Colombian Sergio Henao claimed victory on the third stage of the Tour of the Basque Country and the overall lead in the race with an impressive late surge on Wednesday up the steep mountain finish in La Lejana.
The Team Sky rider chased down a late breakaway by Giampaolo Caruso (Katusha) and Carlos Alberto Betancur (Ag2r-La Mondiale) in the final kilometer to win the 165km stage from Vitoria in just six minutes short of four hours racing.
Henao opened up an eight-second lead over fellow-Colombian Nelson Quintana (Movistar) in the overall standings, with teammate Richie Port and two-time winner of the race Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) a further two seconds back.
Photo: EPA
The set up of the stage with a daunting 500m climb in the last 10km was always going to favor the stronger climbers in the peloton, but for the third consecutive day Amets Txurruka was at the front of a breakaway group of five riders.
The Caja Rural rider along with teammate Omar Fraile, Mikel Landa (Euskadi), Larent Didier (RadioShack) and Daniel Navarro (Cofidis) built up a lead of over five minutes just before the 100km mark.
The peloton then began to work their way back toward the leaders and eventually caught them with just under 10km to go.
Henao, Contador and Quintana then began to position themselves toward the front of the pack on the climb up to La Lejana and it was Henao who made the first break with 3.5km remaining.
Caruso and Betancur then hit the front just over a kilometer later, but they could not hold off Henao on the line as he surged to his second stage victory of the season.
Quintana finished in fourth, eight seconds behind, with Porte and Contador arriving together just two seconds later in sixth and seventh respectively.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped FIFA Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta, while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, are to
Sergio Ramos on Tuesday outfoxed two Inter players and artfully headed home the first goal for Monterrey at the FIFA Club World Cup. The 39-year-old Ramos slipped through the penalty area for the score just as he did for so many years in the shirts of Real Madrid and Spain’s national team, with whom he combined smarts, timing and physicality. Ramos’ clever goal and his overall defensive play at the Rose Bowl were major factors in Monterrey’s impressive 1-1 draw against the UEFA Champions League finalists in the clubs’ first match of the tournament. “There is always a joy to contribute to the
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani on Monday wobbled through a 28-pitch first inning at home against the San Diego Padres in his first appearance on the mound since August 2023. Scheduled to throw as many as two innings, Ohtani went a single frame while allowing one run on two hits. He did not issue a walk nor strike out a batter. “Not quite happy with the results overall, but the takeaway for me is that I feel good enough to be able to make the next outing,” Ohtani said of his pitching performance. Ohtani still wound up with a positive impact
RSS