BADMINTON Preview: Top-ranked Matsumoto and Hagahara headline Crown Group Australian Open in Sydney

By

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June 3, 2019

The BWF World Tour has slowed down, with the Crown Group Australian Open in Sydney the only tourney scheduled for June. The fields are quite good; the top seeds:

● Men’s Singles:
1. Tien Chen Chou (TPE)
2. Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (INA)
3. Jonatan Christie (INA)

● Men’s Doubles:
1. Takeshi Kamura/Keigo Sonoda (JPN)
2. Junhui Lu/Yuchen Liu (CHN)
3. Mohamed Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan (INA)

● Women’s Singles:
1. Nozomi Okuhara (JPN)
2. Yufei Chen (CHN)
3. V. Sindhu Pusarla (IND)

● Women’s Doubles:
1. Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara (JPN)
2. Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota (JPN)
3. Qingchen Chen/Yifan Jia (CHN)

● Mixed Doubles:
1. Yilyu Wang/Dongping Huang (CHN)
2. Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino (JPN)
3. Peng Soon Chan/Liu Ying Goh (MAS)

The top-ranked entry is Japan’s no. 1-ranked women’s Doubles team of Matsumoto and Nagahara. Japanese teams have done well in Australian Open Doubles previously; the top-seeded men’s Doubles team of Kamura and Sonoda won the tournament in 2017.

Defending champs returning from 2018 include China’s Quangzu Lu in men’s Singles, Berry Angriawan and Hardianto Hardianto (INA) in men’s Doubles, Ayaka Sakuramoto and Yukiko Takahata (JPN) in the women’s Doubles and Seung-Jae Seo and YuJung Chae (KOR) in Mixed Doubles.

Look for results here.

STAT PACK: Results for the week of 27 May-2 June 2019

By

Rich Perelman

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June 3, 2019

The Stat Pack: a summary of results of international Grand Prix, World Cup and World Championships events, plus U.S. domestic events and Pan American championships events of note.

In this week’s issue are reports on 18 events in 13 sports:

● Artistic Swim: FINA Artistic World Series 7 in Quebec City
● Artistic Swim: FINA Artistic World Series 8 in Barcelona
● Athletics: IAAF Diamond League 3: Bauhaus Galan in Stockholm
● Beach Volleyball: FIVB World Tour 4-star in Ostrava
● Canoe-Kayak: ICF Sprint World Cup II in Duisberg
● Cycling: UCI MWT: Giro d’Italia in Italy
● Cycling: USA Cycling Pro Tour: Winston-Salem Cycling Classic
● Cycling: USA Cycling Pro Tour: Armed Forces Classic in Arlington
● Cycling: UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup in Montpellier
● Cycling: Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill in Fort William
● Golf: LPGA U.S. Open in Charleston
● Gymnastics: FIG Artistic World Challenge Cup 3 in Koper
● Judo: USA Judo National Championships in Las Vegas
● Rugby: Men’s Sevens Series 10 in Paris
● Shooting: ISSF World Cup (Rifle/Pistol) in Munich
● Surfing: ISA World Longboard Championships
● Swimming: FINA Champions Swim Series III in Indianapolis
● Table Tennis: ITTF World Tour Platinum: China Open in Shenzhen

plus our calendar of upcoming events through 30 June. Click below for the PDF:

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SPEED READ: Headlines from The Sports Examiner for Monday, 3 June 2019

By

Rich Perelman

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June 3, 2019

Welcome to The Sports Examiner SPEED READ, a 100 mph (44.7 m/s) review of what happened over the last 72 hours in Olympic sport:

LANE ONE

Monday: The inaugural FINA Champions Swim Series finished in Indianapolis on Saturday, but was it a success? There was a lot to like, but there was one major element missing that will determine its future relevance.

THE BIG PICTURE

Saturday: The Russian Athletics Federation may be in hot water again after British reports indicate a cover-up was attempted to try and avoid an imposed suspension on 2018 World Indoor High Jump Champion Danil Lysenko!

HEARD AFTER HALFTIME

Saturday: The International Olympic Committee disqualifies another weightlifter from London 2012, there are new doping rules on contaminated meat, and just how cold was it at the Stockholm Diamond League? Pretty c-o-l-d … and more.

ARTISTIC SWIMMING

Sunday: Overlapping FINA World Series events in Quebec City and Barcelona showcased Japan’s Yukiko Inui in Canada and World Championships silver medalist Ona Carbonell in from of her home fans in Spain.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL

Sunday: Third title in a row for the unstoppable Norwegians, Anders Mol and Christian Sorum, in the Ostrava four-star tournament, plus another good showing for Kerri Walsh Jennings and Brooke Sweat.

CANOE-KAYAK

Sunday: The second ICF Sprint World Cup had some surprises, but none bigger than Hungary’s Virag Balla and Kincso Takacs beating World Champions Laurence Vincent-Lapointe and Katie Vincent. But the Canadians also collected some hardware on the weekend and eight boats swept the two-stage World Cup season!

CYCLING

Sunday: History for Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz, who became the first from his country to win the prestigious Giro d’Italia, plus a nifty final-day prize for American rider Chad Haga: a win in the Stage 21 Time Trial!

Sunday: The big stars of Mountain Bike Downhill won their races at Ft. William in Scotland, with reigning World Cup champ Amaury Pierron (FRA) and six-time World Champion Rachel Atherton taking the titles. In France, two U.S. teenagers – Justin Dowell and Hannah Roberts – swept the men’s and women’s titles in the second UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup.

FOOTBALL

Sunday: The U.S. men’s U-20 team is into the knock-out round of the FIFA men’s U-20 World Cup in Poland after winning two of three games in their group play. The tournament scoring champ is probably already decided after one Norwegian guy scored nine goals in one game …

GYMNASTICS

Sunday: Hungary’s Zsofia Kovacs, you know her as the 2017 European All-Around silver medalist, was the only gymnast to collect two wins in the FIG Artistic World Challenge Cup in Koper (SLO).

JUDO

Sunday: The U.S. National Championships finished in Las Vegas, with five judoka competing a title defense from 2018, including Nina Cutro-Kelly, who won her sixth national title!

RUGBY

Sunday: Well, the U.S. Eagles can’t beat Fiji, losing their seventh straight playoff-round game in the final Sevens Series tournament, in Paris, but the American squad makes history and qualifies for the Tokyo 2020 tournament.

SURFING

Sunday: France had the home-surf advantage at the 2019 World Longboard Championships and they used it to good advantage, winning the women’s title and taking silver and bronze in the men’s championship … plus the team title!

SWIMMING

Friday: Fans in Indianapolis for the final leg of the FINA Champions Swim Series were treated to two races pitting American star Lilly King and Russian rival Yuliya Efimova in the Breaststroke, with King impressing in both. Swedish star Sarah Sjostrom won two events, as did U.S. Medley star Chase Kalisz.

Saturday: Final day of racing at the FINA Champions Swim Series, with a total of five new world leaders during the meet, including a very impressive 200 m fly from Hali Flickinger of the U.S. Oh yes, there was another Breaststoke win for Lilly King over Russian World Champion Yulia Efimova.

TABLE TENNIS

Sunday: China’s Long Ma and Meng Chen – both previous winners – headlined the China Open in Shenzhen with Singles wins, but duos from three different countries made history in winning the Doubles titles.

UPCOMING

Highlights of the coming week, with previews in the coming days on TheSportsExaminer.com:

● Athletics: The IAAF Diamond League heads to Rome on Thursday and Noah Lyles makes his 200 m season debut!

● Football: At long last, we’re ready to start the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France!

