Britain’s Mark Cavendish of the Columbia team retained the race leader’s pink jersey ahead of Aussie teammate Mark Renshaw on Sunday after Alessandro Petacchi of LPR won stage two of the Tour of Italy at Trieste.
“I chose just the right moment to set off on the sprint,” said a jubilant Petacchi, who returned in some style after missing last year’s Giro through a doping suspension.
He landed his 25th stage success in the event overall — though the official tally stands at 20 with the remainder scrubbed from the record owing to his doping offence.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Petacchi just edged out the racer from the Isle of Man, who had taken the opening honours with his Colombia colleagues on Saturday in the team time-trial at the Venice Lido.
Briton Ben Swift placed third Sunday pushing Australian Allan Davis out of the podium places with American Tyler Farrar fifth.
Lance Armstrong finished in the bunched pack of sprinters along with Astana teammate Levi Leipheimer and was just 27 second off the pace going into day three — 11 seconds off seventh-placed Petacchi but 13 seconds better off than Leipheimer.
Santiago Castro on Tuesday had an immediate impact off the bench as he scored the goal to send Bologna into the Coppa Italia semi-finals for the first time in 26 years. Bologna won 1-0 against last year’s runners-up, Atalanta BC, and are to play either holders Juventus or Empoli in the final four. Juventus are to host Empoli in their quarter-final on Feb. 26. The last time Bologna reached the semi-finals was in 1999, when they lost 4-2 to ACF Fiorentina. There were chances for both sides in a high-tempo match in Bergamo, but it was Bologna who broke the deadlock 10 minutes from
The former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani on Thursday was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly US$17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account. Ippei Mizuhara, who was supposed to bridge the gap between the Japanese athlete and his English-speaking teammates and fans, was sentenced in federal court in Santa Ana to four years and nine months after pleading guilty last year. He was ordered to pay US$18 million in restitution, with nearly US$17 million going to Ohtani and the remainder to the US Internal Revenue Service. He was
The 40-year-old LeBron James on Thursday became the oldest player to score 40 points in an NBA game, putting up a season-high 42 in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 120-112 victory over the Golden State Warriors. James passed the record held by Michael Jordan, his idol and the only other NBA player to score 40 after his 40th birthday. “I’m old, that’s my take,” James said when asked about his latest achievement. “I need a glass of wine and some sleep, that’s what I think.” Jordan did it for the Washington Wizards just three days after turning 40 in February 2003. James is 38
SPEEDSKATER: Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s run at the Asian Winter Games without a medal since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990 Speedskater Chen Ying-chu yesterday made history as the first athlete representing Taiwan to secure a medal at the Asian Winter Games. Competing at the HIC Speedskating Oval in Harbin, China, Chen clocked 10.510 seconds in the women’s 100m event, finishing third behind South Koreans Lee Na-hyum and Kim Min-sun, who posted times of 10.501 and 10.505 seconds respectively. Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s drought at the Asian Winter Games since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990. This year’s Games mark Chen’s debut at the event. Previously excelling in roller speedskating, she won six medals at world championships before transitioning