Defending champion Nani Roma scored a consolation victory in the Dakar Rally ninth stage on Tuesday as Qatari Nasser al-Attiyah increased his overall lead after “a terrible mistake” by main rival Giniel de Villiers.
Spain’s Roma — whose hopes of a second straight overall win evaporated on the first stage due to electrical failure — completed the 538km drive from the Chilean Pacific coastal city of Iquique to Calama in the Andes 6 minutes, 30 seconds clear of al-Attiyah.
The 2011 Dakar winner’s bold showing bolstered his bid for a second title.
Mini thought they had sealed a 1-2-3 in the stage, but their hopes were dashed late on in the day as Frenchman Guerlain Chicherit, who started the stage in a lowly 70th spot, recorded a superb time to snatch third in a Buggy. Al-Attiyah has a near 24-minute cushion over Toyota’s South African driver De Villiers, who was kicking himself after losing his way and taking fourth.
De Villiers blamed “a terrible, terrible navigation mistake” on his unwanted driveabout in the Chilean countryside.
“That’s cost us the race,” he said. “You know, sometimes it goes like this in the Dakar and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
With four days to come before Saturday’s finish in Buenos Aires al-Attiyah can now start to realistically contemplate his second title.
“It was not easy, but, OK, I think we made a good job of it and I hope it will be enough to win the Dakar,” said the driver, who has represented Qatar in shooting at the Olympics. “I think we did a good job and to finish here in front of Giniel is the key.”
In third in the drivers’ standings comes Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed al-Rajhi in another Toyota, 40 minutes behind al-Attiyah.
Mini’s domination of Tuesday’s podium was completed by Russian Vladimir Vasilyev.
In the bikes section, Portugal’s Helder Rodrigues claimed his second stage win of the year as Marc Coma of Spain had his overall lead cut by three minutes.
San Francisco Giants pitcher Teng Kai-wei impressed against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday despite an 8-1 loss in the opener of the team’s nine-game road trip. Teng, the only Taiwanese pitcher active in MLB, struck out five while allowing two hits and one walk over four innings at Chase Field to finish with a no decision, as the teams were tied 1-1 when he finished his outing. He surrendered the lone run of his outing in the bottom of the first, which began with a walk, a hit-by-pitch and two strikeouts. Diamondbacks leadoff hitter Geraldo Perdomo advanced to third on
DOUBLE: Harry Kane has now netted 12 goals in six games, scoring his second hat-trick this season after Bayern’s opening Bundesliga match against Leipzig last month That man again. Harry Kane scored his second hat-trick of the season on Saturday to steer Bayern Munich to a 4-1 win at Hoffenheim for the best Bundesliga start any team has made after four rounds. The England captain scored before the break and converted two penalties after it to take his club tally to 12 goals in six games across all competitions — 13 goals in seven games including the German Supercup. Kane’s other hat-trick was in the Bundesliga-opening 6-0 rout of Leipzig. Bayern’s record of 12 points with a goal difference of 15-plus is the best after four rounds of the Bundesliga
New Zealand yesterday basked in “amazing” athletics glory after winning two gold medals in as many days at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Geordie Beamish on Monday claimed New Zealand’s first track gold in history with a shock victory in the 3,000m steeplechase, while high jumper Hamish Kerr followed with gold on Tuesday to make it an unprecedented double success for a country much better known for rugby than its prowess in track and field. Before this week, the country had won only six golds in total at the championships. Yesterday morning New Zealand were in the giddy position of fourth on
Rwanda is to take center stage from today as the first African country to host the cycling world championships, in its latest use of sports to improve the country’s reputation. As it prepares for 5,000 cyclists and 20,000 spectators, Rwanda has spruced up its roads, created a network of cycle lanes and run multiple police drills. A poor, landlocked country in east Africa still widely associated with a horrific genocide in 1994, Rwanda has used various sports to revamp its image, attract tourists and impress investors with its organizational efficiency. It has spent lavishly on soccer sponsorship deals with clubs
RSS