● Wrestling: The first of two Final X events to select the U.S. teams for the 2019 World Championships!

And much more from around the world as the Olympic sports summer gets started!

LANE ONE: Is the FINA Champions Swim Series the way forward, or a bridge to nowhere?

By

Rich Perelman

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June 2, 2019

The first edition of the FINA Champions Swim Series has now been completed, with three meets and more than $2 million in prize money distributed to the competing athletes.

Was it worthwhile, or a waste of time (and money)?

It seems to me they were both, but that there is a major flaw in the concept that needs to be addressed and can be, with some creative thinking. Let start with FINA’s announced goals for the event:

● Staging the greatest Swimming events ever seen.

Grade: F. This was not the Olympic Games and not the World Championships, but that was clear from the beginning. Why was this even listed?

● Have the star athletes competing against each other.

Grade: A-. A lot of top swimmers competed and a lot did not, for various reasons. But an event which pits Lilly King against Russia’s Yuliya Efimova in all three Breaststroke events for the first time since 2017 is a winner.

● To generate international TV, digital & media interest.

Grade: Incomplete. More information will come out about this later and while there was interest in the swimming community, the series made little or no impact on sports coverage in the U.S., or – judging from online coverage – in most other places. Much more attention was paid to the annual Giro d’Italia cycling extravaganza, going on at the same time.

● To give high-level swimmers increased attention and appearance.

Grade: C+. Increased “appearance” on the sports scene, yes. Increased attention, not so much.

● To create a world-class platform for Swimming.

Grade: A-. There is potential here and congratulations to FINA for putting the program together. Remember, this whole concept was only announced last December and to see it through in less than six months is a credit to FINA’s event management expertise (and deep pocket).

Overall, let’s be charitable and give the 2019 series an overall grade of B. It was pretty good, but it needs work. In specific:

The Good

● The meets were well produced, generally ran on time and the big videoboards for introductions, lighting effects and show-biz elements were much appreciated by the swimmers, who aren’t used to such things. It’s not clear that the spectators were all that interested.

● The television production was pretty good and had plenty of replays and underwater shots, which are more and more crucial to explaining why races turn out the way they do. The live timing site from Omega was excellent and fast for those who were actually paying close attention, although more could be done with this.

● The meets ran quickly and time-wasters such as lengthy awards ceremonies were kept to a minimum. Some of the between-races programming was good and some was not (such as U.S. swimmer Justin Ress being asked about his prep for the World Championships and Ress replying that he didn’t make the team).

● The contentious nature of the FINA-ISL relationship (or lack thereof) probably cost the first-year Champions Series some swimmers, but many of the big stars were there, including overall star Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), truckloads of Olympic and World Championships medalists and even two plaintiffs in suits against FINA (and in league with ISL): Katinka Hosszu (HUN) and Michael Andrew of the U.S. Having Sjostrom in all three meets really helped to hold the Series narrative together.

● Although the arenas were dark and lighting focused only on the pool, it was possible to see that while the three venues weren’t sold out, the meets were fairly well attended (and noisy). The three sites had seating capacities of 4,584 in Guangzhou, about 5,000 in Budapest and 4,700 in Indianapolis. By professional sports standards, these are tiny, but for swimming’s purpose, pretty good.

● FINA did itself a lot of good with its primary stakeholders: swimmers. It spent some money and appeared to work with the swimmers rather than against them during the process. There was a much-appreciated meeting on Saturday (1 June) in Indianapolis to discuss how to improve swimming’s impact as a spectator sport. This is an excellent development and can lead to considerable improvements in the sport and should be continued at the World Championships in July in Korea.

The Not-so-Good

● There were swimmers who were missing. Some didn’t compete because of injury or training situations; others don’t want to appear to be supporting FINA. That’s a first-year problem and will go away over time.

● American fans who watched the Champions Swim Series on NBCSN or NBC’s Olympic Channel heard over and over again that the swimmers were all in heavy training – especially the Americans – during the series and that what was important was the World Championships in 2019 and the Olympic Games in 2020 … and not the Champions Swim Series.

This is absolutely true, but at the same time demeans the Champions Swim Series and makes it sound like a high-paying exhibition. And in truth, that’s what it was. Nothing was at stake other than money; more on this below.

At one point, NBC’s Missy Franklin – the five-time Olympic gold medalist from 2012 and 2016, now retired at age 24 – said of U.S. swimmer Townley Haas as he got ready for the men’s 100 m Freestyle, “This meet is mainly for training.”

(Franklin, by the way, has real potential as an analyst if she will stop giggling and take Justin Knapp’s lead to talk about what the training and race plans are for the swimmers. She really knows and can provide some real insight that viewers will appreciate.)

● The big problem is that the Champions Swim Series was a showcase and not a competition. The idea to match up the reigning Olympic and World Champions and the 2019 world leader sounds great on paper, but in its inaugural edition, did not make for compelling viewing with the great exception of the King-Efimova races in Indy.

The IAAF has the same problem in track & field, but constructed the Diamond League 10 years ago to create a seasonal narrative that is finally being re-shaped into something that might really work.

During the promotion-of-the-sport meeting on the 1st, Belgian sprinter Pieter Timmers suggested that “February is a good month to do this, we all agree. The meets should be close to each other because we don’t want to travel too much in an Olympic trial [year]. Maybe you can do 2020 in Europe, 2021 in Asia, 2022 in America for example.”

Dutch star Ranomi Kromowidjojo added “It is important to have the meets in a very short period of time to avoid missing training so much. It also helps preventing jet lag. If you could keep it into one travel that would be great.”

That’s fine for the swimmers, but not for spectators. What are they supposed to take out of these comments: that training is more important to the swimmers than competing? That may be true, but it gives no incentive – no reason – for fans to be interested in the meets, in person or on television.

This is the flip side of “the voice of the athlete”: it’s not the voice of the fan, or the television networks, who end up paying for all of this. To have the Champions Swim Series – and the FINA World Cup series, held in the fall – act as drawing cards for the sport, there has to be a reason for them to exist and some important reason why people should watch.

The Champions Swim Series doesn’t have this yet and FINA can be forgiven, especially with the short time frame available to put the meets on in 2019. But if this concept is to actually help grow interest in the sport, it has to mean something, and be something different than the World Championships and the Olympic Games.

Otherwise, it’s just a break for training, and a road to nowhere, instead of a way to take swimming to a new level of public interest and enthusiasm. Let’s hope it’s an on-ramp to the future.

Rich Perelman
Editor

FOOTBALL: U.S. on to the elimination round in the FIFA men’s U-20 World Cup

By

Rich Perelman

-

June 2, 2019

There were 24 teams to start and now there are 16 and less every day in the FIFA men’s U-20 World Cup.

The U.S. is among those teams in the knock-out round, after posting a 2-1 record in the group stage. The qualifiers:

● Group A: 1. Senegal (2-0-1); 2. Colombia (2-1); 3. Poland (1-1-1)
● Group B: 1. Italy (2-0-1); 2. Japan (1-0-2); 3. Ecuador (1-1-1).
● Group C: 1. Uruguay (3-0); 2. New Zealand (2-1).
● Group D: 1. Ukraine (2-0-1); 2. United States (2-1); 3. Nigeria (1-1-1).
● Group E: 1. France (3-0); 2. Mali (1-1-1); 3. Panama (1-1-1).
● Group F: 1. Argentina (2-1); 2. South Korea (2-1).

The U.S. lost its opening game to Ukraine, 2-1, but rallied with wins over Nigeria (2-0) and Qatar (1-0).

