Australian Cadel Evans took the overall lead on the Tour of Spain’s first day in the mountains after finishing fourth behind stage eight winner Damiano Cunego.
Silence-Lotto’s Evans holds a two-second advantage on Spain’s Alejandro Valverde, with Samuel Sanchez eight seconds back.
After heading the Giro d’Italia in 2002 and the Tour de France last year, Evans has now led cycling’s three major stage races.
PHOTO: AFP
“I didn’t know how motivated I’d be for the Tour of Spain before I started, but as things have turned out, I can only be pleased,” Evans told reporters after Sunday’s stage.
Former Giro champion Cunego overtook daylong breakaway David Moncoutie of France with less than a kilometer to go to claim the first Tour of Spain victory of his career.
Moncoutie crossed the mist-enshrouded summit finish line at Aitana 33 seconds back, with Dutchman Robert Gesink third place. Evans was fourth, 44 seconds off the pace.
“I’ve received a lot of criticism for not winning more in these last few years,” the 27-year-old Cunego told reporters. “So today’s victory was one of the most important of my career. I’d not decided beforehand on whether to try my luck and attack in today’s stage or tomorrow’s, which is just as mountainous.”
Tour de France runner-up Andy Schleck of Luxembourg abandoned the race during Sunday’s tough 204km mountainous eighth stage.
A team statement said the SaxoBank rider was suffering from flu.
Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday fought through a second-set slump to post a roller-coaster 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Damir Dzumhur in his opening match at the Cincinnati Open. The Spaniard, playing his first tournament since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final, raced through the first set, but completely lost his way in the second, dropping his serve twice against the 33-year-old Bosnian. Alcaraz regained his intensity and cut down his errors in the third set as a seventh ace took him to a match point that was converted when Dzumhur fired wide. “It was just a roller coaster,” said the second
Taiwan’s men’s basketball team on Monday clinched a spot in the FIBA Asia Cup quarter-finals with a 78-64 win over Jordan in Saudi Arabia, securing their best finish in the tournament since placing fourth in 2013. The win was sweet revenge for Taiwan, who were denied a quarter-final spot by Jordan at the same stage of the previous Asia Cup in 2022 after blowing a nine-point lead in the final minute and losing 97-96 on a half-court buzzer-beater. “History is part of the journey,” Taiwan head coach Gianluca Tucci said when asked about the 2022 collapse of the team, who he did
NEXT ROUND: World No. 1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka opened their title defenses with straight-sets wins, while Iga Swiatek and Taylor Fritz also advanced Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka got their title defenses off to smooth starts as they powered into the third round of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Saturday. The men’s and women’s top seeds, each ranked No. 1 in the world, were both competing for the first time since Wimbledon, where Sinner lifted the title and Sabalenka bowed out in the women’s semi-finals. Sinner crushed Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan 6-1, 6-1 in steamy afternoon weather, while Sabalenka beat 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-5, 6-1 under the lights of the night session. Sabalenka needed 54 minutes and a service break in the final game
Leicester City on Sunday launched their quest for an immediate return to the English Premier League with a 2-1 win at home to crisis club Sheffield Wednesday after the visitors’ supporters protested against Owls owner Dejphon Chansiri. Wednesday are under several English Football League embargoes for a range of financial breaches, with payments of wages to players and staff delayed for the past three months. Owls fans made their feelings toward Thai businessman Chansiri clear by delaying their entry to their seats and the away end was empty as the players came onto the pitch at the King Power Stadium, with a
RSS