German sprinter wins Tour’s 10th stage
Marcel Kittel has no serious challenger for the King of the Sprint title at the Tour de France.
The German sprinter won the 10th stage with ease 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 at Bergerac, France, ahead of fellow German John Degenkolb.
The stage took the peloton on a flat, 111-mile run from Perigueux to Bergerac in southwestern France.
Froome, the three-time Tour champion, will wear the yellow jersey for the 50th time 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 honor,” 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 kilometer, before turning on the power to surge ahead of his rivals and securing his 13th career win on the Tour.
There was no major change in the overall standings, with Italy’s Fabio Aru still trailing 18 seconds behind Froome and Frenchman Romain Bardet in third place, 51 seconds back.
ETC. Bird an All-Star for the 10th time
Seattle’s Sue Bird will start in the WNBA All-Star game in front of her home crowd after she was selected Tuesday as a starter for the July 22 game. Bird will be making her 10th All-Star appearance, tying her with Tamika Catchings, who retired last year, for most in WNBA history.
She’ll be joined on the Western Conference team by Phoenix’s Diana Taurasi, Minnesota’s Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles, and the Sparks’ Candace Parker. Parker was tied with teammate Nneka Ogwumike in votes by players and select media members but received more fan votes to earn the starting position.
Moore was the leading vote-getter among fans (32,866).
She was followed by Washington’s Elena Delle
Donne (31,414), who headlines the Eastern Conference team. Delle Donne is joined by Tina Charles of New York, Jonquel Jones and Jasmine Thomas of Connecticut, and Tiffany Hayes of Atlanta. Jones, Thomas and Hayes are all first-time All-Stars.
The Arizona Coyotes hired Rick Tocchet as head coach, turning the team over to a man who helped the Pittsburgh Penguins win the last 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.
Michael Jordan has joined the investment group led by Derek Jeter that is trying to buy the Miami Marlins. The NBA Hall of Famer owns the Charlotte Hornets and is expected to assume a minority ownership role if Jeter’s group buys the Marlins.
Former major league pitcher Livan Hernandez has filed for bankruptcy in Florida, claiming debts of up to a million dollars and assets under $50,000.
The Atlanta Hawks agreed to a two-year, $14-million contract with free-agent center Dewayne Dedmon, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported . ... The Denver Nuggets waived 37-yearold shooting guard Mike Miller. Miller played only 20 games last season as he served more of a coaching role from the bench for a Nuggets team that missed out on the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. ... The Cleveland Cavaliers signed veteran forward Jeff Green, who averaged 9.2 points and 3.1 rebounds for the Orlando Magic last season and will give the Cavaliers some depth in the frontcourt.
Matt Kenseth is out at Joe Gibbs Racing, which will replace the oldest full-time driver in NASCAR’s top series with rising star Erik Jones next season. Kenseth is 45. Jones turned 21 in May.
The heartland of Formula One will lose its home race from 2020 unless Silverstone is handed a cheaper deal to stage the British Grand Prix. Despite seven of the 10 teams being based in Britain and Silverstone attracting the biggest crowds in the sport, the circuit has told F1 owner Liberty Media that escalating race fees have made the historic race unsustainable.
The NCAA announced that Texas basketball recruit Mo Bamba remains eligible after reviewing the assistance the incoming freshman received from a Detroit financial advisor.
Jockey Diane J. Nelson, who rode over 1,000 winners while capitalizing on her good looks with a modeling career, died July 5. She was 54. Nelson was the sixth female jockey in North America to reach 1,000 winners. She had 1,095 victories from 9,905 career races and purse earnings of $19,106,392, according to Equibase.