Jakobsen wins 2nd stage of Tour
Dutch rider Fabio Jakobsen overtook Wout van Aert right on the line for his first stage win on his debut Tour de France, while Van Aert took the yellow jersey for the first time on Saturday.
Jakobsen had showed his prowess on the Spanish Vuelta, winning five stages, and clinched his first success in this race with a late burst to nick victory from Van Aert. It has been a long road back for Jakobsen. Two years ago, he was in an induced coma. He needed five hours of surgery on his skull and face after being sent flying through roadside crash barriers by Dylan Groenewegen near the finish line of the Tour of Poland.
“Today it’s ‘incroyable’ as we would say in French. It’s been a long process step by step. A lot of people have helped me come back so this victory is to pay them back,” Jakobsen said. “I’m happy I still enjoy racing and I can win.
“The team kept me in good position in front at the end of the bridge.”
It was a second win in two days for the Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl team after Yves Lampaert’s win in Friday’s time trial.
Van Aert took the yellow jersey with a six-second bonus for finishing second, to lead Lampaert by one second overall.
“It’s a great pleasure for me to wear the jersey. I’ve tried to get it many times. I’m very happy and proud,” Van Aert said.
He also has the green jersey for best sprinter and is Primož Roglič’s teammate on the Jumbo-Visma team.
“We have big ambitions,” Van Aert said. Two-time defending champion Tadej Pogačar stayed third overall and was eight seconds behind Van Aert.
Golf: Adrian Meronk will take a narrow lead into the final round of the Irish Open as he bids to become the first Polish winner in the history of the European tour. Meronk, who has three top-three finishes this season, carded a third round of 4-under 68 at Mount Juliet to edge in front on a crowded leaderboard on Saturday. The top 14 players are separated by four shots. At 14 under par, Meronk is one shot ahead of England’s Jack Senior, Spain’s Jorge Campillo and Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zanotti. Another stroke back are 2020 winner John Catlin and Espen Kofstad following rounds of 65.
MLB: The Cardinals became the first major league team to hit four straight home runs in the first inning when Nolan Arenado, Nolan Gorman, Juan Yepez and Dylan Carson connected against the Phillies on Saturday. The Cardinals tied the MLB record for any inning with four in a row. It was the first time they had done it, and the 11th time overall in big league history.
NBA: Zion Williamson agreed to a fiveyear, $193 million extension Saturday that has the potential to be worth as much as $231 million. The deal sets the stage for the 6-foot-6, 280-pound, high-scoring forward to give an All-Star caliber boost to a squad that recently proved it could make the playoffs without him. The move signifies a desire by the 2019 No. 1 overall draft choice out of Duke to see how much his return could help a squad that improved dramatically late last season. It is also a show of faith by the Pelicans in the injury-plagued Williamson, who has played a grand total of 85 games in his first three NBA seasons — and missed all of last season with a foot injury.