The Round of 16 will be held on 2-3-4 June, with Colombia defeating New Zealand on penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie, and Italy defeated host Poland, 1-0:

Upper bracket:
● Colombia d. New Zealand, 1-1 (5-4 penalties) and Ukraine vs. Panama
● Italy d. Poland, 1-0 and Argentina vs. Mali

Lower bracket:
● France vs. U.S. and Uruguay vs. Ecuador
● Japan vs. South Korea and Senegal vs. Nigeria

The quarterfinals will be played on 7-8 June; the semifinals on 11 June and the medal matches on 14 June (bronze) and 15 June (championship).

The scoring race has likely been ended in an awful Group C game in which Norway’s Erling Haland scored nine goals in a 12-0 rout of Honduras, including the last one in the 90th minute. Fittingly, neither team advanced to the elimination round.

Look for results here.

JUDO: Five defenders win again at USA Judo National Championships in Las Vegas

By

Rich Perelman

-

June 2, 2019

tsx pix 2019-602 cutro-kelly, nina 750 (ijf-gabriela sabau) — Six-time U.S. national champion Nina Cutro-Kelly (Photo: IJF/Gabriela Sabau)

As no national teams were selected from the results of the 2019 USA Judo National Championships in Las Vegas, many of the top U.S. judoka decided to skip this year’s edition.

But there were plenty who didn’t and five were able to defend their 2018 titles:

● Men/-100 kg: Nate Keeve

● Women/-63 kg: Alisha Galles
● Women/-70 kg: Chantal Wright
● Women/-78 kg: Nefeli Papadakis
● Women/+78 kg: Nina Cutro-Kelly

Galles won her third national title (also 2016-18) and Cutro-Kelly won her sixth, previously in 2013-14-15-16-18.

One streak was broken, in the men’s -73 kg class, as Bradford Bolen won a bronze medal, breaking his consecutive national-title run at five! Summaries:

USA Judo National Championships
Las Vegas, Nevada (USA) ~ 1-2 June 2019
(Full results here)

Men

-55 kg: 1. Tegan Usasa; 2. Kyle Sakuda; 3. Conor Uyekawa and Ricardo Caduillo.

-60 kg: 1. Jacob More; 2. Patrick Mendiola; 3. Dominic Rodriguez and Yasier Alvarez.

-66 kg: 1. Micah Brooks; 2. Alejandro Menendez; 3. Ryan Vargas and Ricky Marin.

-73 kg: 1. Liam Wright; 2. Salama Salem; 3. Nicolas Yonezuka and Bradford Bolen.

-81 kg: 1. Tony Sangimino; 2. Alex Jacobsen; 3. Arthur Wright and Adrian Bernal.

-90 kg: 1. Nicholas Pavlov; 2. Lenny Guerrero Baez; 3. Alexander Graves and Christopher Moulton.

-100 kg: 1. Nate Keeve; 2. Ruben Martin; 3. Davit Arakelyan and Matthew Koch.

+100 kg: 1. Eric Kalajyan; 2. Luciano Gazzani; 3. Christian Konoval and Aaron Satterwhite.

Open: 1. Adham Ramadan; 2. Jan Jackiewicz; 3. Ryuken Satoh and Kosuke Yokoyama.

Women

-44 kg: 1. Maia Waggoner; 2. Jenna Enoka; only placers.

-48 kg: 1. Louise Pekelo; 2. Jeannette Hong; 3. Cameron Miller and Jenna Schurr.

-52 kg: 1. Katelyn Jarrell; 2. Brianna Matsuhara; 3. Maria Dhami and alaine Abuan.

-57 kg: 1. Amelia Fulgentes; 2. Mariah Holguin; 3. Isadora Friedlander and Regina Arias.

-63 kg: 1. Alisha Galles; 2. Sara Golden; 3. Samantha Paduani and Karle Carrouth.

-70 kg: 1. Chantal Wright; 2. Melissa Myers; 3. Sophia, Teissler and Nina Seoane-Scheitermaier.

-78 kg: 1. Nefeli Papadakis; 2. Tiara Kaye; 3. Nicole Stout and Asami Kobata.

+78 kg: 1. Nina Cutro-Kelly; 2. Natalie Torres; only placers.

Open: 1. Donte Delia; 2. Alexandra Wilson; only placers.

CANOE-KAYAK: Hungary’s Balla and Takacs surprise Canada in women’s Sprint World Cup

By

Rich Perelman

-

June 2, 2019

tsx pix 2019-602 balla and takacs duisberg c-2 500 — Hungary's Virag Balla and Kincso Takacs on their way to a surprise C-2 500 m win in the ICF World Cup (Photo: ICF)

Sometimes the most interesting races in a World Cup or other early-season race is how much improvement is obvious in specific boats.

At last year’s World Championships, the star Canadian pair of Laurence Vincent-Lapointe and Katie Vincent easily won the C-2 500 m title over Hungary’s Virag Balla and Kincso Takacs, by more than two seconds.

Not this time.

At the second ICF Sprint World Cup in Duisberg, Balla and Takacs stayed with the Canadians and edged ahead at the line for an unexpected 1:51.587-1:51.905 victory.

“We thought the same, we thought the Canadian girls would win this C2,” Balla said afterwards. “When we saw on the big screen we had won, we were so happy. We just pushed and focused on our technique.”

The Hungarian pair also finished third in the C-2 200 m race and Balla won the C-1 500 m by more than a full second over Shixiao Xu (CHN).

For Vincent-Lapointe and Vincent, there were other races to concentrate on. They went 1-2 in the C-1 200 m, Vincent-Lapointe won the C-1 5,000 m race and Vincent teamed with Mark Oldershaw for a silver in the Mixed C-2 500 m.

Germany had a strong regatta, winning both of the K-4 500 m races – men and women – and had wins from Tom Liebscher (K-1 500 m) and Max Rendschmidt and Max Lemke in the K-2 500 m, and in the Mixed K-2 500 m, with Franziska John and Rendschmidt.

There were eight boats that swept the two-stage World Cup in their events:

Men:
● C-1 500 m: Isaquias Queiroz dos Santos (BRA)
● K-1 200 m: Liam Heath (GBR)
● K-4 500 m: Germany

Women:
● C-1 200 m: Laurence Vincent-Lapointe (CAN)
● C-2 200 m: Wenjun Lin/Luqi Zhang (CHN)
● K-1 1,000 m: Alyssa Bull (AUS)
● K-2 200 m: Spela Ponomarenko Janic/Anja Osterman (SLO)

Mixed:
● C-2 500 m: Hao Liu/Mengya Sun (CHN)

Summaries from Duisberg:

ICF Sprint World Cup
Duisberg (GER) ~ 30 May-2 June 2019
(Full results here)

Men

C-1 200 m: 1. Ivan Shytl (RUS), 38.935; 2. Alfonso Benavides (ESP), 39.047; 3. Timur Khaidarov (KAZ), 39.416.

C-1 500 m: 1. Isaquias Queiroz dos Santos (BRA), 1:44.731; 2. Martin Fuksa (CZE), 1:45.740; 3. Conrad-Robin Schieibner (GER), 1:46.743.

C-1 1,000 m: 1. Adrien Bart (FRA), 3:48.399; 2. Fuksa (CZE), 3:48.887; 3. Tomasz Kacsor (POL), 3:49.811.

C-1 5,000 m: 1. Rigoberto Camilo (MEX), 22:14.766; 2. Balazs Adolf (HUN), 22:15.337; 3. Yul Oeltze (GER), 22:37.292.

C-2 200 m: 1. Antoni Segura/Alfonso Benavides (ESP), 35.739; 2. Alexander Kovalenko/Ivan Shytl (RUS), 36.065; 3. Aleksander Kitewski/Norman Zezula (POL), 36.277.

