decorative ornaments.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, PSG's Georgian artist whose football skills saved his father's life

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Jacob Whitehead

As a small boy, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia would sit and wait for the apples to grow. Summers were spent in Tsalenjikha, his family's hometown, cradled by Georgia's Caucasus mountains. Between their house and the river was a green swathe, capped at one end by a wide iron gate. It was a perfect football pitch - but for one feature. Since anybody recalled, the gate had been topped with decorative ornaments.
Isaac del Toro extends Giro d'Italia led after recovering to win stage 17

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Jacob Whitehead

Mexico's Isaac del Toro won his first-ever Grand Tour stage after sensationally recovering from being dropped on the day's penultimate climb. It means the 21-year-old UAE Team Emirates rider extended his lead in the Giro d'Italia's general classification (GC) to 41 seconds over Richard Carapaz, who finished third on the stage. Carapaz now sits second on GC, with Simon Yates dropping down to third at 51 seconds back.
Richard Carapaz on verge of Giro d'Italia lead after nightmare day for UAE

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Jacob Whitehead

Richard Carapaz is on the verge of snatching Isaac del Toro's pink jersey after decimating his general classification (GC) rivals on Tuesday's stage 16 of the Giro d'Italia. The Ecuadorian, riding for the American EF-Education first team, launched a destructive attack with 6km left of the climb to San Valentino, powering away from Del Toro and Simon Yates as if launching a last-gasp sprint.
Primoz Roglic abandons Giro d'Italia after stage 16 crash

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Jacob Whitehead

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's Primoz Roglic has abandoned the Giro d'Italia after crashing for the third time this week. The Slovenian slid out on a roundabout with around 100km remaining of stage 16, the toughest day of the Giro so far, which has been significantly impacted by heavy rainfall. A former winner of the Giro in 2023, and a four-time champion of the Vuelta a Espana, he entered this Grand Tour as the pre-race favourite.