Brandon McNulty of the US on Tuesday retained the overall lead of Paris-Nice when his UAE Team Emirates won the team time trial as aerodynamic helmets and speeding drones also hit the headlines.
Pre-race favorite Primoz Roglic of Bora–Hansgrohe dropped 54 seconds on McNulty and perhaps more crucially 30 seconds on his key rivals Remco Evenepoel of Soudal Quick-Step and Egan Bernal of Ineos Grenadiers.
Evenepoel’s group were winning by a wide margin of 20 seconds at the halfway point when the skies opened on them.
Photo: AFP
“We were outclassing everyone, but the rain began to fall and there are corners in the closing part where you can gain five seconds if you go at full speed. So it wasn’t our day,” Evenepoel said.
McNulty admitted that his team “got lucky with the weather.”
McNulty leads Evenepoel by 18 seconds in the overall standings and Bernal by 20 seconds, with Paris-Nice expected to be decided on two mountainous stages at the weekend.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The giant yellow aerodynamic helmet used by Jonas Vingegaard at Italy’s Tirreno-Adriatico on Monday was used again at Paris-Nice on Tuesday by the Dane’s Team Visma, but cycling’s regulator the UCI said it would examine the matter.
“It raises a significant issue concerning the current and wider trend in time trial helmet design, which focuses more on performance than the primary function of a helmet, namely to ensure the safety of the wearer in the event of a fall,” a statement from the UCI said.
Team Visma came sixth on the day, 38 seconds off UAE Team Emirates’ winning pace, in a team time trial where teams of seven riders embarked at four-minute intervals on a 26.9km course around the central French town of Auxerre.
In another first, drones raced alongside the teams at up 65 kph, zipping along the banks of a section of the Yonne River, offering a far more pacey impression of how fast the peloton actually moves for television viewers.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
When 42-1 underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas shocked ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson 34 years ago at the Tokyo Dome, the result reverberated worldwide. Spectators at the 45,000-plus seater venue witnessed one of boxing’s biggest upsets as unbeaten heavyweight champion Tyson was knocked out in the 10th round by the unheralded Douglas in February 1990. Boxing returns to the famous venue on Monday for the first time since that unforgettable encounter when Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue puts his belts on the line against Mexican Luis Nery. The 31-year-old Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) is a huge star in Japan and is just