Wout Van Aert wins 10th stage of Tour, Pinot loses time
ALBI, FRANCE » Geraint Thomas and his teammates don’t need a mountain to deliver a hammer blow on their rivals at the Tour de France.
They can do it on the flat, too. With a little help from the wind.
The defending champion was the big winner of a chaotic Stage 10 in southern France on Monday when French rival Thibaut Pinot and other title contenders were caught napping by a treacherous combination of winds and narrow roads.
Unable to all ride at the front, Pinot and other riders got left behind when the winds first stretched and then shattered the peloton into groups over 35 frantic final kilometers (20 miles) of a 217.5-kilometer (135-mile) trek from Saint-Flour to Albi in south-central France.
Perfectly positioned at the front when the pack took different routes around a traffic circle, triggering the first split, Thomas and his Ineos teammates put pedal to the metal to make the gap on Pinot and other contenders caught behind as big as possible.
The bill for the French podium finisher in 2104, as well as Rigoberto Uran, Jakob Fuglsang, and Richie Porte was costly. They rode in a whopping 1 minute, 40 seconds behind Thomas.
Once opened, the gap increased speedily, with yellow jersey-holder Julian Alaphilippe and Ineos riders setting a frenetic tempo until the end.
Tour de France rookie Wout Van Aert won the stage with a sprint to the line. But Thomas was the headline act.
Ahead of big Pyrenean stages this week, Thomas vaulted to second place overall, 1:12 behind Alaphilippe, with teammate Egan Bernal in third place, four seconds further back.
Howard adds veteran coach Jay Smith to his coaching staff at Michigan
ANN ARBOR, MICH. » Michigan has hired Jay Smith to be on Juwan Howard’s basketball staff as director of player personnel and development.
The move was announced Monday.
Howard also says he is retaining director of basketball operations Chris Hunter and hiring video analyst David Metzendorf.
Smith was an assistant coach for the Wolverines from 1989 to 1996, including the Fab Five era that included Howard’s career. He went on lead Grand Valley State, Central Michigan and Kalamazoo College. Smith, who is from Mio, Michigan, set a state high school record in the late 1970s with 2,841 career points.
Howard previously hired former Saint Joseph’s coach Phil Martelli as an assistant. The rookie head coach also added Howard Eisley to his staff and retained Saddi Washington.
Wimbledon champ Halep up to No. 4; Serena No. 9; Gauff 141st
WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND » Simona Halep’s Wimbledon championship lifted her from No. 7 to No. 4 in the WTA rankings on Monday, while runner-up Serena Williams moved up one spot to No. 9, her best placing since returning to the tour last season after having a baby.
Halep beat Williams in Saturday’s final with surprising ease, 6-2, 6-2.
Coco Gauff’s magical run from a wild-card entry in qualifying all the way to the fourth round at the All England Club allowed her to move into the WTA’s top 150 for the first time.
The 15-year-old American rose 172 places to No. 141 from No. 313 before the tournament. Gauff was the youngest player to ever qualify for the main draw at Wimbledon, then beat fivetime champion Venus Williams on the way to reaching the fourth round. That is when Gauff lost to eventual champion Halep.