Page 16 - aruba-today-Sept 2 2020

A16 sports
Wednesday 2 september 2020
Roglic displays strength on Tour’s 1st mountain stage

O R C I E R E S - M E R L E T T E , climbs in the big mountain
France (AP) — After just stages that will come later
four stages at the Tour de in the race will be more
France, the balance of suited to his pure climber's
power is already clearer: style.
Primoz Roglic and his Jum- "It is not good when anoth-
bo-Visma team are look- er GC (general classifica-
ing like the ones to beat. tion) rider takes some sec-
Roglic, the Spanish Vuelta onds, but you need to be
champion, used the race's really patient and to know
first summit finish Tuesday that our aim is to reach
in the ski resort of Orcieres- the third week without los-
Merlette to erase any lin- ing too much time, and
gering doubts surrounding then try and regain a bit of
his form. time on the long climbs,"
Following an impressive he said. "For us, it will be all
collective performance about minimizing the time
from his teammates, the lost and arriving as fresh as
former ski jumper from Slo- we can for the last week."
venia won a sprint to se- Before the final battle took
cure his third career stage shape, a group of six rid-
win at the three-week ers attacked from the start
race. Frenchman Julian outside the city of Sisteron.
Alaphilippe managed to Slovenia's Primoz Roglic celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the fourth stage of the But with Frenchman Alexis
follow the late accelera- Tour de France cycling race over 160,5 kilometers (99,7 miles) with start in Sisteron and finish in Vuillermoz a threat in the
tions and kept the race Orcieres-Merlette, southern France, Tuesday, Sept.1, 2020. overall classification, Ala-
leader's yellow jersey af- Associated Press philippe's teammates did
ter crossing the line in fifth ing champion Egan Ber- meters left. Roglic, who said. "We can see that I not let the breakaway rid-
place. nal's Ineos squad, Roglic's moved third overall thanks can race and every day I ers build too much of a
"It was quite a fast day, teammates Wout van Aert to the bonus time award- feel a little better. It's nice gap.
it was hard but the guys and Sepp Kuss set a very ed to the stage winner, to be able to ride again. The sextet did not collabo-
again did a really good fast tempo on the final reached a speed of 52 I already got proof that rate well as German Nils
job," Roglic said, thank- seven-kilometer (four-mile) kph (32 mph) as he raised I was ready for the start. Politt tried to drop his com-
ing his teammates for their climb, preventing any at- both arms to cross the line. Now we need to continue panions twice in downhills.
support in the final climb. tack from the likes of Ala- Tadej Pogacar secured the whole team with good As he tried to bridge the
"I was always in a good philippe, Thibaut Pinot, a Slovenian one-two and job." gap, Belgian Tiesj Benoot
position and so could do Nairo Quintana or Bernal. Martin completed the po- Bernal crossed with the escaped unscathed from
a nice sprint, so I'm very "The Jumbo-Visma train dium. Roglic' participation same time as Roglic in the a spectacular crash with
happy." was really hard to follow," at cycling's marquee race ski resort where Luis Oca- 26 kilometers left after he
Roglic completed the Alaphilippe said. was in doubt only weeks na handed five-time Tour misjudged a curve and
160.5-kilometer (100-mile) Roglic couldn't drop any of ago after his withdrawal winner Eddy Merckx a re- went over a guardrail at
ride in 4 hours, 7 minutes, his rivals but used his pow- from the Critérium du Dau- sounding defeat back in full speed. His bike was
47 seconds. er to prevail in the sprint phine because of injuries 1971. Trailing 17 seconds broken in two but he was
With a strategy used in launched by Frenchman he sustained in a crash. behind Alaphilippe over- given a replacement and
previous years by defend- Guillaume Martin with 500 "I'm coming back," Roglic all, Bernal said the longer returned to the race.q

Muguruza dedicates U.S. Open win to player with cancer

Hibino 6-4, 6-4 in the first her at some point when it's (6), 6-2 victory completed
round Tuesday and thought fine." his long comeback with
about Carla Suarez Navar- Suarez Navarro, who his first tour-level win since
ro, who share her diagnosis turns 32 on Thursday, was 2017.
publicly earlier in the day. ranked as high as No. 6 The Russian returned to
Suarez Navarro revealed in and reached Grand Slam play last month at a Prague
a tweeted video that she'll quarterfinals seven times, Challenger event and lost
need six months of chemo- including at Flushing Mead- his only match after a two-
therapy to treat Hodgkin ows in 2013 and 2018. year, seven-month layoff
lymphoma. She dropped "I'm fine and calm at the because of the hip. He is
out of the Grand Slam moment and willing to face the first unranked player to
event last month with plans whatever comes," she said win a Grand Slam match
to retire. in her video. since Nicolas Kiefer at Wim-
"I was expecting to see her The second day of the tour- bledon in 2007.
in this tournament," Mugu- nament without spectators Also, Sumit Nagal became
Garbine Muguruza, of Spain, returns a shot to Nao Hibino, of ruza said. "You know, she's featured several break- the first Indian man to win
Japan, during the first round of the US Open tennis championships, such a nice woman, so throughs and comebacks. a match at the U.S. Open
Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020, in New York. sweet, so kind, so humble. Sam Querrey was knocked in seven years. The 23-year-
Associated Press "I, for sure, will dedicate this out of the first round by a old resident of New Delhi
NEW YORK (AP) — Garbiñe former top-10 player who win to her because I want player who missed more beat Bradley Klahn 6-1,
Muguruza opened the sec- had just revealed her can- her to feel that we are be- than two years because of 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. Nagal came
ond day of the U.S. Open cer diagnosis. hind her, that I am behind a hip injury. in ranked No. 124 in the
by dedicating her win to a The No. 10 seed beat Nao her, and I will go and see Andrey Kuznetsov's 6-4, 7-5 world.q