Florian Senechal powered to victory during a dramatic climax to Stage 13, while Odd Christian Eiking retained his grip on the red jersey at the Vuelta a Espana.
Deceuninck-Quick-Step rider Senechal claimed his maiden Grand Tour stage win at Villanueva de la Serena on Friday.
Senechal's team-mate – and green jersey holder – Fabio Jakobsen looked poised for the victory heading into the twisty last 5 kilometres, but slipped off the pace at the vital moment.
The Frenchman subsequently held his nerve during the final sprint as he pipped Matteo Trentin to the line.
"I don't realise yet that I’ve won a Grand Tour stage," he said.
"It's crazy. At first, I thought Demare was going to pass me, or [Michael] Matthews. But nobody did.
"I don't know how to thank my team-mates. They did a crazy job to put me in the perfect position. A thousand thanks.
"I am lucky today and I'm very happy for my family, my friends and my wife. It’s a good present."
Meanwhile, GC leader Eiking survived the day in the valley to maintain his hold on the red jersey ahead of a brutal summit finish at Pico Villuercas on Saturday.
Although, the Norwegian is expecting defending champion Primoz Roglic to pose a significant threat to his chances of retaining La Roja.
"I'm happy I didn't lose too much time [on Friday]," he said.
"I want to try and keep the red jersey tomorrow, but it depends mostly on Roglic.
"If he decides to stand up and go for it, it's going to be difficult but if I'm lucky and if I have the legs, I can keep fighting for the jersey."
STAGE RESULT
1. Florian Senechal (Deceuninck-Quick Step) 4:58:23
2. Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates)
3. Alberto Dainese (Team DSM) +0:02
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Odd Christian Eiking (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) 50:31:52
2. Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) +0:58
3. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) +1:56
Points Classification
1. Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) 200
2. Magnus Cort Nielsen (EF Education–Nippo) 114
3. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 106
King of the Mountains
1. Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) 31
2. Romain Bardet (Team DSM) 27
3. Michael Storer (Team DSM) 17
What's next?
The riders return to the mountains on Saturday for Stage 14, which will run 165.7km between Don Benito and Pico Villeurcas.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma made half-centuries as India showed resistance to hold up England on day three of the third Test at Headingley.
England held a mammoth first-innings lead of 354 after being bowled out for 432 early in the morning session.
India, leading the five-match series 1-0, had been humiliatingly skittled out for 78 on day one, but closed on 215-2 after England were only able to remove KL Rahul (eight) Rohit (59) on Friday.
Pujara returned to form with an unbeaten 91 and Virat Kohli was 45 not out at stumps, with the tourists trailing by 139.
England added only nine runs to their overnight total after resuming on 423-8, Mohammed Shami (4-95) dismissing Craig Overton leg before wicket for 32 and Ollie Robinson cleaned up by Jasprit Bumrah without scoring.
The India openers showed great application as the England seamers probed with the new ball and it took a moment of brilliance from Jonny Bairstow on the stroke of lunch to end a stand of 34.
KL Rahul walked off shaking his head after he edged an excellent delivery from Overton and second-slip Bairstow dived to his left to claim a stunning one-handed catch.
Rohit and Pujara played with a mixture of patience and positivity in a wicket-less afternoon session, with the opener appearing to have a stroke of luck on 39 when Joe Root failed to signal for a review in time after Robinson struck him on the pad.
He brought up his half-century from 125 balls before Robinson snared him lbw.
Pujara was untroubled as he serenely eased to a half-century and Kohli also looked very much at home on a good pitch under gloomy skies as England were unable to make further inroads, with the new ball due early on day four.
PUJARA SHOWS HIS CLASS
Pujara's place has been called into question as he has looked totally out of sorts, but he showed his class in Leeds on the third day.
The 33-year-old had failed to make it to 50 in his previous 13 innings before demonstrating what he is capable of with his side on the ropes.
Pujara scored far more freely, driving with finesse and even ramping Robinson for four in a first half-century since making 73 against England in Chennai in February.
KOHLI LOOKING OMINOUS
Captain Kohli has also been short of runs, but that was no evidence of that on a frustrating day for England.
The skipper struck two boundaries in the first over from James Anderson, who dismissed him for the seventh time in the longest format in the first innings.
Kohli, without a Test century since November 2019, ticked along as India put such a dismal display with the bat on the opening day behind them.
Hansi Flick has handed three players their maiden international call-ups as he named his first squad as Germany coach for next month's World Cup qualifiers.
Flick ended an 18-month, trophy-laden spell at Bayern Munich in order to take over from Joachim Low as Germany boss after Euro 2020.
