Without stars, Kittel shines
Marcel Kittel had little trouble winning the sixth stage of the Tour de France in a mass sprint finish yesterday in Troyes, France, with Peter
Sagan and Mark Cavendish both no longer in the race.
Chris Froome held on to the leader’s yellow jersey after a sultry but uneventful day in the peloton.
It was Kittel’s second victory in this year’s race and 11th overall in his Tour career.
As the other contenders bunched together on the right side of the road, Kittel burst forward around them on the left and easily created a comfortable gap allowing him to celebrate as he crossed the line.
“I was really confident in my team,” Kittel said. “I was also really confident in myself today. There was just a moment when I broke free and started to go ahead.”
Stage 4 winner Arnaud Demare finished second and Andre Greipel was third.
Sagan, the world champion, was disqualified for elbowing Cavendish to the ground two days ago. The fall resulted in Cavendish, who has 30 Tour wins, abandoning the race with a broken shoulder.
Kittel said the absence of Cavendish and Sagan has altered the racing in that their teams are no longer battling out the sprint finishes.
He was repeatedly asked after his win about their absence.
“It’s a bit sad that it’s all about this decision,” he said. “The level that we have here for the sprints is still very, very high.”
Misc.: U.S. soccer drops
The United States dropped 12 spots to 35th in the FIFA rankings, one above the Americans’ low in July and August 2012.
Much of the drop is attributable to a devaluation of points from last year’s Copa America. Under the formula, a nation’s ranking is based on adding its average points from matches in the last year to its average points in the previous three years.
Germany took over the top spot for the first time in exactly two years, moving up two places after winning the Confederations Cup last weekend. Brazil dropped to second and Argentina to third. . . .
Data posted by Russian-linked hackers show four-time Olympic gold medalist runner Mo Farah’s blood readings were once flagged by track’s governing body.
The findings were part of his biological passport. Such passports, unlike traditional drug tests, track athletes’ blood data for signs of doping over a long period. A single suspicious passport sample on its own isn’t considered grounds for a ban and doesn’t mean any trace of a banned substance was found.
The data posted by the Fancy Bears group include alleged IAAF correspondence from April 2016 that lists Farah among athletes whose blood data was considered suspicious. . . .
The U.S. Open will experiment during its qualifying rounds this year with scoreboard clocks to limit how much time elapses between points and how long pre-match warmups or mid-match clothing changes can last.
Also set to be tried out at Flushing Meadows in August’s qualifying matches: letting coaches communicate with their players from the stands between points.
Names: van Niekerk blazes
Olympic 400-meter champion
Wayde van Niekerk ran a worldleading time of 43.62 seconds in Lausanne, Switzerland, in his first major race at his favored distance since the Rio de Janeiro Games.
On a warm evening, the 24-yearold Van Niekerk added the 400 to the world-leading times he also holds in the 200 and 300. . . .
Three Michigan State football
players accused of sexually assaulting a woman earlier this year have been dismissed from the university.
Josh King, Donnie Corley Jr. and Demetric Vance were dismissed for violating the school’s relationship violence and sexual misconduct policy. . . .
The Kansas City Chiefs signed veteran linebacker Josh Mauga, who missed all of last season with a hip injury, and former Seattle safety Steven Terrell.
NHL: Grubauer all Caps
Backup goaltender Philipp
Grubauer agreed to a $1.5 million, one-year contract with the Washington Capitals.
The 25-year-old German went 13-6-2 with a 2.04 goals-against average, .926 save percentage and three shutouts in 24 games with Washington last season. . . .
The Dallas Stars re-signed right winger Brett Ritchie to a $3.5 million, two-year contract. The 24-year-old had 16 goals and eight assists in 78 games last season for Dallas, with a team-best rating of plus-11. . . .
Forward Nick Shore re-signed with the Los Angeles Kings, agreeing to a one-year deal for $925,000.