Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Impey in 7th heaven as he keeps yellow
Sagan wins, Daryl retains lead
SLOVAKIAN Peter Sagan dominated a bunch sprint to win the seventh stage of the Tour de France yesterday as South African Daryl Impey defended the race leader’s yellow jersey.
Sagan, last year’s winner of the green jersey points competition, surged in the final 150 metres of the 205.5km stage from Montpellier to Albi to claim his first win of the 100th edition.
Germany’s John Degenkolb ( Argos) and Italian Daniele Bennati (Saxo) finished a bike length behind in second and third respectively.
It ends a frustrating first week for Sagan, who has narrowly missed out on sprint wins on four occasions.
“The team did an incredible job and I want to thank them,” said Sagan. “I hope today’s win gives an answer to all the fans who had criticised me and the team. Now the pressure is off.”
A day before the first of two consecutive stages in the Pyrenees, a combination of climbs and pace in the peloton proved too much for sprinters Mark Cavendish and Andre Greipel.
Both were dropped in succession on the second of the day’s four small climbs, and when the news filtered through to Sagan he put his troops on the front of the bunch and ordered them to hit full gas.
It left Cavendish and Greipel, who won stages five and six respectively, in an 84strong group which flirted with missing the time cut-off limit.
The late arrivals crossed the finish nearly 15 minutes in arrears, but Cavendish was unperturbed.
“Over half the peloton was dropped on that climb,” said the Manxman. “It was difficult. There’s still a lot of sprint stages, especially the last stage on the Champs Elysees.”
German veteran Jens Voigt (RadioShack) and Frenchman Blel Kadri (ALM) lit up the early stages with an attack inside the first 20 km, the pair building a lead of almost seven minutes on the peloton over undulating terrain.
But as Sagan set his sights on the points from the intermediate sprint, and other riders came to the front to help the chase, the pair were eventually reeled in just after the 114km mark.
Sagan took the 20 points by winning the sprint at 135km, but soon afterwards Cannondale were put to work again.
Sitting only 33sec behind Impey overall, Jan Bakelants attacked in a bid to regain the yellow jersey and was joined by Cyril Gautier and Juan Oroz.
For a spell it looked like Impey, with only OricaGreenEdge teammate Michael Albasini to help him, was in danger of losing the lead.
But the South African maintained his composure as Cannondale’s efforts helped close a gap that had never got above the 60-second mark.
Impey admitted the second climb that had snared many sprinters had tested his resolve: “There was a moment that the pressure was on, but we handled it pretty well,” said the 28- year- old. “But I was happy to see the top of that climb, that’s for sure.”
The escapees’ bid ended with just under 4km to race.
In the closing kilometre Argos, whose main sprinter Marcel Kittel was left trailing with Cavendish and Greipel, set up the lead-out train for Degenkolb.