Germany reached the last 16 of that tournament, crashing out to England at Wembley.
World Cup-winning midfielder Toni Kroos has since retired from international duty, though the rest of Germany's squad remains largely intact.
Liechtenstein, Armenia and Iceland represent Flick's first opponents, and he has given Karim Adeyemi, Nico Schlotterbeck and David Raum their first call-ups.
The squad, as would be expected given Bayern's dominance of German football, includes eight players from Flick's former club, while Borussia Dortmund attacker Marco Reus has earned a recall after opting out of Euro 2020.
Thomas Muller – who was ostracised by Low before being recalled for Euro 2020 – Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, Jamal Musiala, Joshua KImmich, Leon Goretzka, Niklas Sule, and Manuel Neuer make up the Bayern contingent.
Wolfsburg's exciting right-back prospect Ridle Baku, who has made one friendly appearance for Germany, has also returned to the fold, as has Bayer Leverkusen youngster Florian Wirtz.
Paris Saint-Germain defender Thilo Kehrer is something of a surprise inclusion, while Dortmund's Mahmoud Dahoud has been given the chance to impress in Kroos' absence.
Mats Hummels misses out through injury, while Matthias Ginter recently tested positive for coronavirus.
Germany squad in full:
Bernd Leno (Arsenal), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt); Ridle Baku (Wolfsburg), Robin Gosens (Atalanta), Lukas Klostermann (RB Leipzig), David Raum (Hoffenheim), Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea), Niklas Sule (Bayern Munich); Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich), Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City), Jonas Hofmann (Borussia Monchengladbach), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Florian Neuhaus (Borussia Monchengladbach), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen); Karim Adeyemi (Salzburg), Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich), Kai Havertz (Chelsea), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich), Timo Werner (Chelsea).
Rio Ferdinand revealed he rang Cristiano Ronaldo "straight away" in an attempt to persuade the Juventus star not to sign for Manchester City.
Reports this week suggested former Manchester United great Ronaldo had been offered to rivals City by his agent Jorge Mendes.
City were in the hunt for a forward after missing out on Harry Kane, who is staying at Tottenham.
As late as Friday morning – when Ronaldo left Juve training – it appeared the Portugal captain was all set to sign for the Premier League champions.
Speculation only mounted when Juve coach Massimilano Allegri confirmed Ronaldo was leaving Turin, yet in a remarkable turnaround, it is United who are instead set to re-sign the 36-year-old, who they sold to Real Madrid in 2009.
The Red Devils on Friday confirmed they have reached an agreement to bring the 36-year-old back to Old Trafford, subject to agreeing personal terms, a visa application and the completion of a medical.
A fee of €15millon plus €8m in add-ons has been reported.
And, in an appearance in an interview for his fashion label, FIVE, Ferdinand revealed he spoke to his former team-mate.
Ferdinand, who was wearing sunglasses in the video, said prior to United confirming a deal has been agreed: "It's a beautiful day man, and when it's a beautiful day you've got wear shades!
"Sir Alex Ferguson would've been exactly the same, he would've hated to see Cristiano Ronaldo in a Man City shirt, just like anyone who’s been connected for a long period of time at this football club.
"I rang him [Ronaldo] straight away: 'What's going on? Tell me you're lying.' Every type of 'no, no, no, no' in the conversation.
"I'm like the fans, we're all the same like that. 'Please tell me you're not going there.'
"I hope that there's an announcement and it's one that I would be happy with. It's the best. We've seen some great signings this summer."
Cristiano Ronaldo is set for a sensational return to Manchester United after the Old Trafford giants confirmed a deal had been agreed with Juventus, beating Manchester City to his signature.
Benjamin Mendy has been remanded in custody after the Manchester City defender was charged with four counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.
Mendy was charged by Cheshire Constabulary on Thursday in relation to alleged attacks between October 2020 and August 2021.
The 27-year-old France international appeared in Chester Magistrates' Court on Friday, where he spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth.
Mendy was remanded in custody and is due to appear at Chester Crown Court on September 10.
The left-back was suspended by City pending an investigation after being charged.
City said in a statement released on Thursday: "Manchester City can confirm that following his being charged by police today, Benjamin Mendy has been suspended pending an investigation.
"The matter is subject to a legal process and the club is therefore unable to make further comment until that process is complete."
It was a clean sweep for Team Puerto winning all team divisions at the CGA’s 64th Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships (CAGC). Six Caribbean countries sent their best 47 golfers to compete August 24-26 at the Country Club at Grand Reserve, Rio Grande, in Puerto Rico.
Chris Sale joined Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax as the only pitchers in MLB history with three immaculate innings after helping the Boston Red Sox past the Minnesota Twins 12-2.
