Cort Nielsen takes Stage 10
Magnus Cort Nielsen won a two-man sprint in a photo finish to claim the 10th stage of the Tour de France on Tuesday at the end of a hilly trek in the Alps that was interrupted by protesters.
It was Cort Nielsen’s second stage win at cycling’s biggest race after his maiden success in the medieval city of Carcassonne four years ago.
The Danish rider pipped Nick Schultz to the line by a few inches at the end of the long and exhausting climb to the Megeve ski resort after Luis Leon Sanchez, who ended third, launched the sprint.
Cort Nielsen fell on his back, exhausted, once he crossed the finish line.
“I can’t believe what just happened today, I was on the limit for so long on this climb,” he said. “I lost contact with the group a couple of times in the last kilometers. Luckily, it went all back together and I was there.”
Two-time defending champion Tadej Pogacar rode among a group of general contenders that crossed less than nine minutes behind and kept the race lead.
It looked like that Pogacar would relinquish his yellow jersey since Lennard Kämna at some point gained enough time in the day’s breakaway to dream about the famed tunic. But the chasing pack of favorites rode hard in the finale and the Slovenian champion kept hold of his lead.
Pogacar now leads Lennard Kämna by 11 seconds ahead of two daunting stages in the high mountains.
OLYMPICS
Four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah has disclosed he was brought into Britain illegally from Djibouti under the name of another child.
“The truth is I’m not who you think I am,” the 39year-old Farah told the BBC in a documentary called “The Real Mo Farah.”
Farah, who became the first British track and field athlete to win four Olympic golds, said his children have motivated him to be truthful about his past.
“The real story is I was born in Somaliland, north of Somalia, as Hussein Abdi Kahin,” he told the BBC. “Despite what I’ve said in the past, my parents never lived in the U.K.
“When I was four my dad was killed in the civil war, you know as a family we were torn apart. I was separated from my mother, and I was brought into the U.K. illegally under the name of another child called Mohamed Farah.”
During the documentary, Farah said he thought he was going to Europe to live with relatives and recalled going through a British passport check under the guise of Mohamed at the age of nine after traveling with a woman he didn’t previously know.
“I had all the contact details for my relative and once we got to her house, the lady took it off me and right in front of me ripped them up and put it in the bin and at that moment I knew I was in trouble,” he said.
NFL
Don’t expect Rob Gronkowski to be suiting up in the NFL this upcoming season.
Gronkowski, who announced his retirement last month after 11 seasons with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was adamant again that football is in his rear-view mirror.
“I’m done with football,” Gronkowski told ESPN.com. “Love the game. Love the game. And definitely blessed with all the opportunities the game of football has given me and the relationships I’ve made — obviously, here in New England for nine seasons and two down in Tampa for two.”
Amid speculation that this was a temporary retirement, the 33-year-old Gronkowski was asked if he would take a phone call from Tom Brady, who has thrown 90 of his 624 career touchdowns to the four-time first-team All-Pro.
“I would answer (the call), obviously,” Gronkowski said. “I would answer the greatest quarterback of all time and ask him how he’s doing and tell him I’m doing good. But I wouldn’t go back to football. No.”
Barber III’s death caused by heatstroke: The Collin County Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled that former Dallas Cowboys running back Marion Barber III died of heatstroke, according to a copy of the autopsy report obtained by USA TODAY Sports on Monday.
His death was ruled an accident. Barber, 38, was found dead in a Dallas apartment on June 1.
Police wrote in the incident report that family members had not heard from Barber for six days prior to the date his body was found. They also noted that Barber “was known to have a history of medical problems and mental health concerns.”