Australia’s Cameron Meyer won Sunday’s second stage of the Tour de Suisse, while time-trial specialist Tony Martin of Germany retained the leader’s yellow jersey.
Orica-GreenEdge rider Meyer won a sprint finish ahead of Sky Pro Cycling’s Philip Deignan and BMC Racing’s Larry Warbasse as the race headed into the mountains for the first time during the 181.8km ride, which featured two beyond category climbs, from Bellinzona to Sarnen, Switzerland.
“This is a significant win for me,” said Meyer, who admitted he was keen to make amends following a disappointing Giro d’Italia where he was forced to retire after just seven stages. “I really wanted to bounce back and come back strong in the second part of the season. This is a great way to start that.”
Photo: EPA
Triple time-trial world champion Martin, who won Saturday’s individual time trial, kept hold of the yellow jersey as he crossed the line with the peloton 14 seconds behind to maintain a six second advantage over Dutchman Tom Dumoulin of Giant-Shimano.
Prior to Sunday’s start, Italy’s Domenico Pozzovivo of AG2R-La Mondiale, who was fifth after the opening stage, was forced to withdraw from the tour with digestive problems and a heavy fever.
Meyer, Deignan and Warbasse were part of an early six-man breakaway and they tackled the ascents of both the Gotthardpass (2,093m) and the Furkapass (2,416m) in cold and wet conditions, before Warbasse launched an attack on the day’s final obstacle, the category two Brunigpass, 30km from the finish.
The American was tracked all the way by Deignan and while Meyer initially fell behind, he soon scrambled his way back to the leading pair on the descent.
With the finish in sight Warbasse went on the offensive, embarking on a final dash to the line, but he could not match the kick of Meyer, who went on to claim his first win of the season.
“The other two thought I was tired because I had been dropped on the climb and I was happy to let them think that. They looked at each other more than at me, which was perfect,” said Meyer, having seemingly lulled his rivals into a false sense of security. “They sprinted early. I waited. I opened my sprint at 150m to go and passed them both before the line.”
Yesterday’s third stage was a 206km ride from Sarnen to Heiden, Switzerland, that included three category two climbs.
Although Shohei Ohtani’s first trip to the Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series is a global sports event, it is particularly big in Japan. Fans from Ohtani’s home nation bought more World Series tickets for the first two games than from anywhere outside North America, ticket broker StubHub said. Dodger Stadium was packed to the rafters on Friday night for the start of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ showdown with the New York Yankees. “Ohtani’s first season with the Dodgers drew big international appeal, especially from his home country of Japan,” StubHub spokesperson Adam Budelli said. “At the beginning of the season, buyers from
The Major League Baseball World Series trophy is headed to Los Angeles, but the party is extending all the way to Japan. People milled around local train stations yesterday morning in Tokyo as newspaper extras were ready to roll off the presses, proclaiming Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto as world champions along with their Dodgers teammates after a stirring Game 5 victory over the New York Yankees. The 30-year-old is a national hero in Japan whose face adorns billboards and TV adverts all over the country. Ohtani this year became the first player in history to hit 50 home runs and
STAR IN DOUBT: After partially dislocating his shoulder in a feetfirst slide into second base, the status of Japanese slugger Ohtani is uncertain for Game 3 as he undergoes tests Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Saturday walked back to his dugout and made the slightest tip of his cap to cheering fans. He left Japan for moments like this, an opportunity to put the Los Angeles Dodgers in control of the World Series. Yamamoto allowed one hit over 6-1/3 innings and Freddie Freeman homered for the second straight night as Los Angeles beat the New York Yankees 4-2 for a 2-0 Series lead. However, the Dodgers head to New York uncertain whether Shohei Ohtani can play after their biggest star partially dislocated his left shoulder on a slide at second base. “We’re going to get
Three-time reigning world champion Kaori Sakamoto on Saturday led a Japanese podium sweep at Skate Canada, locking up a second straight Canadian women’s title despite two falls in her free skate. Sakamoto, who led 19-year-old American Alysa Liu after the short program, looked a little tight during her jazzy free skate, falling on a Salchow jump and again on a triple flip while fighting to hang on to a few other moves. Her second-best free skate score of 126.24 was enough for gold in the second Grand Prix event of the season in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She finished with 201.21 points, well ahead