Red Sox ace Sale pitched 5.2 innings, striking out eight batters while allowing two runs on two hits in Boston on Thursday.
Sale stole the headlines with his nine-pitch third inning after striking out Twins trio Nick Gordon, Andrelton Simmons and Rob Refsnyder on three pitches each.
"Today was probably the best my mechanics have been start-to-finish. I really felt like I was staying on top of the baseball. I really kind of found it out in the bullpen before the game," Sale said.
Boston team-mate Bobby Dalbec homered twice for the Red Sox, driving in seven runs.
Judge lifts Yankees to 12th straight win
The New York Yankees extended their winning streak thanks to Aaron Judge's tie-breaking single with two outs in the ninth inning as they edged the Oakland Athletics 7-6. The Yankees have won 12 games in a row – their best run since 1961.
Another day and another win for World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers, who beat the San Diego Padres 4-0 for a three-game sweep behind Max Scherzer. Dodgers star Scherzer gave up just two hits and one walk while striking out 10. The Dodgers have now gone 11 consecutive seasons without a losing record – their longest streak since the team moved to Los Angeles.
Salvador Perez became the first American League (AL) catcher with 35-plus homers in a season since 1999. Perez's grand slam run helped the Kansas City Royals to a 6-4 victory at the Seattle Mariners.
The Washington Nationals lost 7-5 to the Miami Marlins but Juan Soto joined an exclusive club. The Nationals star recorded his second season of 100-plus walks – becoming only the third player to do so through their age-22 season along with Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Mel Ott.
Angels grounded again
Despite Shohei Ohtani's lead-off homer, the Los Angeles Angels were humbled 13-1 by the resurgent Baltimore Orioles, who snapped a 19-game losing streak 24 hours earlier. Elvis Peguero was charged with five of the six runs the Angels allowed in the fifth inning.
Grand slam!
Struggling for form before Wednesday, the Orioles celebrated back-to-back wins on Thursday. Pedro Severino fuelled Baltimore with a grand slam and six RBIs.
Thursday's results
Baltimore Orioles 13-1 Los Angeles Angels
Cincinnati Reds 5-1 Milwaukee Brewers
Chicago White Sox 10-7 Toronto Blue Jays
Arizona Diamondbacks 8-7 Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates 11-7 St Louis Cardinals
Boston Red Sox 12-2 Minnesota Twins
San Francisco Giants 3-2 New York Mets
Cleveland Indians 10-6 Texas Rangers
Miami Marlins 7-5 Washington Nationals
Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 San Diego Padres
New York Yankees 7-6 Oakland Athletics
Kansas City Royals 6-4 Seattle Mariners
Cubs at White Sox
Bragging rights will be on the line when the White Sox (74-55) host city rivals the Cubs (56-73) on Friday. Dallas Keuchel will toe the mound for the White Sox as the Cubs counter with Keegan Thompson.
Pablo Carreno Busta headlined the casualties at the Winston-Salem Open, where the top seed was shocked in straight sets by Ilya Ivashka.
The 2016 champion, Carreno Busta had his sights set on the semi-finals of the ATP 250 tournament but he suffered a surprise 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 loss on Thursday.
"Of course it's a great feeling. I had a great match today. These conditions suit me," Ivashka said. "I think he had more pressure because he's the top seed so for me it was a good challenge to see what my level is and to compete with these guys, so for me it was a great match."
Carreno Busta – who trumped world number one and 20-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic to win bronze at the Olympic Games – was not the only seed to fall.
Richard Gasquet and Frances Tiafoe also crashed out in the quarter-finals following defeats to Emil Ruusuvuori and Mikael Ymer.
The only seed to advance to the semis was 15th seed Carlos Alcaraz, who saw off Marcos Giron.
Australian Open chief Craig Tiley is confident the season-opening grand slam will be held in Melbourne next year, despite coronavirus concerns.
COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc around much of Australia, with Victoria and New South Wales both locked down due to outbreaks in the states.
The 2021 Australian Open went ahead, albeit in February instead of January, amid the coronavirus pandemic and without fans for most of the tournament following a snap lockdown of Melbourne.
Novak Djokovic was among the players critical of the conditions athletes endured prior to this year's Australian Open, with strict quarantine measures introduced.
Players, however, as set to spend two weeks in a biosecure bubble prior to the 2022 event, according to Tiley.
"There's a lot of time between now and when we get going but, at this point in time, we're planning on having a two-week bubble, where the players will be able to move freely between the hotel and the courts," Tiley said.
"They're protected, they're kept safe among themselves and safe from the community as well.
