Annemiek van Vleuten wins Tour de France
PLANCHE DES BELLES FILLES, FRANCE » Veteran rider Annemiek van Vleuten won the women’s Tour de France for the first time on Sunday after clinching the eighth and final stage in style.
The 39-year-old Van Vleuten won the stage by 30 seconds from Dutch countrywoman Demi Vollering, who also finished the race second overall. Italian rider Silvia Persico was third in the stage, 1 minute, 43 seconds behind the winner.
In the overall standings, Movistar rider Van Vleuten was 3:48 clear of Vollering (Team SD Worx) and 6:35 ahead of Polish rider Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon–SRAM) in third spot.
Van Vleuten had just about enough energy to punch the air in delight when crossing the line after the 123-kilometer (76-mile) mountain stage in the Vosges mountains of eastern France. It featured two category 1 climbs, the second ascent being the stage-ending trek up La Super Planche des Belles Filles, which finished with a daunting gradient of 23%.
She entered the final stage with a lead of 3:14 seconds over Vollering.
On Saturday’s penultimate stage, Van Vleuten rose from eighth overall to take the yellow jersey from Marianne Vos with more superb climbing in the Vosges.
Van Vleuten added this victory to a long list of achievements, including three Giro d’Italia Femminile titles, Olympic gold in time trial and two world championship golds in the same discipline.
Six years ago, her career was under threat after she sustained fractures to her spine and was placed in intensive care after crashing during the women’s Olympic road race at the Brazil Games.
Vos was among the favorites, but the three-time Giro d’Italia champion ended up in 26th place overall.
MMA NUNES WINS OVER PENA »
Amanda Nunes won a unanimous five-round decision over Julianna Peña in the main event of UFC 277 on Saturday night to regain the women’s bantamweight championship that she lost last December.
Nunes (22-5), nicknamed “The Lioness,” also holds the featherweight belt. The judges’ scoring was 50-45, 50-44 and 5043.
“Double champ again, baby!” Nunes yelled to the crowd after the fight. “This is the best day ever.”
Peña beat Nunes last December at Las Vegas to claim the title in one of the biggest upsets in UFC history.
Saturday’s fight was the first title defense for Peña (12-5) in the 135-pound division.
Brandon Moreno won the co-main event with a third-round TKO over Kai Kara-France in a scheduled five-round bout to take possession of the interim men’s flyweight championship belt.
Nunes dropped Peña three times in the second round, twice on right hooks and then with a left to the forehead.
Nunes took down Peña midway through the third round and kept her on the mat, punching to the head to open cuts along Peña’s hairline that left blood splattered on the mat.
Nunes had Peña on her back again for much of the fourth and fifth rounds. Peña’s face was streaked with blood that stained much of the mat.
“I could have finished her, but I wanted to go five rounds with her tonight to prove I was better than her,” said Nunes, her right eye swollen nearly shut, using crutches to reach the interview session. “I could have gone six, seven rounds.”
Nunes came out and added a left-handed stance to her normal right-handed stance. She believes that confused Peña.
UFC president Dana White said Peña was taken from the arena after the fight to see a plastic surgeon about damage to her forehead.
“Julianna’s tough as nails,” White said. “Her will to win is second to none.”
Nunes owned the bantamweight belt for more than five years before the December defeat, which snapped a 12-match winning streak that included nine consecutive title fights.
Referee Herb Dean stopped the fight between Moreno and Kara-France at 4:34 after Moreno, sporting a deep cut under his right eye with blood streaming down his face and onto his chest, landed a liver kick that dropped Kara-France. Moreno then finished him off.
Baseball
DEGROM TO MAKE SEASON DEBUT » New York Mets star Jacob deGrom will make his season debut against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday, manager Buck Showalter said before a series finale against Miami.
“His workday went well today, a light side,” Showalter
said Sunday. “The plans are for him to pitch Tuesday in Washington.”
The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner has not pitched for the Mets since July 7, 2021. The 34-year-old right-hander was sidelined the final three months of last season with right forearm tightness and a sprained elbow, then was shut down late in spring training because of a stress reaction in his right scapula.
DeGrom has made four minor league rehab starts totaling 12 2/3 innings, two at Class A St. Lucie and two with Syracuse. He’s allowed five runs — four earned — and seven hits with 21 strikeouts and four walks, hitting 100 mph on the radar gun even in his first outing.
“I think more than anything feeling for him and the emotions he’s going through,” Showalter said. “It’s been a long haul for him, knowing how hard he’s worked and how frustrating it’s been. You know how much he likes to compete and pitch.”
DeGrom won consecutive Cy Young Awards in 2018 and 2019. He is 77-53 with a 2.50 ERA in eight major league seasons. RODRIGUEZ PLACED ON IR » Seattle star rookie Julio Rodríguez was placed on the injured list with a bruised right wrist Sunday after being hit by a pitch a night before.
Manager Scott Servais said X-rays were negative, but that the center fielder was very sore and wouldn’t be able to hold a bat for at least five days. The team decided it was best to place him on the injured list so they could add another player to the roster.
“I think everybody knows, your wrist, your hands, you know how sensitive that area is when you’ve got a bat,” Servais said. “And let’s do it right. Let’s make sure he’s fully healthy when he comes back.”
Rodriguez was hit on the back of the hand as he swung at a pitch in the top of the eighth inning of Seattle’s win Saturday night. He struck out but played in the field in the bottom half of the inning before being lifted in the ninth.
The injury is a big blow for the Mariners with Rodríguez having a great rookie season, hitting .271 with 18 homers and 57 RBIs.
The Mariners also placed Dylan Moore on the injured list Sunday after the outfielder started having back spasms Saturday night.
Seattle recalled outfielder Jarred Kelenic from Triple-A Tacoma and purchased the contract of outfielder Jack Larsen from Double-A Arkansas to take their spots on the roster.
The Mariners were also without first baseman Ty France Sunday after he had an MRI on his sore left wrist. Servais said they hadn’t yet received the results before the game, and he hoped he would be ready to return after a day or two of rest.
Utilityman Sam Haggerty was not in the lineup Sunday after getting stitches above his eye. He was injured after being hit in the forehead by his thrown helmet after failing to bunt in the ninth inning and tossing his gear in frustration. The helmet bounced back up and hit him in the head.
Servais said he was doing OK and would be available off the bench.
FURUE WINS SCOTTISH OPEN » Ayaka Furue of Japan ran off six straight birdies in the middle of her round and rallied from a four-shot deficit with a 10-under 62 to win the Women’s Scottish Open on Sunday for her first LPGA Tour title.
A seven-time winner on the Japan LPGA — once as an amateur — Furue became the second rookie to win on the LPGA Tour this year, and she did it in style at Dundonald Links.
Starting the final round four shots behind Celine Boutier of France, the 22-year-old finished the front nine with four straight birdies and added two more to start the back nine. She never let up, playing bogey-free to win by three.
Boutier was still in good shape until making three bogeys on the back nine for a 69.
Furue finished at 21-under 267 and won $300,000, along with valuable momentum going into the final major of the year next week in the Women’s British Open at Muirfield.
She began to show her full potential late last year on the Japan LPGA when Furue won three tournaments in a fourweek stretch and tied for third in the other. Furue finished second on the money list behind Olympic silver-medalist Moni Inami, earned an LPGA card through the qualifying tournament and came into the Women’s Scottish Open at No. 30 in the world.
Hyo Joo Kim of South Korea (66) and Cheyenne Knight of the United States (67) tied for third, four shots behind.
Lydia Ko of New Zealand, the 36-hole leader, faded to a 71-71 weekend and tied for fifth.