PETERS WINS STAGE IN PYRENEES, PINOT DONE

On a day of mixed feelings for the home nation, rookie Nans Peters won the eighth stage of the Tour de France following a long breakaway in the Pyrenees, while fellow Frenchman Thibaut Pinot saw his hopes of winning the race vanish.

Peters was part of a group of 13 riders who broke away Saturday in the early stages of the 141-kilometer (87.5-mile) stage featuring three punishing ascents to the town of Loudenvielle.

Peters and Ilnur Zakarin moved away from their breakaway companions in the grueling Port de Bales climb. The Frenchman then used his downhill abilities to drop his Russian rival in the descent and never looked back.

“It’s crazy for my first Tour,” said Peters, who rides for French outfit AG2R-LA Mondiale. “I realized he was really bad in the downhill, I played on my strengths.”

Yellow jersey holder Adam Yates and other Tour contenders, including defending champion Egan Bernal and favorite Primoz Roglic, crossed the finish line 6 minutes, 40 seconds later.

Yates came under a series of attacks in the final climb, the Col de Peyresourde, but hung on to the overall lead after Roglic did not seem interested in taking the coveted shirt this early in the race. Roglic responded to every attack in the last 4 kilometers and gave the impression he could have gone solo.

Overall, Yates has a three-second lead over Roglic, with Frenchman Guillaume Martin completing the podium six seconds further back.

The stage destroyed Pinot, who cracked in the Port de Bales. Riding at the back with other contenders, Pinot was dropped in the day’s second ascent.

Soccer

Kylian Mbappe and Raheem Sterling have started their new seasons a lot better than they finished their last. With an individual goal that combined fortune and inspired impudence, Mbappe earned France a 1-0 win at Sweden in the Nations League.

Earlier, Sterling converted a penalty in secondhalf stoppage time to give England a 1-0 victory at Iceland in their first meeting since the tiny Nordic nation’s shocking win at the European Championship four years ago.

• Midge Purce scored in stoppage time to give Sky Blue a 2-1 victory over the Washington Spirit in the opening game of the National Women’s Soccer League fall series.

• Mauro Manotas scored on header in the 85th minute and the host Houston Dynamo beat Sporting Kansas City 2-1 in MLS action.

The Dynamo (3-2-4) have a four-match undefeated streak, outscoring opponents 10-3. Sporting KC (53-2) is winless in its last four.

• Adam Jahn scored on header in the final minutes of second-half stoppage time to give Atlanta United (3-4-2) a 1-1 MLS draw with Orlando City (4-2-4).

• The New York Red Bulls of MLS promoted Bradley Carnell to interim head coach.

WNBA

Dewanna Bonner scored 26 points and Alyssa Thomas and Brionna Jones added 20 each to lead the Connecticut Sun (9-10) to a 96-77 victory over the Indiana Fever (5-14) at Bradenton, Fla.

• Skylar Diggins-smith scored a season-high 30 points and Phoenix (12-7) beat New York (2-16), 83-67, for its sixth straight victory.

• A’ja Wilson scored 13 of her 21 points in the second half to help Las Vegas (14-4) beat Atlanta (5-14), 89-79.

Nans Peters