C-2 500 m: 1. Song Xing/Qiang Li (CHN), 1:38.661; 2. Kitewski/Zezula (POL), 1:39.202; 3. Pavel Petrov/Mikhail Pavlov (RUS), 1:39.564.

C-2 1,000 m: 1. Hao Liu/Pengfei Zheng (CHN), 3:25.394; 2. Yul Oeltze/Peter Kretschmer (GER), 3:26.904; 3. Loic Leonard/Adrien Bart (FRA), 3:29.028.

K-1 200 m: 1. Liam Heath (GBR), 34.647; 2. Maxime Beaumont (FRA), 35.111; 3. Arturas Seja (LTU), 35.251.

K-1 500 m: 1. Tom Liebscher (GER), 1:39.001; 2. Balint Kopasz (HUN), 1:39.416; 3. Fernando Pimenta (POR), 1:39.730.

K- 1,000 m: 1. Josef Dostal (CZE), 3:27.206; 2. Roman Anoshkin (RUS), 3:27.770; 3. Balint Kopasz (HUN), 3:27.859.

K-1 5,000 m: 1. Pimenta (POR), 19:39.656; 2. Max Hoff (GER), 19:40.854; 3. Joakim Lindberg (SWE), 19:46.631.

K-2 200 m: 1. Manfredi Rizza/Andrea Domenico di Liberto (ITA), 31.312; 2. Levente Apagyi/Kolos Csizmadia (HUN), 32.010; 3. Ilia Zotov/Maxim Molochkov (RUS), 32.113.

K-2 500 m: 1. Max Rendschmidt/Max Lemke (GER), 1:28.986; 2. Oleg Gusev/Vitaly Ershov (RUS), 1:29.642; 3. Guillaume Burger/Guillaume Le Floch Decorchemont (FRA), 1:29.946.

K-2 1,000 m: 1. Cyrille Carre/Eitienne Hubert (FRA), 3:07.105; 2. Max Hoff/Jacob Schopf (GER), 3:07.025; 3. Tobias-Pascal Schultz/Felix Frank (GER), 3:08.585.

K-4 500 m: 1. Germany, 1:18.660; 2. Slovakia, 1:19.352; 3. Russia, 1:19.493.

Women

C-1 200 m: 1. Laurence Vincent-Lapointe (CAN), 45.996; 2. Katie Vincent (CAN), 47.180; 3. Kincso Takacs (HUN), 47.206.

C-1 500 m: 1. Virag Balla (HUN), 2:06.605; 2. Shixiao Xu (CHN), 2:07.836; 3. Yajue Zhang (CHN), 2:12.040.

C-1 5,000 m: 1. Vincent-Lapointe (CAN), 25:00.822; 2. Shixoao Xu (CHN), 25:17.997; 3. Maria Mailliard (CHI), 25:48.155. Also: 11. Lia Gaetano (USA), 28:11.326; … 13. Ann Marie Armstrong (USA), 28:59.858.

C-2 200 m: 1. Wenjun Lin/Luqi Zhang (CHN), 42.014; 2. Dilnoza Rakhmatova/Nulufar Zokirova (UZB), 42.137; 3. Virag Balla/Kincso Takacs (HUN), 42.335.

C-2 500 m: 1. Balla/Takacs (HUN), 1:51.587; 2. Laurence Vincent-Lapointe/Katie Vincent (CAN), 1:51.905; 3. Kseniia Kurach/Olesia Romasenko (RUS), 1:54.188.

K-1 200 m: 1. Emma Jorgensen (DEN), 40.235; 2. Teresa Portela (ESP), 40.519; 3. Linnea Stencils (SWE), 40.939.

K-1 500 m: 1. Anna Pulawska (POL), 1:48.283; 2. tie, Manon Hostens (FRA) and Jorgensen (DEN), 1:48.851.

K-1 1,000 m: 1. Alyssa Bull (AUS), 3:58.118; 2. Sarah Bruessler (GER), 3:59.964; 3. Yu Zhou (CHN), 4:01.178.

K-1 5,000 m: 1. Alyce Burnett (AUS), 21:45.433; 2. Bull (AUS), 21:46.632; 3. Jennifer Egan (IRL), 21:47.336.

K-2 200 m: 1. Spela Ponomarenko Janic/Anja Osterman (SLO), 36.477; 2. Karolina Naja/Helena Wisniewska (POL), 37.158; 3. Kristina Kovnir/Anastasiia Dolgova (RUS), 37.453.

K-2 500 m: 1. Manon Hostens/Sarah Guyot (FRA), 1:41.279; 2. Ponomarenko Janic/Osterman (SLO), 1:41.689; 3. Hermien Peters/Liza Broekx (BEL), 1:42.194.

K-4 500 m: 1. Germany, 1:31.175; 2. France, 1:31.782; 3. Poland, 1:32.350.

Mixed

C-2 500 m: 1. Hao Liu/Mengya Sun (CHN), 1:44.729; 2. Mark Oldershaw/Katie Vincent (CAN), 1:45.483; 3. Pavel Petrov/Olesia Romasenko (RUS), 1:45.729.

K-2 500 m: 1. Franziska John/Max Rendschmidt (GER), 1:32.553; 2. Lize Broekx/Artuur Peters (BEL), 1:33.318; 3. Tobias-Pascal Schultz/Jasmin Fritz (GER), 1:33.580.

CYCLING: Pierron and Atherton win MTB Downhills while U.S. teens sweep Freestyle Park World Cup in France

By

Rich Perelman

-

June 2, 2019

tsx pix 110418 roberts, hannah 2018 750 — 2017 BMX Freestyle World Champion Hannah Roberts

The big stars were the big winners in the cycling Mountain Bike and BMX Freestyle World Cup events in Scotland and France on Sunday.

At Fort William in Scotland, British Mountain Bike superstar Rachel Atherton won her fourth World Cup Downhill at this venue to go along with victories in 2013-15-16. It wasn’t easy, as she traded the lead at interval after interval with Australia’s Tracey Hannah, who ultimately finished second, just 1.611 seconds behind.

The men’s race was won more comfortably by reigning World Cup Downhill champ Amaury Pierron of France, who won at Ft. William for the second straight year. He led from the start and had the advantage over the field at every checkpoint on his way to a 3.582-second victory over Troy Brosnan (AUS).

In the BMX Freestyle Park World Cup in Monpellier (FRA) – part of the larger FISE skating program – it was 2017 World Champion Hannah Roberts, still just 17, who won once again, with an impressive 93.00 score, ahead of fellow American Perris Benegas (90.60). They were the only riders to score over 90 points.

In the men’s division, 19-year-old American Justin Dowell scored 91.20 points and it held up for the win over Russia’s Irek Rizaev (90.00) as the top riders from the semis all had problems. Dowell qualified only 10th, but upped his score from 87.38 to not only take the lead, but hold on to it. Summaries:

UCI Mountain Bike World Cup
Ft. William (GBR) ~ 1-2 June 2019
(Full results here)

Men/Downhill (3.03 km): 1. Amaury Pierron (FRA), 4:28.578; 2. Troy Brosnan (AUS), 4:32.160; 3. Loris Vergier (FRA), 4:32.209; 4. Finn Iles (CAN), 4:35.781; 5. Danny Hart (GBR), 4:36.096. Also in the top 25: 13. Dakotah Norton (USA), 4:39.634; … 22. Neko Mulally (USA), 4:43.666.

