Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Wednesday, July 12, 2017
Tour de France
Kittel wins Tour stage 10, Froome keeps race lead
By SAMUEL PETREQUIN &
JOHN LEICESTER
Associated Press
BERGERAC, France —
Marcel Kittel has no serious
challenger for the King of the
Sprint title at this year’s Tour
de France.
The German sprinter won
the 10th stage with remark-
able ease on Tuesday, while
Chris Froome stayed safely
in the main pack to retain the
race leader’s yellow jersey.
Kittel perfectly timed his
effort in the final straight
to post his fourth stage win
since the start of the race,
crossing the line ahead of
fellow German John Degen-
kolb.
The stage took the peloton
on a flat, 178-kilometer (111-
mile) run from Perigueux to
Bergerac in southwestern
France.
Froome, the three-time
Tour champion, will be wear
the yellow jersey for the 50th
time on Wednesday - joining
five-time
Tour
winner
Jacques Anquetil in fourth
place on the all-time list
behind Eddy Merckx (96),
Bernard Hinault (75), and
Miguel Indurain (60).
“A huge, huge honor,” the
British rider said of the 50
days in yellow.
Kittel was in 10th place
after negotiating the two sharp
AP Photo/Christophe Ena
Germany’s Marcel Kittel, wearing the best sprinter’s green jersey celebrates as he
crosses the finish line to win the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over
178 kilometers (110.6 miles) with start in Perigueux and finish in Bergerac, France,
Tuesday, July 11, 2017.
corners of a challenging final
kilometer, before turning on
the power to surge ahead of
his rivals with 150 meters left
and securing his 13th career
win on the Tour.
He won by a bike’s length
and had plenty of time to
raise his arms in celebration
before crossing the line.
Kittel said his confidence
is high after his string of
victories.
“I know now from the last
sprints that I can hold that
speed to the finish line,” he
said. “I almost cannot believe
what’s happening here at the
Tour.”
Dutch
rider
Dylan
Groenewegen
completed
the podium in the medieval
town.
With Mark Cavendish,
Peter Sagan and Arnaud
Demare out of the race,
Kittel strengthened his grip
on the best sprinter’s green
jersey. French sprinter Nacer
Bouhanni, who had to settle
for a sixth-place finish,
acknowledged Kittel’s supe-
riority.
“Kittel was the strongest,
he came from behind,”
Bouhanni said. “He won four
sprints out of five, he is the
best sprinter of this Tour.”
After a plane journey
across France and a rest
day, the race resumed in
Perigueux for a flat ride
through the lush landscapes
of the Dordogne province in
southwestern France.
Following a hectic stage
in the Jura on Sunday and
with two hard stages in the
Pyrenees mountains later this
week, Froome and his main
rivals were happy to let two
French riders with no ambi-
tions for the overall race lead
escape from the pack.
Yoann Offredo went on
his own immediately after
the race director waved the
flag to signal the start. He was
joined soon afterward by Elie
Gesbert, the youngest rider
in the peloton at 22 years old,
and the pair quickly opened
a gap.
Their lead stabilized at
about five minutes as the
peloton moved past the
Lascaux cave, a prehistoric
World Heritage site featuring
some superb hunting scenes.
Second-place Fabio Aru was
all smiles near Domme - a
picturesque town perched on
a breathtaking cliff above the
Dordogne river - and shook
hands with another rider at a
pedestrian pace.
“We chatted, admired
the countryside. It was very
pleasant,” Warren Barguil
said, summing up the day.
Toward the end, the
sprinters’ teams organized
the chase, reducing the deficit
of the peloton to a little more
than two minutes with 40
kilometers left. Offredo and
Gesbert fought hard until the
end, but were hampered by
a strong headwind and were
caught seven kilometers
from the finish.
There was no major
change in the overall stand-
ings, with Aru still trailing 18
seconds behind Froome and
Frenchman Romain Bardet
in third place, 51 seconds
back.
“It was a more quite day
today, without wind, no
stress,” Froome said. “I’m
already thinking about the
Pyrenees, it’s the next big
goal, I’ll need to be ready.”
Wednesday’s stage is a
flat and long 203.5-kilometer
(126.5-mile) route from
Eymet to Pau. It will be
another day for the sprinters
before a mountain marathon
of more than 200 kilometers
the next day.
Froome said Friday’s
stage could be decisive and
the next big battle between
the contenders for overall
victory.
“In the past, we have
seen Grand Tours shaped by
these stages before,” he said.
“That could be another day
that could be decisive in this
year’s Tour.”
ALL-STAR GAME: Molina’s hits history-making homer
National
League’s
Wash-
ington
Nationals
outfield-
er Bryce
Harper
(34) catch-
es a hit by
American
League’s
Kansas
City
Royals
Salvador
Perez (13),
during the
second
inning at
the MLB
baseball
All-Star
Game,
Tuesday,
July 11,
2017, in
Miami.
Continued from 1B
10th to help the AL win its
fifth in a row. And for the first
time since 1964, the rivalry is
back to all even — 43 wins
apiece with two ties, and
each side has scored exactly
361 runs.
Andrew Miller finished
off the win and celebrated
with his AL teammates. Even
though home-field advantage
in the World Series no longer
goes to the league that wins
the All-Star Game, it was a
victory worth savoring.
Cano earned the MVP
honor with his one clutch
swing. At 34, the Seattle
second baseman was among
the oldest players in a game
built around so many of the
sport’s new, young stars. He
sent a hanging curve off the
back wall of the right-field
bullpen, then blew a bubble
with his gum when rounding
the bases.
Cano’s homer came
exactly 50 years after the
previous extra-inning homer
in an All-Star Game, when
Tony Perez hit a tiebreaking
15th-inning shot off Catfish
Hunter in the NL’s 2-1 win at
Anaheim, California. Perez,
now a Marlins executive,
was among eight Latin-born
Hall of Famers who threw
out ceremonial first pitches.
Miguel Sano put the AL
ahead in the fifth with a bloop
RBI single against Alex
Wood. Yadier Molina tied it
in the sixth with a home run
off Ervin Santana.
Molina had just entered
behind the plate in the top
half and snapped off an
All-Star first — Nelson Cruz
pulled a phone out of his
uniform pants and asked the
catcher to snap a photo of
him with umpire Joe West.
Davis wasn’t with the
Cubs last fall when they
won the World Series for
BASEBALL:
AP Photo/Wil-
fredo Lee
the first time in 108 years.
He was acquired in a trade
from Kansas City to fortify
the bullpen, and was the only
Cubs player in this showcase.
Chicago has struggled this
season, going into the break
at 43-45.
Kimbrel, throwing at up
to 100 mph, stranded runners
at second and third to end the
ninth, striking out Michael
Conforto. The Boston closer
wound up with the win.
Miller, whose Cleveland
Indians lost the World Series
in Game 7, got the save with
some help from Upton.
A left fielder playing in
right for the first time in four
years, Upton extended his
arm on a full run to catch
Corey Seager’s liner leading
off the 10th. Miller walked
Joey Votto with two outs,
then struck out rookie sensa-
tion Cody Bellinger.
The AL’s first six hits were
by first-time All-Stars but
some things don’t change.
The AL has won 12 of 15
and 17 of the last 20 All-Star
Games played to a decision.
The night’s most-watched
sluggers fizzled.
A night day after winning
the Home Run Derby with
47 long balls, Yankees rookie
sensation Aaron Judge went
0 for 3 with a strikeout,
groundout
and
flyout.
Giancarlo Stanton, the star
slugger of the hometown
Marlins, was 0 for 3 with
a pair of strikeouts and a
dribbler in front of the plate.
NL pitchers struck out
14, including four by Carlos
Martinez, three by Kenley
Jansen and two each by
starter Max Scherzer and
Greg Holland. AL pitchers
fanned nine.
In the first All-Star Game
in Florida, Jonathan Schoop
doubled off Wood with two
the third ump to work 5,000
regular-season games.
Scherzer, limited to one
inning, used a full-count
slider to strike out Judge,
only third rookie to bat third
in an All-Star Game after Joe
DiMaggio in 1936 and Dick
Wakefield in 1943.
“When you get to face the
best from the other side and
you get the start, the adrenalin
starts flowing and you want
to throw everything as hard
as you can,” Scherzer said.
AL starter Chris Sale, who
threw two innings, fanned
Stanton in the first. The lefty
also neared 100 mph with his
fastest pitch of the season.
“I was able to let loose
a little bit,” Sale said. “I
wouldn’t want to take that
style into the regular season.”
Martinez hit 100 mph on
four of 14 pitches in the third.
He matched the most strike-
outs by a St. Louis Cardinals
pitcher in an All-Star Game,
set by Dizzy Dean in 1934.
WEB GEM
Harper made a diving
backhand catch in short right
center as his cap fell off,
robbing Salvador Perez of
a hit for the final out of the
second. Harper wore blue-
and-orange spikes with the
image of late Marlins star Jose
Fernandez and the pitcher’s
No. 16 outlined in a circle.
WILD THING
Yankees reliever Dellin
Betances, dealing with
mechanical problems of late,
threw just 12 of 23 pitches for
strikes in the third. He walked
Harper and Buster Posey,
threw a pair of wild pitches
and got out of a bases-loaded
jam when Murphy grounded
out. Betances joined Juan
Marichal, Dave Stieb and
John Smoltz as the only ones
to throw two wild pitches in
an All-Star inning.
“After I lost Harper I lost
concentration a little bit,”
Betances said. “I was able to
settle down and make pitches
when I needed to.”
WIMBLEDON: Djokovic beats Mannarino in delayed quarterfinal
Continued from 1B
order in the seventh to get the
win.
Noland pitched three
innings of relief and allowed
no runs on just one hit.
Smith batted 2 for 3 with
three RBI and two runs, and
Lukas Tolan added two RBI
as well.
La Grande found plenty
of gaps in Game 1, and hit
five doubles and a triple to
go with Logan Atkinson’s
homer.
The game was tied at 2-2
going into the third inning
when Aaron Goss (2 for 3)
doubled to drive in a run,
then Atkinson followed with
a line drive to right field
that cleared the bases. Isaac
Chamberlain was 2 for 3 with
three RBI for La Grande.
Jon Gonzalez pitched the
complete game for the win.
He allowed four hits, struck
out five and walked four.
outs in the fifth and came
home when Sano blooped a
single about a foot fair down
the right-field line, 207 feet
from home plate, where right
fielder Bryce Harper, second
baseman Daniel Murphy
and first baseman Ryan
Zimmerman — all from the
Washington Nationals —
were unable to reach it.
Two days shy of his 35th
birthday, Molina became the
oldest catcher to homer in an
All-Star Game, driving a 95
mph from Santana into the
right-field bullpen.
Molina was part of a
modern All-Star moment in
the top of the inning, when he
entered wearing a shiny gold
helmet ad chest protector.
Cruz pulled a phone out
of a uniform pants pocket
when he stepped to the plate
and asked Molina to take a
picture of him posing with
West, who last month became
AP Photo/Alan Diaz
National League’s St. Lou-
is Cardinals catcher Yadier
Molina (4), rounds the bas-
es after hitting a homerun
in the sixth inning, during
the MLB baseball All-Star
Game, Tuesday, July 11,
2017, in Miami.
Continued from 1B
good to me.”
Williams revealed in 2011
that she was diagnosed with
Sjogren’s syndrome, which
can sap energy and cause
joint pain. As time went on,
there were questions about
whether she might retire,
especially after a half-dozen
first-round losses at majors.
But she kept going, and
with her recent successes,
a championship this week
would return the American
to the top five in the rankings
for the first time in six years.
“I just always felt like I
have to keep trying,” said
Williams, who repeatedly
took advantage of Ostapen-
ko’s second serves at around
70 mph (110 kph). “That’s
all I felt like.”
To get to what would
be her ninth final at the
All England Club, the
AP Photo/Alastair Grant
Britain’s Johanna Konta
celebrates after winning
the second set against
Romania’s Simona Halep
Tuesday at the Wimbledon.
10th-seeded Williams will
need to win Thursday against
No. 6 Johanna Konta, the
first British woman in the
Wimbledon
semifinals
since Virginia Wade was the
runner-up in 1978.
“I definitely feel that age is
not a factor with her,” Konta
said about Williams. “She’s
just a tremendous champion,
and I feel very, very humbled,
and I’m very excited to share
the court with her again.”
With Wade, the 1977
champion, sitting in the
Royal Box, Konta prevented
Halep from rising to No. 1
by beating her 6-7 (2), 7-6
(5), 6-4. The result means
that Karolina Pliskova, who
lost in the second round, will
replace Angelique Kerber,
who departed in the fourth,
atop the rankings next week.
The other semifinal will
be Garbine Muguruza of
Spain against 87th-ranked
Magdalena
Rybarikova
of Slovakia. Muguruza,
the
2015
Wimbledon
runner-up and 2016 French
Open champion, defeated
Svetlana
Kuznetsova
6-3, 6-4. Rybarikova, the
lowest-ranked Wimbledon
semifinalist since 2008,
got past 24th-seeded CoCo
Vandeweghe of the U.S. 6-3,
6-3 in a match suspended
at 2-all in the second set
because of showers and
moved from Court No. 1 to
Centre Court so it could be
finished indoors.
Rybarikova had never
been past the third round
in her 35 previous career
majors, including seven
opening-round exits in a row
at Wimbledon from 2008-14.
She missed the second half
of last season after wrist and
knee operations, and her
ranking fell out of the top 400.
“I had a really tough
time,” Rybarikova said,
“and right now, I’m here,
and everything paid off.”
In the last men’s fourth-
round match, Novak Djokovic
took a medical timeout
to have his right shoulder
massaged, and he declared
himself disappointed with
the condition of the turf in
the main stadium. Otherwise,
Djokovic had little trouble
eliminating
51st-ranked
Adrian Mannarino of France
6-2, 7-6 (5), 6-4 in a match
postponed Monday night
because of darkness.
“It’s been something
that I’ve been dragging
back and forth for a while
now,” Djokovic said about
his shoulder. “But I’m still
managing to play, which is
the most important thing.”
The men’s quarterfinals
Wednesday:
Djokovic
against Tomas Berdych,
Roger Federer against Milos
Raonic, defending champion
Andy Murray against Sam
Querrey, and Marin Cilic
against Gilles Muller, who
stunned Rafael Nadal in a
marathon that ended 15-13
in the fifth set Monday.