Bernal storms into Tour yellow amid icy chaos

In an instant, and just as it was becoming even more thrilling, the most exciting Tour de France in decades became truly bizarre, and got a new leader — Egan Bernal of Colombia—who looks all but certain to hold the yellow jersey to Paris on Sunday.

A violent hail storm threw cycling's greatest race into chaos on Friday, forcing organizers to cut short a nail-biting stage in the high Alps because riders were speeding, unbeknownst to them, headlong toward a road that had suddenly become covered with ice and giant puddles and cut in half by a rockslide.

Concerned for riders' safety on mountain roads that can be dangerous at the best of times, race organizers made an onthe-spot and extremely rare decision that the stage couldn't continue.

The shock wave was immediate and heavy in repercussions.

Unable to reach the planned finish at the ski station of Tignes, organizers decided that riders' placings would instead be based on their time at the top of the highest mountain pass of this Tour — the Iseran, at 2,770 meters (9,090 feet) above sea level — which leading riders, but not all, had just scaled when the race was stopped.

And just like that, Bernal found himself in the yellow jersey.

He flew away from Julian Alaphilippe on the climb and reached the top 2 minutes, 10 seconds ahead of the Frenchman, who had held the race lead for a total of 14 days.

Fitzpatrick shoots 6-under 64 to take Memphis lead

Matthew Fitzpatrick s hot a 6- under 64 on Friday in the FedEx St. Jude Invitational to take a two-stroke lead into the weekend at the World Golf Championships event in Memphis, Tennessee.

The 24- year-old Englishman birdied the first four holes and finished with seven birdies and a bogey. He took the lead with his fifth birdie and added two more on the back nine to finish at 9- under 1 31 at TPC Southwind.

Billy Ho rs ch el (66), Patrick Cant lay (68), Cameron Smith (68) and first-round leader Jon Rahm (71) were tied for second.

Wes Short Jr. takes lead at Senior British Open

Wes Short Jr. shot his second straight 3-under 67 on Friday to take a one-shot lead after two round soft he Senior British Open in Lytham St. Annes, England..

After an up-and-down second round at Royal Lytham & St. Annes that included a double bogey on the par-4 sixth, Short closed with three straight birdies to post 6-under 134 and take the solo lead at a senior major for the first time.

Fellow American Scott Dun lap shot 68 and was one shot back. He bounced back from an early double bogey on the par-3 fourth.

Elsewhere

LPGA: Mi Hyang Lee surged to a 4-under 67 on Friday to take a one-shot lead into the weekend at the Evian Championship in Evian-les-Bains, France. Top-ranked Sung Hyun Park, also playing early, plus seven-time major winner Inbee Park and Hyo Joo Kim, thriving after a suspension that lasted 1 hour, 5 minutes, were one shot back in the overall standings.

MLB: Derek Holland was acquired by the Chicago Cubs on Friday from the San Francisco Giants for a player to be named, giving the Cubs a new lefthanded option out of the bullpen.

USA Basketball: Hawks guard and former Oklahoma star Trae Young is among 13 players who will be on the select team that will play against the national-teamers in training camp, USA Basketball announced Thursday.