Kittel wins Tour stage 10, Froome keeps race lead

The Arizona Coyotes have hired Rick Tocchet as head coach, turning the team over to a man who helped the Pittsburgh Penguins win the past two Stanley Cup titles.

The 53-year-old Tocchet, who spent the past three seasons as a Pittsburgh assistant, played 18 seasons in the NHL and helped the Penguins win the Stanley Cup in 1992.

Tocchet spent one season as an assistant to Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky in 2005-06 and played parts of three seasons with the team from 1997 to 2000.

Tocchet’s controversial departure from his Coyotes coaching job did not figure into the decision to hire him, general manager John Chayka said.

“Rick was the best candidate by a wide margin,” Chayka said. Tocchet was on a leave of absence from his Coyotes job in 2007 when he pleaded guilty in New Jersey to conspiracy to promote gambling and promoting gambling. He was sentenced to two years’ probation. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said an investigation showed Tocchet’s involvement in gambling was not as serious as first thought and he was suspended for three months.

There was no evidence Tocchet ever bet on hockey games. “He’s a man of character and integrity,” Chayka said. “Any In this Feb. 3, 2017, file photo, Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach Rick Tocchet sets up a play during a timeout during the third period of an NHL game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, in Pittsburgh.

issues in the past are in the past. It didn’t raise any red flags for us whatsoever.”

Tocchet briefly returned to the Coyotes in 2008 before being hired as an assistant at Tampa Bay. He became interim head coach of the Lightning that November and was head coach at Tampa Bay the next two seasons. But it was his work with the Penguins that elevated him to the clear favourite to replace Dave Tippett, who parted ways with the Coyotes after eight years as the franchise’s head coach. “He’s one of the best communicators I’ve come across not only in hockey but probably professionally as well,” Chakya said. “... I think he can just relate to the players. He’s very firm. He

can motivate. He can be aggressive in his approach, but he can also be that big brother kind of approach with our young players and I think that’s going to be helpful moving forward.” Chakya said Tocchet has a clear idea of the style he wants his team to play.

“He wants to play fast. He wants to play aggressive. He wants to dictate time and space,” Chakya said.

“We had a lot of coaches come through. They will all say something similar. I think he had a real plan of how to do it. He had concrete examples of what that means based off his time in Pittsburgh and some more ideas of what he’s maybe looking to do moving forward.”

Marcel Kittel has no serious challenger for the King of the Sprint title at this year’s Tour de France.

The German sprinter won the 10th stage with remarkable ease on Tuesday, while Chris Froome stayed safely in the main pack to retain the race leader’s yellow jersey.

Kittel perfectly timed his effort in the final straight to post his fourth stage win since the start of the race, crossing the line ahead of fellow German John Degenkolb.

The stage took the peloton on a flat, 178-kilometre (111-mile) run from Perigueux to Bergerac in southwestern France. Froome, the three-time Tour champion, will be wear the yellow jersey for the 50th time on Wednesday - joining five-time Tour winner Jacques Anquetil in fourth place on the all-time list behind Eddy Merckx (96), Bernard Hinault (75), and Miguel Indurain (60).

“A huge, huge honour,” the British rider said of the 50 days in yellow.

Kittel was in 10th place after negotiating the two sharp corners of a challenging final kilometre, before turning on the power to surge ahead of his rivals with 150 metres left and securing his 13th career win on the Tour. He won by a bike’s length and had plenty of time to raise his arms in celebration before crossing the line.

Kittel said his confidence is high after his string of victories. “I know now from the last sprints that I can hold that speed to the finish line,” he said. “I almost cannot believe what’s happening here at the Tour.” Dutch rider Dylan Groenewegen completed the podium in the medieval town. With Mark Cavendish, Peter Sagan and Arnaud Demare out of the race, Kittel strengthened his grip on the best sprinter’s green jersey. French sprinter Nacer Bouhanni, who had to settle for a sixth-place finish, acknowledged Kittel’s superiority.

“Kittel was the strongest, he came from behind,” Bouhanni said. “He won four sprints out of five, he is the best sprinter of this Tour.”

Bouhanni was later fined 200 Swiss francs ($207) and given a one-minute penalty in the general classification for “assault,” the race jury said without elaborating. Video footage shows the French rider elbowing an unidentified rider from the Quick-Step Floors team toward the end of the stage.

After a plane journey across France and a rest day, the race resumed in Perigueux for a flat ride through the lush landscapes of the Dordogne province in southwestern France.