But their timing was flawed. Degenkolb powered to the finish but hit top speed well before the line, leaving Sagan to surge past in triumph and reinforce his grip on the sprinters’ top prize. – Sapa-AFP Diamond League, Lausanne, Switzerland Men’s 100m: 1 Tyson Gay (US) 9.79, 2 Asafa Powell (Jam) 9.88, 3 Michael Rodgers (US) 9.96 200m: 1 Churandy Martina ( Ned) 20.01, 2 Jason Young (Jam) 20.20, 3 Jaysuma Saidy Ndure (Nor) 20.40 800m: 1 Mohammed Aman (Eth) 1:43.33, 2 Pierre-Ambroise Bosse (Fra) 1:44.11, 3 Marcin Lewandowski (Pol) 1:44.31 5000m: 1 Yenew Alamirew (Eth) 13:06.69, 2 Hagos Gebrhiwet (Eth) 13:07.11, 3 Muktar Edris (Eth) 13:08.23 110m hurdles: 1 David Oliver (US) 13.03, 2 Jason Richardson (US) 13.20, 3 Ryan Wilson (US) 13.27, 6 Lehann Fourie (SA) 13.43 400m hurdles: 1 Javier Culson (Pur) 48.14, 2 Felix Sanchez (Dom) 48.58, 3 Mamadou Kasse Hane (Sen) 48.72 High jump: 1 Bohdan Bondarenko (Ukr) 2.41m, 2 Erik Kynard (US) 2.37, 3 Dusty Jonas (US) 2.30 Triple jump: 1 Pedro Pichardo (Cub) 17.58m, 2 Teddy Tamgho (Fra) 17.40, 3 Christian Taylor (US) 17.13 Pole vault: 1 Konstadínos Filippídis (Gre) 5.72m, 2 Raphael Holzdeppe (Ger) 5.62, 2 Augusto de Oliveira (Bra) 5.62 Shot put: 1 Ryan Whiting (US) 21.88m, 2 Reese Hoffa (US) 21.58, 3 Dylan Armstrong (Can) 20.75 Javelin: 1 Kim Amb (Swe) 82.65m, 2 Andreas Thorkildsen (Nor) 81.54, 3 Stuart Farquhar (NZ) 80.42 Women, 200m: 1 Mariya Ryemyen (Ukr) 22.61, 2 Lashauntea Moore (US) 22.67, 3 Kimberlyn Duncan (US) 22.73 400m: 1 Francena McCorory (US) 50.36, 2 Amantle Montsho ( Bot) 50.37, 3 Novlene Williams (Jam) 50.87 800m: 1 Nora Farrag (Sui) 2:11.44, 2 Florence Perguiron (Sui) 2:11.60, 3 Sandra Pool (Sui) 2:12.63 1500m: 1 Abeba Arigawi (Swe) 4:02.11, 2 Sifan Hassan (Ned) 4:03.73, 3 Siham Hilali (Mar) 4:04.58 100m hurdles: 1 Dawn Harper (US) 12.53, 2 Kellie Wells (US) 12.58, 3 Lolo Jones (US) 12.60 3000m steeple: 1 Hiwot Ayalew (Eth) 9:17.66, 2 Sofia Assefa (Eth) 9:17.69, 3 Etenesh Diro (Eth) 9:24.40 Long jump: 1 Blessing Akagbare (Ngr) 6.98m, 2 Brittney Reese (US) 6.96, 3 Shara Proctor (Gbr) 6.92 Discus: 1 Sandra Perkovic (Cro) 68.96m, 2 Yarelis Barrios (Cub 67.36, 3 Zinaida Sendriute (Ltu) 63.82 Worcestershire v Australia, Worcester Tour match, New Road, Day 4 of 4 Australia 396-4 dec (S Watson 109, C Rogers 75, S Smith 68 no, M Clarke 62, E Cowan 58) and 344-5 dec (M Clarke 124, P Hughes 86) v Worcestershire 284 (N Compton 79, D Mitchell 65; J Bird 4-48) and 274-5 (T Fell 62 no, M Pardoe 57, D Mitchell 54)
Match drawn English county, Twenty20- South Group At Lord's: Essex 170/8 v Middlesex 174/3 (D Malan 86, J Denly 52no)
Middlesex beat Essex by 7 wickets Tour De France, 205km from Montpellier to Albi Stage 7: 1 Peter Sagan (Svk/Cannondale) 4:54:12”, 2 John Degenkolb (Ger/Argos) ST, 3 Daniele Bennati (Ita/Saxo-Tinkoff), 4 Davide Cimolai (Ita/Lampre), 5 Edvald Boasson Hagen ( Nor/ Team Sky), 6 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita/Astana), 7 Tony Gallopin (Fra/RadioShack), 8 Arthur Vichot (Fra/FDJ.fr), 9 Manuele Mori (Ita/Lampre), 10 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra/Omega Pharma- Quick- Step), 11 Ramunas Navardauskas ( Lit/ Garmin), 12 Daryl Impey ( SA/ Orica), 13 Juan Antonio