BERNAL TAKES LEAD IN TOUR OF CALIFORNIA
CALIF.» Egan Bernal SANTA BARBARA, tasted glory at the Tour of California when he rode solo to the top of Gibraltar Road.
Sebastian Henao and Tao Geoghegan Hart were just as heroic Monday.
After powerful Team Sky worked to bring back the early breakaway, the pair of worker bees rode to the front of the peloton and set a brutal pace up the final climb of the day. One by one, Henao and then Geoghegan Hart splintered what was left of the main group, dropping top climbers such as Neilson Powless and Peter Stetina before the final couple of kilometers.
With the group whittled to about a dozen riders, Bernal finally moved to the front, unleashing a big kick that drove him clear and left him to ride solo into the overall leader’s jersey.
The top American finisher was Rocky Mountain High School alumnus Tejay van Garderen of the BMC Racing Team, who was strong early on the climb but wound up 50 seconds back of the winner.
“The last part was the most important part of the race. In the final two kilometers, I attacked and arrived alone,” said Bernal, a Colombian rider. “I’m so happy because my team did a great job. When I attacked I did my own pace. I looked at my watts, my pace, and I needed to take control of the climb.”
Rafal Majka of Bora-Hansgrohe was 21 seconds back in second, followed by Adam Yates of MitcheltonScott and Antwan Tolhoek of LottoNL-Jumbo.
McDavid’s goal leads Canada.
DENMARK» Canada bounced HERNING, back from a loss to Finland by edging Latvia 2-1 in overtime at the ice hockey world championship to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals.
Also, the Czech Republic edged Austria 4-3 and Russia shut out Slovakia 4-0.
Norway beat South Korea 3-0 to relegate the Asian debutant.
Captain Connor McDavid came to Canada’s rescue with a goal 46 seconds into overtime, knocking in a rebound in the air.
“We knew what they were gonna do, that they were going to be solid,” McDavid said. “They didn’t give up much in the middle. But we found the way to win.”
Doping test sidelines Peru soccer captain.
GENEVA» Peru soccer captain Paolo Guerrero was banned from playing at the World Cup because of a positive doping test he said was caused by contaminated tea.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport said on Monday it upheld an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency to extend Guerrero’s six-month FIFA ban, which already expired this month.
Guerrero will now be banned for 14 months — an “appropriate sanction ... in light of Mr. Guerrero’s degree of fault” — until January, the court said in a statement.
The 34-year-old Guerrero was set to captain Peru in Russia at its first World Cup appearance since 1982. On Sunday he was named in his country’s provisional squad preparing to play France, Denmark and Australia.
Guerrero tested positive for benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine, at a World Cup qualifying game against Argentina in October. Antidoping rules prohibit the use of cocaine in an athlete’s competition period though not out of competition
Hemsworth to star at Indy 500.
INDIANAPOLIS» Actor Chris Hemsworth will wave the green flag to start this year’s Indianapolis 500, to be held May 27.
The honorary starter might be best known to racing fans for his portrayal of former Formula One James Hunt in the movie “Rush.”
But movie fans probably know Hemsworth best for his roles in the Marvel’s “Avengers” series. The newest installment, “Avengers: Infinity War,” recently set a box office record of $640.9 million worldwide opening weekend.