Italy’s Davide Cimolai sprinted to victory on the sixth stage of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya on Saturday as Nairo Quintana stayed in the leader’s jersey after the 197km route from Sant Joan Despi to Vilanova i la Geltru, Spain.
Lampre-Merida rider Cimolai claimed the sprint after Cameron Meyer of Team Dimension Data was caught and passed with the finish line in sight after the peloton led a frenetic chase to reel in the day’s standout breakaway.
Colombian Quintana of Movistar Team finished in the peloton to remain seven seconds clear of Tinkoff’s Alberto Contador, with defending champion Richie Porte of BMC Racing Team in third, 17 seconds back.
Photo: EPA
“The pace was pretty high yet again, but the team functioned extremely well during the stage. We were never in difficulty, and we go into the final day full of desire and ambition,” Quintana said. “Attacks by my rivals will certainly come and they will be of concern, but I also think that the stage could end in a sprint, so there will be teams wanting to chase in order to give their fast men a chance of victory.”
The race was due to conclude yesterday with a hilly 136km circuit around Barcelona’s Montjuic, the site of the 1992 Olympic Games.
Contador refused to give up on the chance of victory, but regardless of the outcome he insisted that his preparations for the Tour de France are still on course.
“It’s a demanding circuit and anything can happen on Sunday. We will try our best, but I think I won’t be the only one. There are other riders that sit within a few seconds,” the Spaniard said. “I’m very happy with my condition and regardless of whether we win here or not, the preparation toward the Tour de France is moving ahead perfectly. I’m optimistic and very motivated about the Tour.”
Jonas Vingegaard on Tuesday claimed the overall Vuelta a Espana lead while Jay Vine earned the stage 10 victory for his second triumph of the race. Two-time Tour de France winner Vingegaard overhauled Torstein Traen’s lead to head the general classification by 26 seconds from the Norwegian, with Joao Almeida third and trailing the Dane by 38 seconds. Vine put in an unmatchable performance on the final climb to finish ahead of Spanish Movistar riders Pablo Castrillo and Javier Romo. “Back in red, I’m happy with it, it’s a beautiful jersey,” Vingegaard said. “I’m happy with how the day went,
Australian Alex de Minaur reached the second week of the US Open for the third year in a row with little fanfare on Saturday and said he intended to keep winning until the tournament organizers were forced to give him better billing. Despite being the eighth seed and a quarter-finalist last year at Flushing Meadows, De Minaur’s third-round match against German Daniel Altmaier was scheduled for Court 17 — the smallest of the four stadium venues in the precinct. “It is a little bit of a headscratcher for me. I’m not gonna lie,” he told reporters after progressing 6-7 (9/7), 6-3, 6-4,
RIVALRY: Carlos Alcaraz lost his previous two matches against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, in the Australian Open quarter-finals this year and Paris Olympics final last year Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday dazzled at the US Open to make the semi-finals before Novak Djokovic of Serbia danced his way through to book a New York showdown with the Spaniard that would mark the latest chapter in their generational rivalry. Former champion Alcaraz produced yet another entertaining display at Flushing Meadows to dismantle 20th seed Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 at a sunbathed Arthur Ashe Stadium, securing his place in the last four without dropping a set this year. “Sometimes I play a shot that I should not play in that moment, but it’s the way I love
Spain are in danger of not getting out of EuroBasket Group C after losing 67-63 to Italy on Tuesday, but the defending champions still control their destiny. Marco Spissu put Italy in front for good at 64-63 with two free throws with 31 seconds left and made two more with 14 seconds remaining. Giampaolo Ricci converted one of two free throws with eight seconds on the clock. Spain, which in 2022 won their fourth title, are tied with Georgia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina at 2-2 each. Greece and Italy have clinched two of the group’s four spots in the round-of-16,
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