Froome just a bike ride from fourth Tour win
MARSEILLE, France — Chris Froome virtually sealed a fourth Tour de France win in the penultimate stage Saturday, stamping his authority on the race in a time trial in the Marseille streets.
Froome, the last rider to set off from the Stade Velodrome, finished third in the 14-mile stage won by Maciej Bodnar and increased his overall lead.
Colombian rider Rigoberto Uran moved to second place in the general classification, 54 seconds behind Froome, after Frenchman Romain Bardet cracked and dropped to third.
Only the largely ceremonial Stage 21 into Paris on the Champs-Élysées on Sunday stands between Froome and his fourth triumph in five years.
“It’s just an amazing feeling,” said Froome, who did not win a single stage this year. “It was so close coming into this TT. This was my closest Tour de France, the most hardfought between the riders on GC. I didn’t think it would come down to this TT in Marseille. There was a bit of pressure but, for me, it’s always a good thing having pressure.”
The British rider from Team Sky also won cycling’s biggest race in 2013, 2015 and 2016. Only the four men who have won the Tour five times have more victories than Froome — Jacques Anquetil, Eddie Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain.
MOTOR SPORTS Kyle Busch takes Brickyard pole
Kyle Busch won the pole position as he chases an unprecedented third consecutive NASCAR Brickyard 400 victory Sunday.
Busch earned the top qualifying spot on his final lap with a speed of 187.301 mph on the 2½-mile oval. Kevin Harvick was second at 186.332, and Jamie McMurray was third.
Busch is trying to become the second driver to win three consecutive races at Indy. Former Formula One star Michael Schumacher won the U.S. Grand Prix four times in a row, all on the road course. In other news: • Rookie William Byron bobbed and weaved through the final two laps and held off Paul Menard to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The victory margin of 0.108 seconds was the narrowest in race history. Joey Logano was third, more than three seconds behind. Kyle Busch finished 12th, failing in his bid to become the first driver to win five consecutive races on Indy’s famed mile oval.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL UH lands two UMass transfers
Massachusetts transfers DeJon Jarreau and Brison Gresham committed to the University of Houston men’s basketball program while visiting campus Saturday.
Jarreau and Gresham will sign with the Cougars in November. The high school teammates from New Orleans will spend one year at junior college to clear up academic issues and will not play basketball, a source with knowledge of the situation said.
Jarreau, a 6-5 guard, averaged 9.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists last season. Gresham, a 6-9 center, averaged 3.3 points and 3.2 rebounds.
GOLF Stallings shoots 2nd Barbasol 60
Scott Stallings birdied the final hole for an 11-under-par 60 and a one-stroke lead in the PGA Tour’s Barbasol Championship.
Stallings’ 12-foot putt on the par-4 18th caught the right edge and dropped in for the second 60 in two days in sweltering conditions at Grand National’s rain-softened Lake Course in Opelika, Ala.
Grayson Murray was second after his second consecutive 64.
Stallings hit all 18 greens in regulation and birdied the final three holes to tie the course record set last year by Jhonattan Vegas and matched by Chad Collins on Friday. The three-time PGA Tour winner had the lowest round of his tour career and broke the tournament 54-hole record at 19-under 194. In other news: • Nelly Korda birdied the final two holes for a 5-under 66 and a twostroke lead in the Marathon Classic. Korda, 18, had a 15-under 198 total at Highland Meadows in Sylvania, Ohio. In-Kyung Kim was second after a 68.
• Noah Goodwin rallied to beat Matthew Wolff 1 up in the U.S. Junior Amateur final to become the third player to win a year after losing the title match. Goodwin, 17, from Corinth, Texas, was four holes down with eight to play at Flint Hills National in Andover, Kan., before pulling off the second-biggest comeback in tournament history.
PRO BASKETBALL Moore, Ogwumike pace West victory
Maya Moore scored 23 points, reigning league MVP Nneka Ogwumike added 22 points and the West outlasted the East 130-121 in the WNBA AllStar Game at Seattle.
The veteran West squad, with 55 total AllStar Game selections on its roster, pulled away after a close first half. Moore made nine of 17 shots, including five 3-pointers; Ogwumike made 11 of 15 attempts off the bench. Hometown favorite Sue Bird had a hand in many of those baskets, finishing with a game-record 11 assists and eight points.
Moore was named the game’s MVP for the second consecutive All-Star Game.
The East was led by Jonquel Jones with a game-high 24 points, including a dunk in the final minute. There were eight first-time selections on the East roster.
HORSE RACING Arrogate shows rust after layoff
Accelerate stunned overwhelming favorite Arrogate to win the $300,000 San Diego Handicap by 8½ lengths at Del Mar, Calif., snapping the seven-race winning streak of the world’s top-ranked horse.
Arrogate finished fourth, beaten by 15¼ lengths under jockey Mike Smith in the 4-year-old colt’s return to racing after a nearly four-month layoff.
Trainer Bob Baffert said Arrogate “laid an egg” and nothing is wrong with the colt other than he appeared flat.
Ridden by Victor Espinoza, Accelerate ran 11⁄16 miles in 1:42.15.
PRO BASEBALL Talbot, Benson lead Skeeters
Mitch Talbot struck out 10 and allowed two hits over eight innings, and Joe Benson had a two-run homer in the fifth inning to help Sugar Land defeat York 3-1 in Atlantic League play at York, Pa.
Hector Olivera drove in the Skeeters’ other run with a single in the seventh inning.
From staff and wire reports