"And after those two weeks, they'll come out and be able to compete in the Australian Open in front of crowds."
Stefanos Tsitsipas faces Andy Murray and Ash Barty will take on 2010 finalist Vera Zvonareva in the first round of the US Open.
French Open runner-up Tsitsipas and 2012 champion Murray is one of the standout matches in the opening round at Flushing Meadows.
Top seed Novak Djokovic will start his quest for a calendar Grand Slam against a qualifier in New York and could face a repeat of the Wimbledon final versus Matteo Berrettini in the last eight.
World number one Djokovic, a strong favourite for a record 21st major title with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer absent due to injury, could do battle with Alexander Zverev at the semi-final stage.
Daniil Medvedev, the second seed, is in the bottom half with Tsitsipas, who he could come up against in the semi-final. Medvedev's first test will come against Frenchman Richard Gasquet.
Barty could come up against Iga Swiatek in the last eight and Karolina Pliskova if she makes it through to the semi-finals.
Simona Halep's encounter with Camila Giorgi is a mouthwatering first-round match, while defending champion Naomi Osaka returns to grand slam action against former US Open junior champion Marie Bouzkova.
Angelique Kerber could be a tough fourth round opponent for Osaka. Close friends Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens meet in another eye-catching first-round match.
There will be no Serena or Venus Williams at the final major of the year due to injuries.
The Jamaican duo of Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah continue to push the boundaries of women’s sprinting with yet another blistering performance at the Lausanne Diamond League meet on Thursday.
Thompson-Herah became the second female sprinter to legally dip below the 10.7 seconds barrier on three occasions, joining American world record holder Florence Griffith-Joyner.
On Thursday, Thompson-Herah finished in second place behind Fraser-Pryce, but still clocked the joint seventh fastest time ever recorded over the distance with 10.64. Fraser-Pryce took the event in a new personal best 10.60, the third-fastest ever run over the distance.
Thompson-Herah’s time adds to an impressive collection this season, which also saw her claim Olympic gold in 10.61 and run the second fastest time ever recorded over the distance, 10.54, set at the Prefontaine Classic last week.
Griffith-Joyner legally cracked the 10.7s barrier thrice in 1988, clocking 10.49 to set the current world record and clocking 10.62 and 10.61 at the Seoul Olympics. Fraser-Pryce’s time sees her now achieving the feat twice, having clocked 10.63 earlier this season.
American Carmelita Jeter also broke the 10.7s barrier twice, registering times of 10.67 and 10.64 in 2009. Marion Jones, who clocked 10.65 in 1998 is the only other athlete in history to be represented on the list.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce ran a new lifetime best to turn the tables on Elaine Thompson-Herah and win the 100m dash at the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne on Thursday.
The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) could be breathing a sigh of relief as the country remained on the amber list in the latest update of the United Kingdom’s Traffic Light System, which applies to travel to and from the country.
Earlier this week, the Premier League announced that, based on the current quarantine rules, it would not release players for the upcoming round of World Cup qualifiers to countries on the UK’s red list. It was later joined by the La Liga and Serie A competitions and yesterday, England’s second tier, the EFL also joined the list of clubs.
The concerns stem from the fact that players returning from red-listed destinations would, based on the rules, be forced to quarantine for 10 days. The leagues argue that those conditions would lead to players missing games, in addition to having to make up for fitness requirements.
Unless an agreement can be worked out the decision will impact the availability of several teams competing in the final round of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers, which kick off on September 2.
At current, Mexico, Panama, and Costa Rica are the teams that have been placed on the red list. The USA, Jamaica, El Salvador, and Honduras are all on the amber list, while Canada has been moved to the green list.
Individuals returning from red list countries are required to quarantine in a managed hotel for 10 days and are subject to at least two COVID-19 tests.
Fully vaccinated individuals travelling to countries on the amber list would be subject to taking a COVID-19 test two days after arriving or before. Non-vaccinated individuals returning from countries on the amber list would have to undergo the mandatory 10-day quarantine period.
Based on the interpretation of the rules and the club’s specific stipulation of not allowing players to travel to red list countries, the CONCACAF countries on the amber and green list could potentially have their players available. Baring a change of circumstances, affected countries on the red list would be left short-handed. However, vaccine stipulations, which it seems are required to exempt individuals from mandatory quarantine, could complicate things.
Jamaica has at least 10 players who ply their trade between the Premier League and England Football League (EFL). Among the EPL players are Andre Gray (Watford), Leon Bailey (Aston Villa), and potentially Michail Antonio (West Ham) who recently received official documentation after switching from England. It is currently not known how many of the team's overseas players are vaccinated.
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