Pogacar wins Tour de France title
PARIS >> In a stunning performance for the ages, Tour de France rookie Tadej Pogacar won cycling’s showpiece race Sunday on the eve of his 22nd birthday, becoming the secondyoungest winner of the 117-year-old event that this year braved — and overcame — France’s worsening coronavirus epidemic.
With a yellow face mask to match the race winner’s yellow jersey, Pogacar stood atop the podium backlit by the pink hues of dusk, transformed from promising prodigy into cycling superstar, the youngest winner since World War II and the first from Slovenia. While the mask hid his smiles, the creases around his eyes gave them away.
“This is just the top of the top,” he said. “It’s been an amazing three-week adventure.”
His victory was remarkable, too, for the way in which he sealed it: at the last possible moment, on the penultimate stage before Sunday’s finish on Paris’ Champs-Elysees. During the cycling marathon over all five of France’s mountain ranges and 2,164 miles, Pogacar held the race lead and the iconic yellow jersey for just one stage — the last and most important one into Paris, with a yellow bike to match.
Pogacar KO’d the race and Slovenian countryman Primoz Roglic by snatching away the jersey that he’d worn for 11 days, in a highdrama time trial Saturday.
Their 1-2 is the first for one country since British riders Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome also took the top spots at the 2012 Tour. Australian Richie Porte rounded out this year’s podium, at age 35, after his brilliant time trial that hoisted him from fourth to third overall.
Irish rider Sam Bennett won the prestigious final sprint on the Champs-Elysees, giving him his second stage win at this Tour. He also won the race’s green jersey, awarded for picking up the most points in sprints during and at the finish of stages.
Motor sports
TOYOTA GAZOO’S NO. 8 CAR WINS 24 HOURS LE MANS FOR 3RD YEAR >> Toyota Gazoo’s No. 8 car comfortably won the 24 Hours Le Mans by five laps from Rebellion No. 1 to secure a third straight victory in the prestigious endurance race.
It was also a third consecutive win for Swiss driver Sébastien Buemi and Japan’s Kazuki Nakajima driving. Brendon Hartley was the other driver, having replaced two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso.
Buemi and Hartley sat on the side of the car as Nakajima drove toward the podium. Hartley won for a second time after tasting success with the Porsche LMP Team in 2017 before an unhappy season in Formula One.
The Swiss team’s Rebellion No. 1 featured American driver Gustavo Menezes and Brazilian Bruno Senna — the nephew of late F1 great Ayrton Senna.
Tennis
DJOKOVIC GETS OBSCENITY WARNING IN SF WIN >> Novak Djokovic knows it isn’t model behavior when he loses his cool on the tennis court.
Yet he just can’t help himself.
Exactly two weeks after he was defaulted from the U.S. Open, and a day after he was warned by the chair umpire for breaking his racket in a fit of rage, Djokovic received an obscenity warning midway through a 7-5,6-3 win over Casper Ruud in the Italian Open semifinals.
The obscenity came in the third game of the second set, by which time Djokovic had a running dialogue with the chair umpire over a series of contested calls.
“I deserved the warning,” Djokovic said. “I didn’t say nice things in my language.
5 PLAYERS RULED OUT OF FRENCH OPEN QUALIFYING >> Two players in the qualifying rounds for the French Open have tested positive for the coronavirus, the French Tennis Federation said, while three others have been in close contact with a coach who also tested positive.
The FFT said in a statement that all five players will isolate for a period of seven days, and none of them will participate in the qualifiers starting Monday for the Sept. 27-Oct. 11 tournament.
Organizers did not name any of the players or the coach concerned, but the website of sports daily L’Équipe named the coach as Petar Popovic and one of the players as 114th-ranked Damir Dzumhur.
NHL
STARS 4, LIGHTNING 1 >> The well-rested Stars took it to the banged-up Tampa Bay hard and early and goaltender Anton Khudobin closed it out with 22 third-period saves as Dallas won Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Joel Hanley and Jamie Oleksiak continued the Stars’ postseason trend of getting goals from defensemen, and second-round Game 7 hat trick hero Joel Kiviranta scored late in the second period to provide some breathing room. Khudobin continued to shine in his first playoffs as the starter, making 35 saves, some of them in spectacular fashion.
Khudobin was at his best in the third when the Lightning found their legs and tilted the ice toward him. He came up big on two penalty kills and strengthened his case for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
NBA
CELTICS 117, HEAT 106 >> Jaylen Brown scored 26 points, Jayson Tatum added 25 and Boston got right back into the East finals with a victory over Miami in Game 3. Kemba Walker added 21 to help Boston pull to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.
Marcus Smart scored 20 points for Boston, going 9 for 9 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.
College football
NO. 1 CLEMSON 49, CITADEL 0>> Trevor Lawrence threw for three touchdowns in just nine passing attempts to help No. 1 Clemson beat The Citadel.
Lawrence also rushed for his third T Do ft hesse ason, leading the way for the Tigers (2-0).