CYCLING
Mohoric wins Stage 7
Slovenia’s Matej Mohoric on Friday won Stage 7 of the Tour de France as leader Mathieu van der Poel kept the yellow jersey against the odds by leading a breakaway on an epic 249km run from Vierzon to Le Creusot. Defending champion Tadej Pogacar limited his losses and remains a force to be reckoned with, while Ineos’ best-placed rider, Richard Carapaz, wasted energy with a doomed late breakaway before being caught on the line as the British team continue to suffer. A mass attack after 50km of the longest stage in 21 years stunned race favorite Pogacar, as more than 20 riders got away after a 15km struggle to contain them wilted. The large escape group, all working hard to maximize the damage, opened up a seven-minute lead, leaving a sense of confusion in the teams left behind, including the UEA and Ineos teams.
CRICKET
Smith says Tests the focus
Steve Smith is prepared to sacrifice playing at this year’s Twenty20 World Cup to ensure he is fit for the Ashes series against England, with the star batsmen making clear that Test cricket is his priority. The former Australia captain pulled out of their limited-overs tour of the West Indies with an elbow injury and said recovery was proving a slow process. “There’s still a bit of time between now and [the World Cup], and I’m tracking okay at the moment — it’s slow, but I’m going okay,” he told cricket.com.au on Friday. The World Cup is scheduled to take place from Oct. 17 to Nov. 14 in the United Arab Emirates and Oman after being moved out of India due to the COVID-19 situation. “I’d love to be part of the World Cup, for sure, but from my point of view, Test cricket, that’s my main goal — to be right for the Ashes and try to emulate what I’ve done in the last few Ashes series I’ve been involved in,” Smith said. The five-Test series is due to get under way on Dec. 8 in Brisbane. “I want to put myself in a position where I can have that kind of impact,” he said. “If that does mean not partaking in the World Cup, then we’ll have to go down that path, but hopefully we don’t have to go there.”
RUGBY UNION
NZ Maori defeat Samoa
Samoa yesterday lost against the Maori All Blacks in Auckland as they rounded off preparations for the first of their World Cup qualifiers against Tonga next week. The New Zealand Maori romped home 38-21 following their 35-10 victory a week ago in Wellington. Samoa again started strongly and, as in the first game, the score was locked at 7-7 after 30 minutes. However, the hosts found another gear in the countdown to halftime and added a try to Jonah Lowe and a penalty try to turn with a 19-7 lead. Samoa scored first in the second spell and again right on fulltime, but in between they spent most of the half defending and again conceded a penalty try. Captain Michael Alaalatoa said that the performance was not a good indicator of how they will fare against Tonga. “Our effort was there, but our execution let us down,” he said. “It’s hard to get a feel for next week. We’ve laid a really good foundation, but it is about execution.” For the Maori All Blacks, there were tries to Ash Dixon, two for Jonah Lowe, Sean Wainui and two penalty tries. Otere Black and Josh Ioane landed conversions. Samoa’s points came from tries to Neria Formai, Tomasi Alosio and Kalolo Tuiloma and three conversions by Henry Taefu.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two
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