Tour de France riders cleared of virus, Bennett wins the 10th stage
ILE DE RE, FRANCE » Tour de France riders passed coronavirus tests to confirm their good health only to endure numerous crashes along the Atlantic coastline when the race resumed on Tuesday.
Sprinter Sam Bennett prevailed ahead of Caleb Ewan to post his first Tour stage win, while Primoz Roglic avoided the many crashes that punctuated Stage 10 to keep the race leader’s yellow jersey.
After the 105-mile ride from Ile d’Oleron to Ile de Re, Roglic maintained a 21-second lead over defending champion Egan Bernal. Frenchman Guillaume Martin was in third place, 28 seconds off the pace.
Having performed 841 tests of all 166 riders and team staff over the previous two days, organizers gave all cyclists the goahead to start. But Tour director Christian Prudhomme was forced to abandon the race after testing positive for the virus.
Semenya loses at Swiss court
GENEVA » Two-time Olympic champion Caster Semenya lost her long legal battle against track and field’s rules that limit female runners’ naturally high testosterone levels.
Switzerland’s supreme court said its judges dismissed Semenya’s appeal against a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling last year that upheld the rules drafted by track’s governing body affecting female runners with differences of sex development (DSD).
The 71-page ruling means Semenya cannot defend her Olympic 800-meter title at the Tokyo Games next year — or compete at any top meets in distances from 400 meters to the mile — unless she agrees to lower her testosterone level through medication or surgery.
FSU women’s coach taking leave
TALLAHASSEE, FLA. » Florida State women’s basketball coach Sue Semrau is taking a leave of absence to be with her mother, who is recovering from ovarian cancer, the school announced Tuesday.
Semrau, who will spend time with her family in Seattle, has led the program for the past 23 years. She’ll be replaced by Brooke Wyckoff, who has been an assistant for 10 years and associate head coach since 2018.
The 58-year-old Semrau has a 453-257 career record. Her teams twice won the ACC regular season title and reached the NCAA Tournament regional finals three times, most recently in 2017.
As part of her leave agreement, Semrau requested — and FSU athletic director David Coburn agreed — that her forfeited salary will remain with the program to help offset pandemic-related budget cuts that will affect the entire athletic department.