Flecha ( Spa/ Vacansoleil), 14 Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra/Sojasun), 15 Simon Gerrans (Aus/Orica), 16 Bram Tankink (Ned/Belkin), 17 Philippe Gilbert (Bel/BMC Racing), 18 Wout Poels (Ned/Vacansoleil), 19 Davide Malacarne (Ita/Europcar), 20 Christophe Riblon (Fra/AG2R) Overall: 1 Daryl Impey ( SA/ Orica) 27:12:29”, 2 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor/Team Sky) +3”, 3 Simon Gerrans (Aus/Orica) +5”, 4 Michael Albasini ( Sui/ Orica), 5 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol/Omega Pharma- Quick-Step) +6”, 6 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra/Omega PharmaQuick-Step), 7 Chris Froome (Brit/Team Sky) +8”, 8 Richie Porte (Aus/Team Sky), 9 Nicolas Roche ( Irl/ Saxo- Tinkoff) + 14”, 10 Roman Kreuziger (Cze/Saxo-Tinkoff) French Open, Versailles Second round (par 71) 136 Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 68 68 137 Thomas Bjorn (Den) 68 69; Richard Sterne (RSA) 68 69; Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 69 68 138 Stephen Gallacher (GB) 68 70; Graeme Storm (GB) 70 68; Graeme McDowell (GB) 69 69; Simon Dyson (GB) 70 68 139 Scott Jamieson (GB) 69 70; Richard Green (Aus) 69 70; Eduardo De La Riva (Esp) 72 67 140 Alejandro Canizares (Esp) 71 69; Jamie Donaldson (GB) 70 70; David Howell (GB) 69 71; Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 68 72; Richie Ramsay (GB) 69 71 141 Matthew Nixon (GB) 68 73; Gareth Shaw (GB) 72 69; Bernd Wiesberger (Aus) 70 71; Marc Warren (GB) 69 72; James Morrison (GB) 69 72; Lee Slattery (GB) 71 70; Chris Doak (GB) 71 70; Kristof- fer Broberg (Swe) 72 69; Scott Henry (GB) 73 68 142 Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 69 73; Joost Luiten (Ned) 71 71; Morten Madsen (Den) 71 71; Soren Hansen (Den) 75 67; Thomas Pieters (Bel) 70 72; Hennie Otto (RSA) 71 71; Damien McGrane (Ire) 70 72; Matteo Manassero (Ita) 73 69; Robert-Jan Derksen (Ned) 72 70; Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 70 72; Romain Wattel (Fra) 67 75 143 S.S.P. Chowrasia (Ind) 76 67; Victor Dubuisson (Fra) 68 75; Chris Lloyd (GB) 70 73; Michael Hoey (GB) 69 74; Ross Fisher (GB) 70 73; Jorge Campillo (Esp) 74 69; Seve Benson (GB) 71 72 144 Estanislao Goya (Arg) 68 76; Martin Kaymer (Ger) 68 76; John Parry (GB) 74 70; David Drysdale (GB) 70 74; Simon Khan (GB) 71 73; Gareth Maybin (GB) 71 73; Ian Poulter (GB) 73 71; Luke Donald (GB) 71 73; Anders Hansen (Den) 66 78 145 Mikael Lundberg (Sweden) 71 74; Frasco Molinari (Ita) 71 74; Ignacio Garrido (Esp) 75 70; Matt Kuchar (U.S.) 70 75; Miguel Angel Jimenez (Esp) 69 76; Anthony Snobeck (Fra) 76 69; Thomas Aiken (RSA) 71 74; Alexander Levy (Fra) 69 76; Alan Dunbar (GB) 70 75; Lorenzo Gagli (Ita) 73 72; Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 76 69; Richard Finch (GB) 75 70; Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Esp) 74 71 Cut at 146. Also: 147 Garth Mulroy (RSA) 70 77 148 Darren Fichardt (RSA) 78 70 149 Brandon Stone (RSA) 72 77 150 Jaco Van Zyl (RSA) 70 80 155 Keith Horne (RSA) 79 76; Justin Walters (RSA) 72 83 156 Jbe Kruger (RSA) 75 82 Sun City Classic, Johannesburg Final round (SA unless specified) 