Women/Downhill (3.03 km): 1. Rachel Atherton (GBR), 5:15.560; 2. Tracey Hannah (AUS), 5:17.171; 3. Nina Hoffmann (GER), 5:24.382; 4. Marine Cabirou (FRA), 5:28.934; 5. Veronika Widmann (ITA), 5:31.295.

UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup
Montpellier (FRA) ~ 29 May-2 June 2019
(Full results here)

Men/Freestyle Park: 1. Justin Dowell (USA), 91.20; 2. Irek Rizaev (RUS), 90.00; 3. Logan Martin (AUS), 89.30; 4. Nick Bruce (USA), 87.20; 5. Rimu Nakamura (JPN), 86.80. Also in the top 10: 7. Daniel Sandoval (USA), 83.80.

Women/Freestyle Park: 1. Hannah Roberts (USA), 93.00; 2. Perris Benegas (USA), 90.60; 3. Lara Lessmann (GER), 84.60; 4. Nikita Ducarroz (FRA), 84.00; 5. Chelsea Wolfe (USA), 82.60. Also in the top 10: 10. Angie Marino (USA), 72.20.

SURFING: France dominates World Longboard with four medals in Biarritz surf

By

Rich Perelman

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June 2, 2019

tsx pix 2019-602 lemoigne, alice ISA longboard 750 — World Longboard Champion Alice Lemoigne of France (Photo: ISA/Pablo Jimenez)

With the home waters advantage, France shone brightest at the ISA World Longboard Championships at the Cote des Basques off of Biarritz (FRA), with two medals in the men’s and women’s divisions and the team title.

In fact, it looked like the hosts would go 1-2 in both individual editions until Peru’s “Piccolo” Clemente scored an impressive 7.7 on his final ride to pass the brothers Antoine and Edouard Delpino for his first world title.

“I am so happy that I can’t express all the happiness that I feel,” said Clemente afterwards. “I’ve been wanting to win this World Championship forever. I’ve competed in so many ISA events that I can’t even remember what number this one is. I’ve always dreamed of winning it.”

Clemente moved up from the silver medal position at the 2018 Longboard Worlds.

France’s Alice Lemoigne led the women’s final, but American Soleil Errico had a chance to win in the final moments, but was called for interference. That not only eliminated her second-best score and killed her chance at the title, but dropped her to fourth behind Justine Dupont (FRA) and Chloe Calmon (BRA).

The four medals made the French an easy team winner in the Aloha Cup. Summaries:

ISA World Longboard Championships
Biarritz (FRA) ~ 26 May-2 June 2019
(Full results here)

Men/ Final: 1. Benoit Clemente (PER), 17.53; 2. Antoine Delpero (FRA), 17.17; 3. Edouard Delpero (FRA), 16.90; 4. Cole Robbins (USA), 12.77.

Women/ Final: 1. Alice Lemoigne (FRA), 15.46; 2. Justine Dupont (FRA), 13.40; 3. Chloe Calmon (BRA), 11.27; 4. Soleil Errico (USA), 7.93.

Aloha Cup: 1. France, 42.93; 2. Japan, 30.97; 3. United States, 27.10; 4. Brazil, 21.77.

RUGBY: U.S. finishes best-ever second in men’s Sevens Series as Fiji wins in Paris

By

Rich Perelman

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June 2, 2019

The best season ever for the U.S. Eagles came to a close in Paris (FRA) on Sunday with a fourth-place finish in the final Sevens Series tournament, and two rewards: a seasonal silver medal and qualification to the Tokyo 2020 tournament.

The U.S. came into Paris trailing Fiji by a couple of points and the draw had the two teams meeting in the championship semifinals if they made it that far. They did: Fiji, the U.S., South Africa and New Zealand all finished 3-0 in pool play and all four won their quarterfinal game.

While New Zealand drubbed South Africa, 33-7, the U.S. continued to have its problem with Fiji, losing for the seventh time (without a win) in the playoff rounds this season, 33-14.

That sent the American squad to the third-place game, which was a 24-7 loss to South Africa, while Fiji won, 35-24, against New Zealand to win the tournament and the seasonal series. The final standings:

1. 186 Fiji ~ fourth title: also in 2006-15-16
2. 177 United States ~ best-ever finish in a Sevens Series season
3. 162 New Zealand ~ also qualifies for Tokyo 2020
4. 148 South Africa ~ also qualifies for Tokyo 2020
5. 114 England
6. 107 Samoa
7. 104 Australia
8. 99 France

New Zealand’s Andrew Knewstubb won the seasonal scoring title with 307 points, just ahead of the U.S. pair of Madison Hughes (299) and Carlin Isles (260). Isles won the seasonal title for tries for the second consecutive year with 52, followed by Aiminiasi Tuimaba of Fiji (46) and Dan Norton of England and Max McFarland of Scotland (39 each).

Among the seasonal awards:

● Coach of the Series: Mike Friday (USA)
● Rookie of the Year: Meli Derenalagi (FIJ)
● Impact Player: Vilmoni Botitu (FIJ)
● Mark of Excellence: Danny Barrett (USA)

The seasonal HSBC Dream Team was announced as Ben Pinkelman and Stephen Tomasin of the U.S., and Fiji’s Aminiasi Tuimaba, Meli Derenalagi, Jerry Tuwai, Folau Niua and Vilimoni Botitu. Summaries:

World Rugby Men’s Sevens Series
Paris (FRA) ~ 1-2 June 2019
(Full results here)

Final Standings: 1. Fiji; 2. New Zealand; 3. South Africa; 4. United States; 5. France; 6. Samoa; 7. tie, Kenya and Argentina. Semis: Fiji d. U.S., 33-14; New Zealand d. South Africa, 33-7. Third: South Africa d. U.S., 24-7. Final: Fiji d. New Zealand, 35-24.

Final Series Standings: 1. Fiji, 186; 2. United States, 177; 3. New Zealand, 162; 4. South Africa, 148; 5. England, 114; 6. Samoa, 107; 7. Australia, 104; 8. France, 99; 9. Argentina, 94; 10. Scotland, 72; 11. Canada, 59; 12. Spain, 49; 13. Kenya, 37; 14. Wales, 31; 15. Japan, 27; 16. Ireland, 19.

GYMNASTICS: Hungary’s Kovacs wins two to highlight Koper World Challenge Cup

By

Rich Perelman

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June 2, 2019

tsx pix 2019-602 kovacs, zsofia 750 — Double winner in Koper: Zsofia Kovacs (HUN)

The third of six World Challenge Cup events was held in Koper (SLO), with Hungary’s Zsofia Kovacs – the 2017 European All-Around silver medalist – the only gymnast to collect two wins, in the Uneven Bars (14.000) and Beam (13.200).

The highest score in the men’s competition was registered by Ireland’s Rhys McClenaghan, the 2018 European Champion on the Pommel Horse, who won the event at 15.450. Two-time Pan American Games Floor winner (2007-11) Tomas Gonzalez of Chile won that event at 14.600. Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Frank Baines won the Parallel Bars with a 14.450 score.

Prize money was available to the top eight finishers: CHF 800-600-400-300-250-200-150-100.

This was the last World Challenge Cup until the fall; the series will resume on 6 September in Szombathely (HUN). Summaries from Koper:

FIG Artistic World Challenge Cup
Koper (SRO) ~ 30 May-2 June 2019
(Full results here)

Men

Floor: 1. Tomas Gonzalez (CHI), 14.600; 2. Milad Karimi (KAZ), 14.600; 3. Aurel Benovic (CRO), 14.200.

Pommel Horse: 1. Rhys McClenaghan (IRL), 15.450; 2. Ilyas Azizov (KAZ), 13.950; 3. Alexander Myakinin (ISR), 13.850.

