Rookie rider is toast of Paris after Tour de France win
In a stunning performance for the ages, Tour de France rookie Tadej Pogacar won cycling’s showpiece race Sunday on the eve of his 22nd birthday.
Pogacar became the second-youngest winner of the 117-year-old event that this year braved, and overcame, France’s worsening coronavirus epidemic.
Turning him from promising prodigy into cycling superstar, Pogacar became the youngest winner since World War II and the first from Slovenia.
His victory was incredible, too, for the way in which he sealed it: at the last possible moment, on the penultimate stage before Sunday’s finish on Paris’ Champs-Elysees.
In a high-drama time trial on Saturday, he left the race breathless by snatching away the overall lead from Slovenian countryman Primoz Roglic.
Their 1-2 is the first for one country since British riders Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome went 1-2 at the 2012 Tour. Australian Richie Porte rounded out the podium, at age 35, after his brilliant time trial that hoisted him from fourth to third overall.
The race left the start town of Nice on the Mediterranean three weeks ago — delayed because of the epidemic from its usual spot in July — unsure that it would be able to negotiate unscathed to the finish lined with French tricolor flags. The famous boulevard was unusually subdued ahead of the riders’ arrival this year, with the usually rows-deep crowds limited to a socially distanced maximum of 5,000 people, clumped in pens by police and barriers.
NHL
KHUDOBIN GIVES STARS CONFIDENCE >> Anton Khudobin and the Dallas Stars are three victories away thanks in large part to Khudobin’s play in his first postseason as a starting goaltender at age 34. While the history of the chase for the Stanley Cup is full of hot goalies carrying teams through the playoffs, the guy affectionately known as “Dobby” is one of the unlikeliest heroes in net after a career as a backup and a style of play that hasn’t been seen much in the league fordecades.
“I think he surprised me the most,” said Nikolai Khabibulin, the only Russian goalie to win the Stanley Cup. “He’s really not like almost all of the goalies right now. If I had to describe him in a few words, he’s like a modern version of Martin Brodeur. He plays totally different than most of the guys nowadays, and I think part of it is his age.”
The Stars lead the Tampa Bay Lightning after one game of the final and are oozing with confidence heading into tonight’s Game 2.
WNBA
PLAYOFF OPENER BETWEEN STORM AND LYNX POSTPONED DUE TO COVID-19 >> The opener of the WNBA playoff series between the Seattle Storm and the Minnesota Lynx was postponed nearly 90 minutes before its scheduled tipoff Sunday because of inconclusive COVID-19 test results for Storm players.
The league didn’t immediately announce when Game 1 of the best-offive series would be played. Game 2 was scheduled for Tuesday night. SUN UPSETS ACES IN GAME 1 >> Jasmine Thomas had a career-high 31 points, Alyssa Thomas scored 18, and the Connecticut Sun pulled away early and cruised to an 87-62 win over the top-seeded Las Vegas Aces in Game of 1 of the best-of-five WNBA semifinals in Bradenton, Florida.
A’ja Wilson led Las Vegas with 19 points.
Golf
JIM FURYK MAKES IT 2 FOR 2 ON PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS >> Jim Furyk joined Arnold Palmer and Bruce Fleisher as the only players to win their first two PGA Tour Champions starts, beating Jerry Kelly with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff in the Pure Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach.
Furyk and Kelly both laid up on the par-5 18th in the playoff, with Kelly hitting his approach to 10 feet and Furyk following with a 90-yard wedge to 3 feet. Furyk holed his birdie try after Kelly missed his attempt.
HALL WINS PORTLAND CLASSIC IN PLAYOFF >> Georgia Hall won the Cambia Portland Classic for her first LPGA Tour victory in the United States, beating Ashleigh Buhai with a par on the second hole of a playoff.
Hall won after falling into a tie with a bogey on the part-4 18th in regulation. The 24-year-old Englishwoman, the 2018 Women’s British Open champion, matched Buhai with a par on 18 on the first extra hole and won on the par-4 first at Columbia Edgewater.
Moriya Jutanugarn (67 and Concord’s Yealimi Noh (69), the runnerup last year, finished a stroke out of the playoff.
Soccer
VALERI, TIMBERS ERUPT IN SECOND HALF TO ROUT QUAKES >> Diego Valeri scored twice for the first time since the 2017 season and added an assist to lead the visiting Portland Timbers (5-4-3, 18 points) to a 6-1 victory over the host San Jose Earthquakes late Saturday night.
Carlos Fierro scored the lone goal for San Jose (2-5-5, 11 points), which suffered its second-worst defeat of the season after a 7-1 loss to the Seattle Sounders on Sept. 10. The Earthquakes had managed two draws between those defeats but are now winless in their past seven matches and remain last in the West. The Quakes have not won since returning to San Jose from the MLS is Back tournament.
Motorsports
TOYOTA GAZOO’S NO. 8 CAR WINS 24 HOURS LE MANS FOR 3RD YEAR >> Toyota Gazoo’s No. 8 car comfortably won the 24 Hours Le Mans (France) by five laps from Rebellion No. 1 to secure a third straight victory in the prestigious endurance race.
It was also a third consecutive win for Swiss driver Sébastien Buemi and Japan’s Kazuki Nakajima driving. Brendon Hartley was the other driver.