207 – Adilson Da Silva (Bra) 67 70 70 208 – Jared Harvey 68 73 67 212 – Merrick Bremner 70 71 71, Vaughn Groenewald 68 71 73 213 – Ruan de Smidt 71 72 70, Andrew Curlewis 73 69 71 214 – Jean Hugo 71 70 73 215 – Alex Haindl 69 74 72, Grant Muller 72 70 73 216 – Mark Murless 73 69 74, Ryan Tipping 67 73 76, Jake Roos 66 74 76 F1 German Grand Prix, Nuerburgring Practice 2: 1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) RedBull- Renault 1:30.416, 2 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes 1:30.651, 3 Mark Webber (Aus) RedBull-Renault 1:30.683, 4 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Lotus-Renault 1:30.843, 5 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Lotus-Renault 1:30.848, 6 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 1:31.056, 7 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:31.059, 8 Lewis Hamilton (Brit) Mercedes 1:31.304, 9 Jenson Button (Brit) McLaren 1:31.568, 10 Paul Di Resta (Brit) Force India-Mercedes 1:31.797, 11 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Mercedes 1:31.824, 12 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:31.855, 13 Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:32.055, 14 Sergio Perez (Mex) McLaren 1:32.086, 15 Nico Huelkenberg (Ger) Sauber-Ferrari 1:32.495, 16 Esteban Gutierrez (Mex) Sauber-Ferrari 1:32.762, 17 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Williams- Renault 1:32.879, 18 Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams-Renault 1:32.880, 19 Charles Pic (Fra) Caterham-Renault 1:33.695, 20 Giedo van der Garde (Ned) Caterham-Renault 1:33.804, 21 Jules Bianchi (Fra) Marussia-Cosworth 1:34.017, 22 Max Chilton (Brit) Marussia-Cosworth 1:34.667 Super Rugby Crusaders . . . (19) 45 Chiefs . . . . . . . . . (8) 15 Crusaders: Tries: Kieran Read (2), Israel Dagg, Ryan Crotty, Tyler Bleyendaal. Conversions: Dan Carter (3). Penalties: Carter (4). Chiefs: Tries: Asaeli Tikoirotuma, Charlie Ngatai. Conversion: Andrew Horrell. Penalty: Aaron Cruden.
PWDL Conference leaders Chiefs 15 11 Bulls 14 11 Brumbies 15 10 Play-off places Crusaders 15 10 Reds 15 9 Cheetahs 15 9 The rest Waratahs 15 Blues 14 Sharks 14 Stormers 14 Hurricanes 14 Rebels 15 Force 15 Kings 14 Highlanders 14 8 6 7 7 6 4 3 3 2
FA BP P 0 4 432 348 9 61 0 3 415 281 7 59 2 3 415 274 7 59 0 5 421 290 8 56 2 4 307 284 6 54 0 6 348 345 6 46 0 7 399 357 4 44 0 8 318 304 12 44 0 7 307 272 6 42 0 7 292 267 6 42 0 8 325 383 7 39 0 11 344 478 8 32 1 11 246 351 5 27 1 10 273 482 2 24 0 12 288 414 6 22 All England Championship, Wimbledon Men’s semi-finals: * 1 Novak Djokovic (Srb) bt *8 Juan Martín Del Potro (Arg) 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 Women's doubles semi-finals: *12 Ashleigh Barty/Casey Dellacqua (Aus) bt *7 Anna-Lena Groenefeld (Ger)/Kveta Peschke (Cze) 7-6(6) 62; *8 Hsieh Su-Wei/Shuai Peng (Tpe/Chn) bt Shuko Aoyama/ Chanelle Scheepers (Jap/RSA) 6-4, 6-3 Mixed Doubles, semi- finals: * 1 Bruno Soares/Lisa Raymond (Bra/US) bt Jean-Julien Rojer/Vera Dushevina (Ned/Rus) 6-4 6-4; *8 Daniel Nestor/Kristina Mladenovic (Can/Fra) bt *3 Nenad Zimonjic/Katarina Srebotnik (Srb/Slv) 6-2 6-7(4) 11-9