Rings: 1. Nikita Simonov (AZE), 14.450; 2. Ali Zahran (EGY), 14.350; 3. Salvatore Maresca (ITA), 14.200.

Vault: 1. Wai Hung Shek (HKG), 14.675; 2. Yahor Sharamkou (BLR), 14.600; 3. Andrey Medvedev (ISR), 14.475.

Parallel Bars: 1. Frank Baines (GBR), 14.450; 2. Karimi (KAZ), 14.350; 3. Ilias Georgiou (CYP), 14.150.

Horizontal Bar: 1. Umit Samiloglu (TUR), 14.350; 2. Baines (GBR), 14.050; 3. Myakinin (ISR), 13.850.

Women

Vault: 1. Marina Nekrasova (AZE), 14.475; 2. Teja Belak (SLO), 14.375; 3. Franchesca Santi (CHI), 14.000.

Uneven Bars: 1. Zsofia Kovacs (HUN), 14.000; 2. Jasmin Mader (AUT), 12.500; 3. Aliaksandra Varabyova (BLR), 11.950.

Balance Beam: 1. Kovacs (HUN), 13.200; 2. Ilaria Kaeslin (SUI), 13.150; 3. Farah Hussein (EGY), 12.600.

Floor: 1. Kaeslin (SUI), 12.950; 2. Ana-Maria Puiu (ROU), 12.850; 3. Adela Sajn (SLO), 12.500.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL: They did it again … Mol and Sorum win third in a row!

By

Rich Perelman

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June 2, 2019

tsx pix 2019-513 sorum & mol (NOR) 750 — Three in a row for: Norway's Christian Sorum and Anders Mol

With the FIVB World Championships now less than a month away, it’s the perfect time to be playing your best ball and that’s what Norway’s top-ranked duo of Anders Mol and Christian Sorum are doing.

Competing in their third tournament, on three continents, in three consecutive weeks, the World Tour Final winners swept to a third win over their third different finals opponent to continue as the no. 1-ranked duo in the world. They now have won medals in four of their six tournaments this season and eight of their 28 tournaments all-time (28.6%).

They beat the Czech pair Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner, cheered on by the crowd in Ostrava (CZE), who won their third World Tour silver medal as a duo and first this season. It’s a move up for them, as their prior medals were in a 1-star and a 2-star, not a 4-star level event as in Ostrava.

The women’s tournament had an all-Brazilian final, the first since the 2018 Huntington Beach Open. In the end, it was Agatha Bednarczuk and Duda Lisboa winning their first tournament since the World Tour Finals in Hamburg in 2018, turning away the hot new pair for 2019, Ana Patricia Ramos and Rebecca Cavalcanti, in straight sets.

Not only had Agatha and Duda not won since lat season, they hadn’t won a medal. Ramos and Cavalcanti, on the other hand, had won five medals coming into Ostrava (3-1-1) and have to be one of the favorites for medal contention at the World Championships.

Not to be ignored was the continued good play of Americans Kerri Walsh Jennings and Brooke Sweat, who finished fourth here after winning in Jinjiang the previous week. Summaries:

FIVB World Tour
Ostrava (CZE) ~ 28 May-2 June 2019
(Full results here)

Men: 1. Anders Mol/Christian Sorum (NOR); 2. Ondrej Perusic/David Schweiner (CZE); 3. Grzegorz Fijalek/Michal Bryl (POL); 4. Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Oleg Stoyanovskiy (RUS). Semis: Perusic/Schweiner d. Fijalek/Bryl, 2-0; Mol/Sorum d. Krasilnikov/Stoyanovskiy, 2-0. Third: Fijalek/Bryl d. Krasilnikov/Stoyanovskiy, 2-1. Final: Mol/Sorum d. Perusic/Schweiner, 2-1 (17-21, 21-15, 15-10).

Women: 1. Agatha Bednarczuk/Duda Lisboa (BRA); 2. Ana Patricia Silva Ramos/Rebecca Cavalcanti (BRA); 3. Sanne Keizer/Madelein Meppelink (NED); 4. Kerri Walsh Jennings/Brooke Sweat (USA). Semis: Agatha/Duda d. Walsh Jennings/Sweat, 2-0; Ana Patricia/Rebecca d. Keizer/Meppelink, 2-0. Third: Keizer/Meppelink d. Walsh Jennings/Sweat, 2-0. Final: Agatha/Duda d. Ana Patricia/Rebecca, 2-0 (21-19, 21-17).

CYCLING: Carapaz the first Ecuadorian rider to capture the Giro d’Italia

By

Rich Perelman

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June 2, 2019

tsx pix 2019-602 carapaz wins giro 750 — The emotions flow as Richard Carapaz (ECU) realizes he has won the 102nd Giro d'Italia!

No one was talking about Richard Carapaz and the famous pink jersey – the Maglia Rosa – worn by the leader of the Giro d’Italia when the 102nd edition of the race started back on 11 May. They are talking about him now after his victory was confirmed at the end of Sunday’s time trials in Verona.

Before the race, it was expected that his Movistar team would be supporting Spanish star Mikel Landa in the run for the race victory. But while Landa did well, Carapaz was a revelation.

He wasn’t an unknown. He won a stage of the Giro in 2018, but had done nothing this season that would lead you to believe he could challenge for the Giro crown … and win it.

But after winning the fourth stage to move from 38th to 16th overall, he moved back in the standings slightly for a few stages and then put together a series of rides that catapulted him into the lead, which he never relinquished.

Carapaz’s life began to change with his 21st-place finish in stage 12 that moved him from 20th to eighth and then he spun off finishes of 4-1-5-6 over the mountain stages and moved into the lead after the 14th stage and held on through the finish.

He built his lead to a comfortable 1:54 over Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) going into Sunday’s time trial and while Nibali was brilliant, finishing ninth behind American Chad Haga, he could only cut 49 seconds off of Carapaz’s lead. Slovenian Primoz Roglic, the pre-race favorite, showed tired legs in finishing 10th, but regained third place overall (over Landa).

Haga got his first career World Tour victory and his second career win as a pro, having won the Prologue of the Tour of Elk Grove back in 2013! Fellow American Joe Dombrowski also had an excellent Giro, finishing in 12th overall; his prior best in three previous tries was a 34th-place finish in 2016. Summaries:

UCI World Tour/Giro d’Italia
Italy ~ 11 May-2 June 2019
(Full results here)

Stage 1 (8.0 km Time Trial): 1. Primoz Roglic (SLO), 12:54; 2. Simon Yates (GBR), 13:13; 3. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), 13:17; 4. Miguel Angel Lopez (COL), 13:22; 5. Tom Dumoulin (NED), 13:22. Also in the top 25: 21. Chad Haga (USA), 13:48.

Stage 2 (205.0 km): 1. Pascal Ackermann (GER), 4:44:43; 2. Elia Viviani (ITA), 4:44:43; 3. Caleb Ewan (AUS), 4:44:43; 4. Fernando Gaviria (COL), 4:44:43; 5. Arnaud Demare (FRA), 4:44:43.

Stage 3 (220.0 km): 1. Gaviria (COL), 5:23:19; 2. Demare (FRA), 5:23:19; 3. Ackermann (GER), 5:23:19; 4. Matteo Moschetti (ITA), 5;23:19; 5. Giocomo Nizzolo (ITA), 5:23:19. (Viviani (ITA) won the race, but was disqualified for impeding another rider at the finish.)

