Sprint specialist Nacer Bouhanni survived a puncture to end a three-year drought for French cyclists and win a rainy fourth stage of the Giro d’Italia on Tuesday.
FDJ.fr rider Bouhanni, 23, overcame a puncture on the penultimate lap after the 112km run from Giovinazzo to Bari to sprint to victory, ahead of Italy’s Giacomo Nizzolo and Dutch rider Tom Veelers.
Bouhanni’s task had been made significantly easier when Germany’s Marcel Kittel, who had won two of the first three stages in Ireland, was unable to start the stage because he was running a fever.
Photo: AFP
Australia’s Michael Matthews finished among the leading group in 49th position to retain the leader’s pink jersey, after the first stage of the race to take place on Italian soil.
“This is my first stage win in a grand tour,” a jubilant Bouhanni said, after a breakthrough season in which he has notched up six wins this year.
“It is also a relief! Now, I have the [red] jersey of the points classification and I will do everything possible to keep it. But I will mostly concentrate on the sprints, this is what brings the most points,” he added.
Photo: EPA
Bouhanni becomes the first Frenchman since John Gadret in 2011 to prevail on the Giro.
However, rain made conditions extremely difficult for riders, resulting in organizers deciding not to allocate bonus times on the final 8.3km lap around Bari because of the dreadful weather.
“It was just way too slippery,” Matthews said. “So we decided together with all of the GC [general classification] riders to neutralize.”
“It was really dangerous on every corner. It was agreed with the majority of the peloton, it’s only right,” Bouhanni said. “The roads were very slippery and it became very dangerous in the last lap. There was a big fall at 3km and I almost fell, I hit the pavement. I punctured the front wheel and I broke my rear wheel.”
“I took the last corner in third place behind [Luka] Mezgec, who slipped a bit. I also slipped a little, there was a break and I gave everything to catch up with the leaders [Veelers],” Bouhanni said.
Bouhanni did not have many established sprint rivals to contend with at the end and clocked nearly 2.5 hours over the flat route to Bari — the shortest stage of the three-week race.
Kittel, who won stages in Belfast and Dublin, said he was disappointed not to be able to continue his title push.
“I am very disappointed about leaving the Giro after such a strong start in good condition, but I do not feel healthy and I am not in the position to start the race in this condition,” said Kittel, who rides for the Giant-Shimano team.
Yesterday’s fifth stage was scheduled to cover 203km between Tarente and Viggiano, concluding with a 5km climb.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care