Italian rider takes yellow jersey in tough climb
Giulio Ciccone’s biggest dream is to wear the Giro d’Italia’s pink jersey once in his life. He will be covered in a more prestigious color Friday at the Tour de France — yellow — after a grueling effort over four brutal climbs earned him the most coveted tunic in cycling.
A Tour rookie, Ciccone was beaten for the stage victory by Dylan Teuns at the summit of the legbreaking climb of the Planche des Belles Filles, yet managed to take the race lead from Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe on Thursday.
Quite an achievement for a rider who had not planned to ride the Tour this year.
“My big goal this year was the Giro,” said Ciccone, who won a tough mountain stage this spring at his home race in addition to the best climber’s jersey.
“The Tour was not on my program. But because of my strong condition, the team sent me to the Tour in support of Richie Porte and to get some experience.”
ETC.
NFL: Former Tennessee
● Titans All-Pro defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth said on social media that he needs a kidney transplant. The 38-year-old Haynesworth posted on Instagram that he’s been battling kidney disease for a few years. He shared a photo of himself in a hospital bed and wrote that his kidneys failed him Sunday and he’s looking for a donor. “It’s hard to believe from being a professional athlete to only 8 (seasons into) retirement that my body has taken another major blow,” Haynesworth said in the post. Haynesworth played 10 seasons in the NFL. NASCAR: Tyler Ankrum, ● 18, took the lead when Brett Moffitt ran out of fuel with less than two laps to go and cruised to his first NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series victory at Kentucky Speedway.
NHL: Penguins center ●
Matt Cullen has retired after a 21-season career that included three Stanley Cup titles. The 42 year-old had 266 goals, 465 assists and 502 penalty minutes over 1,516 games with eight teams, including the Florida Panthers.
Soccer: A statue capturing
● Brandi Chastain’s iconic reaction to scoring the U.S. team’s winning goal in the 1999 Women’s World Cup has been unveiled outside the Rose Bowl. The statue shows Chastain at the moment she dropped to her knees in exultation, clutching the jersey she pulled off after clinching the win over China on a penalty kick in the game played at the Rose Bowl. … Madagascar’s fairy tale came to an end at the African Cup of Nations as the underdog was beaten 3-0 by Tunisia in the quarterfinals. That set up a semifinal for Tunisia against Senegal and finally sent Madagascar, which was playing in its first major tournament, home.
College football: The
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Atlantic Coast Conference has agreements with 13 bowl games from Boston to San Diego for the 2020-25 seasons, including a few additions. The conference will now send a team to the Holiday Bowl in San Diego and a newly created game to be played at Fenway Park in Boston and run by ESPN. The ACC did not renew agreements with the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana, and the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit. The conference also has an agreement in which the Gasparilla Bowl in St. Petersburg. … A Texas appeals court for a second time has overturned the sexual assault conviction of a former Baylor football player whose case ignited a scandal that rocked the nation’s largest Baptist school. The Dallasbased 10th Court of Appeals ordered a new trial for Sam Ukwuachu.