Stage 4 (235.0 km): 1. Richard Carapaz (ECU), 5:58:17; 2. Ewan (AUS), 5:58:17; 3. Diego Ulissi (ITA), 5:58:17; 4. Ackermann (GER), 5:58:19; 5. Florian Senechal (FRA), 5:58:19.

Stage 5 (140.0 km): 1. Ackermann (GER), 3:15:44; 2. Gaviria (COL), 3:15:44; 3. Demare (FRA), 3:15:44; 4. Ewan (AUS), 3:15:44; 5. Matteo Moschetti (ITA), 3:15:44. Also in the top 25: 13. Sean Bennett (USA), 3:15:44

Stage 6 (238.0 km): 1. Fausto Masnada (ITA), 5:45:01; 2. Valerio Conti (ITA), 5:45:06; 3. Jose Joaquin Rojas (ESP), 5:45:39; 4. Ruben Plaza (ESP), 5:45:39; 5. Giovanni Carboni (ITA), 5:45:44. Also in the top 25: 20. Brent Bookwalter (USA), 5:52:20.

Stage 7 (185.0 km): 1. Pello Bilbao (ESP), 4:06:27; 2. Tony Gallopin (FRA), 4:06:32; 3. Davide Formolo (ITA), 4:06:32; 4. Lucas Hamilton (AUS), 4:06:36; 5. Mattia Cattaneo (ITA), 4:06:36. Also in the top 25: 23. Joe Dombrowski (USA), 4:07:34.

Stage 8 (239.0 km): 1. Ewan (AUS), 5:43:32; 2. Viviani (ITA), 5:43:32; 3. Ackermann (GER), 5:43:32; 4. Fabio Sabatini (ITA), 5:43:32; 5. Manuel Belletti (ITA), 5:43:32.

Stage 9 (34.8 km Time Trial): 1. Roglic (SLO), 51:52; 2. Victor Campenaerts (BEL), 52:03; 3. Bauke Mollema (NED), 52:52; 4. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), 53:57; 5. Tanel Kangert (EST), 53:02. Also in the top 25: 6. Haga (USA), 53:06.

Stage 10 (145.0 km): 1. Demare (FRA), 3:36:07; 2. Viviani (ITA), 3:36:07; 3. Rudiger Selig (GER), 3:36:07; 4. Ewan (AUS), 3:36:07; 5. Nizzolo (ITA), 3:36:07. Also in the top 25: Bennett (USA), 3:36:07.

Stage 11 (221.0 km): 1. Ewan (AUS), 5:17:26; 2. Demare (FRA), 5:17:26; 3. Ackermann (GER), 5:17:26; 4. Viviani (ITA), 5:17:26; 5. Davide Cimolai (ITA), 5:17:26. Also in the top 25: 10. Bennett (USA), 5:17:26.

Stage 12 (158.0 km): 1. Cesare Benedetti (ITA), 3:41:49; 2. Damiano Caruso (ITA), 3:41:49; 3. Eddie Dunbar (IRL), 3:41:49; 4. Gianluca Brambilla (ITA), 3:41:51; 5. Eros Capecchi (ITA), 3:41:55.

Stage 13 (196.0 km): 1. Ilnur Zakarin (RUS), 5:34:40; 2. Mikel Nieve (ESP), 5:35:15; 3. Mikel Landa (ESP), 5:36:00; 4. Carapaz (ECU), 5:36:18; 5. Bauke Mollema (NED), 5:36:25. Also in the top 25: 13. Dombrowski (USA), 5:39:05.

Stage 14 (131.9 km): 1. Carapaz (ECU), 4:02:23; 2. S. Yates (GBR), 4:03:55; 3. Nibali (ITA), 4:04:17; 4. Rafal Majka (POL), 4:04:17; 5. Mikel Landa (ESP), 4:04:17. Also in the top 25: 9. Dombrowski (USA), 4:04:17; … 24. Sepp Kuss (USA), 4:09:43.

Stage 15 (232.0 km): 1. Dario Cataldo (ITA), 5:48:15; 2. Mattia Cattaneo (ITA), 5:48:15; 3. S. Yates (GBR), 5:48:26; 4. Hugh Carthy (GBR), 5:48:26; 5. Carapaz (ECU), 5:48:26. Also in the top 25: 22. Dombrowski (USA), 5:50:22.

Stage 16 (194.0 km): 1. Giulio Ciccone (ITA), 5:36:24; 2. Jan Hirt (CZE), 5:36:24; 3. Masnada (ITA), 5:37:44; 4. Nibali (ITA), 5:38:05; 5. Carthy (GBR), 5:38:05. Also in the top 25: 8. Dombrowski (USA), 5:38:05.

Stage 17 (181.0 km): 1. Nans Peters (FRA), 4:41:34; 2. Esteban Chaves (COL), 4:43:08; 3. Formolo (ITA), 4:43:25; 4. Masnada (ITA), 4:43:25; 5. Krists Neilands (LAT), 4:43:25.

Stage 18 (222.0 km): 1. Damiano Cima (ITA), 4:56:04; 2. Ackermann (GER), 4:56:04; 3. Simone Consonni (ITA), 4:56:04; 4. Florian Senechal (FRA), 4:56:04; 5. Ryan Gibbons (RSA), 4:56:04. Also in the top 25: 9. Bennett (USA), 4:56:04.

Stage 19 (151.0 km): 1. Chaves (COL), 4:01:31; 2. Andrea Vendrame (ITA), 4:01:41; 3. Amaro Antunes (POR), 4:01:43; 4. Giovanni Carboni (ITA), 4:01:55; 5. Pieter Serry (BEL), 4:02:03.

Stage 20 (194.0 km): 1. Pello Bilbao (ESP), 5:46:02; 2. Landa (ESP), 5:46:02; 3. Ciccone (ITA), 5:46:04; 4. Carapaz (ECU), 5:46:06; 5. Nibali (ITA), 5:46:06. Also in the top 25: 21. Dombrowski (USA), 5:49:27.

Stage 21 (17.0 km Time Trial): 1. Chad Haga (USA), 22:07; 2. Victor Campanaerts (BEL), 22:11; 3. Thomas de Gendt (BEL), 22:13; 4. Damiano Caruso (ITA), 22:16; 5. Tobias Ludvigsson (SWE), 22:18.

Final Standings: 1. Richard Carapaz (ECU), 90:01:47; 2. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), +1:05; 3. Primoz Roglic (SLO), +2:30; 4. Mikel Landa (ESP), +2:38; 5. Bauke Mollema (NED), +5:43; 6. Rafal Majka (POL), +6:56; 7. Miguel Angel Lopez (ESP), +7:26; 8. Simon Yates (GBR), +7:49; 9. Pavel Sivakov (RUS), +8:56; 10. Ilnur Zakarin (RUS), +12:14. Also in the top 25: 12. Joe Dombrowski (USA), +20:12.

TABLE TENNIS: Ma and Chen sweep Singles titles at China Open

By

Rich Perelman

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June 2, 2019

tsx pix 2019-331 long ma 750 (pierre-yves beaudouin) — China's Olympic champ Long Ma (Photo: Pierre-Yves Beaudouin via Wikimedia Commons)

There was plenty of speculation whether China would be able to – once again – sweep all five titles at the China Open stop of the ITTF World Tour. It didn’t happen, but there were familiar faces on the podium in the Singles events.

China’s 2016 Rio Olympic Champion Long Ma won his seventh China Open title by defeating countryman Gaoyuan Lin in the final, 4-0. Another former champ, the 2012 China Open Women’s Singles winner, Meng Chen, won her second title with a 4-1 triumph over defending champ Manyu Wang.

