Frenchman Arnaud Demare on Thursday silenced his critics with a superb sprint finish that grabbed him victory over compatriot Christophe Laporte in the 18th stage of the Tour de France.
Britain’s Geraint Thomas finished close behind to tighten his grip on the yellow jersey three days before the 21st and final stage in Paris.
The Welshman held a 1 minute, 59 second lead on Dutch rival Tom Dumoulin of Team Sunweb, with Team Sky teammate and four-time champion Chris Froome in third 2 minutes, 31 seconds behind heading into yesterday’s 19th stage.
Photo: Reuters
“I think we’re expecting the worst, hoping for the best,” said Thomas, who is expecting attacks from his rivals on the final day in the mountains yesterday.
Froome is expected to come under attack by Primoz Roglic, as the Slovenian, in fourth 16 seconds behind Froome, targets a podium place in Paris.
“I think guys will try to take any opportunity they can. It will be interesting, but we’ve been riding really well all race,” Thomas added.
What was the penultimate chance for a diminished sprint field to snatch some glory was not going to be missed by the fast men of the peloton.
One day after Slovakian sprint king Peter Sagan sustained injuries in a crash that almost ended his campaign, Demare capitalized.
His Groupama-FDJ team worked hard, first in easily chasing down an early five-man breakaway and particularly in the final, technical kilometers of the stage to make sure Demare was primed for a final burst to the line.
However, the Frenchman, who angered Laporte by veering from his line when he sprinted from just inside 200m, was also inspired by comments aimed at him by Germany’s Andre Greipel.
Greipel, one of several sprinters to pull out in the Alps, while others, like Mark Cavendish and Marcel Kittel, missed the time cut, accused Demare of holding on to a car to make it through the mountains on stage 17.
“The best answer I could give Andre Greipel was to win today,” said Demare, who faced similar accusations on his way to victory in Milan-San Remo in 2016.
“Obviously what he said hurt me, and was also insulting. It’s regrettable that people doubt my performances,” he said. “I know I’m not the best in the mountains, but I work hard to make sure I get through them.”
Bora-Hansgrohe rider Sagan is mathematically assured of his sixth green jersey for the points competition, but having won three stages already admitted that he was lucky to still be in the race.
“I can’t complain, I could be worse,” Sagan said.
“I was in a lot of pain. Tomorrow will be much harder, but I consider myself lucky that, after such a crash, I’m still in the race and not sitting at home,” he said. “But it was my own mistake yesterday. There was no motorbike in front of me. I flew into the forest, like a bird.”
Colombian Nairo Quintana of Movistar Team and Briton Adam Yates were among several riders caught up in a crash on Thursday, although both got back on their bikes to finish the stage.
“It was a stupid fall,” said Quintana, who claimed an impressive solo win on the summit of the Col du Portet on Wednesday that took him to fifth overall at 3 minutes, 30 seconds behind Thomas.
“I hurt my ankle and my shoulder, but I hope it’s nothing. Tomorrow we’ll be ready for the stage,” he said.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping