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A16 sports
Wednesday 9 september 2020
Tour riders cleared of virus, Bennett wins Stage 10

ILE DE RE, France (AP) leave the race and any
— Tour de France riders team with two or more
passed coronavirus tests to positive tests — either rider
confirm their good health or staff — within seven days
only to endure numerous also has to abandon.
crashes along the Atlantic The next wave of tests will
coastline when the race re- be during the next rest day
sumed on Tuesday. on Sept. 14.
Sprinter Sam Bennett pre- Prudhomme's positive test
vailed ahead of Caleb might have an impact on
Ewan to post his first Tour French political affairs as
stage win, while Primoz it came only days after he
Roglic avoided the many spent two hours in his car
crashes that punctuated following a stage in the Pyr-
Stage 10 to keep the race enees in the company of
leader's yellow jersey. Prime Minister Jean Castex.
After the 168.5-kilome- As a result, French President
ter (105-mile) ride from Ile Emmanuel Macron said
d'Oleron to Ile de Re, Ro- a government meeting
glic maintained a 21-sec- scheduled on Wednesday
ond lead over defending will be organized via video-
champion Egan Bernal. Ireland's Sam Bennett. center in white, crosses the finish line ahead of second place Australia's conference, or postponed.
Frenchman Guillaume Mar- Caleb Ewan, right, and third place Slovakia's Peter Sagan, center left in green, to win stage 10 of Castex was tested for the
tin was in third place, 28 the Tour de France cycling race over 168.5 kilometers (104.7 miles) from Ile d'Oleron to Ile de Re, virus and it came back
seconds off the pace. France, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020. Associated Press negative. BFMTV quoted
Having performed 841 tests the prime minister's office
of all 166 riders and team early break but were kept Another big pileup involv- "You dream of it and you as saying he would isolate
staff over the previous on a leash. On flat roads ing Martin and Slovenian never think it will happen. himself for seven days as
two days, organizers gave exposed to winds, the main hopeful Tadej Pogacar It does and it did. It took a standard precautionary
all cyclists the go-ahead teams rode at full speed occurred in the town of a while for it to hit me," an measure.
to start. But Tour director at the front of the pack to Rochefort after a rider ap- emotional Bennett said at Speaking to France Info
Christian Prudhomme was avoid getting caught in parently hit a median strip the finish. radio earlier, Prudhomme
forced to abandon the crosswinds, limiting the gap and fell. Both men rejoined Earlier, Tour organizers and said he does not have virus
race after testing positive to less than two minutes. the peloton after Martin re- cycling governing body symptoms, adding that he
for the virus. The nervousness in the pack ceived a new bike and was the UCI said the four staff will stay in isolation for sev-
"I'm happy that the race was detrimental to sever- escorted back by three members who tested posi- en days.
goes on, it's beautiful" Ro- al riders, including Robert teammates. tive for the virus worked for "Obviously the most im-
glic said after the stage. Gesink and Nicolas Roche, Bennett, who now holds Cofidis, AG2R La Mondiale, portant thing is that not a
The race did lose one rider who hit the tarmac at more stage wins at all three Bernal's Inos Grenadiers single rider tested positive,"
before the stage started, as than 55 kph with about 100 Grands Tours, reached 65 and Mitchelton Scott. Prudhomme said. "I did not
the injured Domenico Poz- kilometers left. kph (40 mph) in the last 500 Under the race's health come close to the riders
zovivo of Italy pulled out. The crash split the bunch meters as he overpowered protocols those four squads over the past 10 days, we
Under sunny skies in western and the pair of breakaway Ewan to snatch the best are now at greater risk of can see now how impor-
France, Stefan Küng and riders was swallowed soon sprinter's green jersey from being excluded. Anyone tant it was to stay away
Michael Schar made an after. Peter Sagan's shoulders. who tests positive has to from them."q

American Jennifer Brady reaches 1st major semifinal at Open

Brady notched the biggest tum and build off of that." time U.S. Open champion
victory yet in her breakout Brady's opponent Thursday Chris Evert, an ESPN com-
run at the U.S. Open, beat- will be winner of Tuesday mentator. "She has ma-
ing Yulia Putintseva of Ka- night's match between tured. Some players ma-
zakhstan on Tuesday, 6-3, two-time major champion ture later on; some mature
6-2. Naomi Osaka and Ameri- very, very young. This is her
Seeded 28th, Brady domi- can Shelby Rogers, who is time right now."
nated from the baseline to ranked 93rd. Brady has plenty of weap-
take leads of 4-0 in the first Brady, 25, is playing in her ons, with powerful ground-
set and 2-0 in the second 13th Grand Slam event strokes off both sides and a
against Putintseva, who and is seeded in a major serve to match. She hit 22
won their two previous tournament for the first winners to seven for Putint-
meetings. time. The native of Har- seva, and said she won by
Brady said the fast start risburg, Pennsylvania, keeping rallies shorter than
Jennifer Brady, of the United States, reacts after defeating helped her calm down. trained as a youngster at in their previous meetings.
Yulia Putintseva, of Kazakhstan, during the quarterfinals of the "I came out with nerves. I the Evert Tennis Academy "The last couple of times I
U.S. Open tennis championships, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020, in
New York. think she did, too," Brady in Florida and played for played her, I got caught in
Associated Press said. "I just tried to pretend the UCLA Bruins on their playing her game," Brady
it was a first-round match, 2014 NCAA championship said. "I don't think I'm bet-
NEW YORK (AP) — Ameri- start of her first career and I was happy with the team. ter at her at running, so I
can Jennifer Brady said Grand Slam quarterfinal, way I started. Then I was "She has come into her definitely was a lot more
she was nervous at the but it didn't show. able to keep the momen- own right now," said six- aggressive today."q