Spain’s Javi Moreno won the individual time trial in the second part of a split opening stage to the Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista Del Sol on Wednesday as his compatriot Alberto Contador claimed an early eight-second advantage over Chris Froome.
Moreno’s time of 9 minutes, 51 seconds over the 8.2km course through Coria del Rio edged out Wilco Kelderman and Jerome Coppel by two and four seconds respectively.
Contador was six seconds back in fourth, but that was enough to take the race leader’s red jersey with Froome finishing 10th in the time trial and down in fourth overall.
Photo: EPA
“It was a very explosive stage with constant changes of pace,” said Contador, who announced his intention to retire at the end of next season earlier this week. “I am happy with the result, but to be leading is merely representative, the race has just begun. The really tough bit is to come in a few days.”
With no bonus seconds on offer for stage winners, Contador will almost certainly have the advantage as the two battle it out for overall victory across two mountain top finishes today and tomorrow, before a more sprinter-friendly final stage on Sunday.
Neither Contador nor Froome were affected by a crash-ridden first stage of the day in which Dutchman Pim Ligthart sprinted to victory ahead of Portugal’s Fabio Silvestre and Slovenia’s Grega Bole.
The Lotto Soudal rider won the 118.3km ride from La Rabida to Hinojos in Andalusia by two seconds after a crash 3km from the finish split the peloton in two.
Yesterday’s 191.7km second stage, the longest of the five-day race in Andalusia, was due to take the riders from Utrera to Lucena, Spain.
TOUR OF OMAN
Swiss veteran Fabian Cancellara, riding for Trek, shrugged off a heavy cold to win the second stage of the Tour of Oman and take the overall lead, following a 195.5km ride from al-Hazm Castle to al-Bustan on Wednesday.
The former Olympic and world champion, known as Spartacus, managed to keep pace with the leading group of 20 riders until the final two minor climbs, before launching a sprint that left Spaniard Alejandro Valverde in second and Greg van Avermaet of Belgium settling for third spot.
“It was a long, difficult sprint, because it was all uphill, but I’m really satisfied,” said Cancellara, who won the first edition of the Tour of Oman in 2010. “I told myself it wasn’t going to be a great day because I was so hot, but we took a different direction near the sea and the temperature came down a few degrees. I just tried to follow the best climbers with the strength I had left. I know in a few years it’s going to be finished for me, so I’m just trying to benefit now.”
Cancellara, 33, who won eight stages on the Tour de France between 2004 and 2012, and was a regular wearer of the maillot jaune, took the leader’s red jersey after a scorching hot day, with a four-second lead over Valverde going into yesterday’s third stage.
Austrian Patrick Konrad was third, five seconds back, as the peloton looked ahead to stage three and a 158km run that was due to begin and finish at al-Mussanah Sports City, bordering the Sea of Oman.
Tour de France champion Vincenzo Nibali of Italy and Spaniard Joaquim Rodriguez lost 46 and 55 seconds respectively after losing touch with the escape group.
Frenchman Thibaut Pinot, who was third in last year’s Tour de France, had a day to forget and lost 4 minutes, 59 seconds to see his general classification hopes crumble.
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
RSS