There was one more all-China final, as Yuting Gu and Shiwen Liu took the women’s Doubles crown over Wang and Yuling Zhu, 3-0.

But the other Doubles events can be counted as surprises. In men’s, Germany’s Timo Boll and Patrick Franziska defeated Ma and Chuqin Wang in the final, 3-0; it’s the second time in three years that someone other than a Chinese team has won. Interestingly, Boll and Ma teamed together to win in 2013, but faced each other this time.

In Mixed Doubles, Chinese Taipei’s Yun-Ju Lin and I -Ching Cheng whipped past Hong Kong’s Chun Ting Wong and Hoi Kem Doo. It’s the first-ever win for a Chinese Taipei entry in this tournament, which was founded back in 1988! Summaries:

ITTF World Tour/China Open
Shenzhen (CHN) ~ 30 May-2 June 2019
(Full results here)

Men/Singles: 1. Long Ma (CHN); 2. Gaoyuan Lin (CHN); 3. Tomokazu Harimoto (JPN) and Xin Xu (CHN), 4-2. Semis: Ma d. Harimoto, 4-1; Lin d. Xu, 4-2. Final: Ma d. Lin, 4-0.

Men/Doubles: 1. Timo Boll/Patrick Franziska (GER); 2. Long Ma/Chuqin Wang (CHN); 3. Youngsik Jeoung/Sangsu Lee (KOR) and Woojin Jang/Jonghoon Lim (KOR). Semis: Boll/Franziska d. Jang/Lim, 3-2; Ma/Wang d. Jeoung/Lee, 3-1. Final: Boll/Franziska d. Ma/Wang, 3-0.

Women/Singles: 1. Meng Chen (CHN); 2. Manyu Wang (CHN); 3. Mima Ito (JPN) and Yuling Zhu (CHN). Semis: Wang d. Ito, 4-1; Chen d. Zhu, 4-1. Final: Chen d. Wang, 4-1.

Women/Doubles: 1. Yuting Gu/Shiwen Liu (CHN); 2. Manyu Wang/Yuling Zhu (CHN); 3. Honami Nakamori/Satsuki Odo (JPN) and Hyo Sim Cha/Nam Hae Kim (PRK). Semis: Gu/Liu d. Nakamori/Odo, 3-2; Wang/Zhu d. Cha/Kim, 3-0. Final: Gu/Liu d. Wang/Zhu, 3-0.

Mixed Doubles: 1. Yun-Ju Lin/I-Ching Cheng (TPE); 2. Chun Ting Wong/Hoi Kem Doo (HKG); 3. Yu Song Ham/Hyo Sim Cha (PRK) and Koki Niwa/Mima Ito (JPN). Semis: Lin/Cheng d. Niwa/Ito, 3-2; Wong/Doo d. Ham/Cha, 3-2. Final: Lin/Cheng d. Wong/Doo, 3-1.

ARTISTIC SWIMMING: Inui shines again in Quebec City, Carbonell wins in Barcelona

By

Rich Perelman

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June 2, 2019

tsx pix 2019-602 carbonell, ona 750 (pierre-yves beaudouin) — Spanish Artistic Swimming star Ona Carbonell (Photo: Pierre-Yves Beaudouin via Wikimedia Commons)

Two legs of the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series overlapped this weekend with events in Quebec City (CAN) and Barcelona (ESP), with Japan’s Yukiko Inui continuing her outstanding season in the Solo events.

She won both the Solo Technical and the Solo Free in Quebec City, finishing ahead of Canada’s Jacqueline Simoneau in both for the second week in a row. Inui teamed with Megumu Yoshida and finished second to the 2014 Asian Games champions Xuechen Huang and Wenyan Sun of China.

In Barcelona, 2017 Worlds silver medalist Ona Carbonell of Spain won the Solo Technical, but Ukraine’s Marta Fiedina won the Solo Free and teamed with Anastasiya Savchuk to win both the Duet Technical and Duet Solo events. Russia was very impressive in both the Team Technical and Team Free events with tremendous execution and scores. Summaries:

FINA Artistic Swimming World Series
Quebec City (CAN) ~ 30 May-1 June 2019
(Full results here)

Solo Technical: 1. Yukiko Inui (JPN), 91.6105; 2. Jacqueline Simoneau (CAN), 89.4814; 3. Halle Pratt (CAN), 83.1117.

Solo Free: 1. Inui (JPN), 93.1667; 2. Simoneau (CAN), 90.8667; 3. Pratt (CAN), 85.6667.

Duet Technical: 1. Xuechen Huang/Wenyan Sun (CHN), 92.8409; 2. Yukiko Inui/Megumu Yoshida (JPN), 91.7778; 3. Claudia Holzner/Jacqueline Simoneau (CAN), 88.6612.

Duet Free: 1. Huang/Sun (CHN), 94.5667; 2. Inui/Yoshida (JPN), 92.9667; 3. Holzner/Simoneau (CAN), 90.1000.

Team Technical: 1. China,. 93.5677; 2. Canada, 87.7736; 3. Hungary, 75.7132.

Team Free: 1. China, 95.3667; 2. Canada, 89.9333; 3. Hungary, 77.4333.

Team Combination: 1. Canada, 80.0667; 2. Korea, 77.5667; 3. Hungary, 77.3000.

Team Highlight: 1. Canada, 80.3667; 2. Hungary, 77.6333; (only entrants).

Mixed Duet Technical: 1. Haoyi Shi/Yayi Zhang (CHN), 84.0853; 2. Aigerim Issayeva/Olzhas Makhanbetiyarov (KAZ), 72.0954; (only entrants).

Mixed Duet Free: 1. Wentao Cheng/Haoyi Shi (CHN), 84.100; (only entrant).

FINA Artistic Swimming World Series
Barcelona (ESP) ~ 31 May-2 June 2019
(Full results here)

Solo Technical: 1. Ona Carbonell (ESP), 90.0730; 2. Marta Fiedina (UKR), 89,9790; 3. Kate Shortman (GBR), 82.4228.

Solo Free: 1. Fiedina (UKR), 91.7000; 2. Mako Sawada (JPN), 85.6333; 3. Shortman (GBR), 85.6000. Also: 4. Anita Alvarez (USA), 84.333.

Duet Technical: 1. Marta Fiedina/Anastasiya Savchuk (UKR), 91.0077; 2. Paula Ramirez/Sara Saldana (ESP), 86.8509; 3. Charlotte Tremble/Laura Tremble (FRA), 85.7457. Also: 5. Anita Alvarez/Ruby Remati (USA), 83.2002.

Duet Free: 1. Fiedina/Savchuk (UKR), 93.1000; 2. Ona Carbonell/Paula Ramirez (ESP), 90.3000; 3. Tremble/Tremble (FRA), 87.6000. Also: 7. Anita Alvarez/Lindi Schroeder (USA), 84.6000.

Team Technical: 1. Russia, 95.3284; 2. Spain, 89.2455; 3. Mexico, 85.8775. Also: 6. United States, 85.1178.

Team Free: 1. Russia, 97.2333; 2. Ukraine, 94.2333; 3. Spain, 91.8000. Also: 8. United States, 85.8333.

Team Combination: 1. Ukraine, 92.6332; 2. Japan, 87.5668; 3. Spain, 86.4332.

Team Highlight: 1. Ukraine, 92.8333; 2. Spain, 90.1000; 3. France, 87.2000.

Mixed Duet Technical: 1. Mayya Gurbanberdieva/Alexsandr Maltsev (RUS), 90.4055; 2. Bill May/Natalia Vega (USA), 87.5144; 3. Emma Garcia/Pau Ribes (ESP), 84.9049.

Mixed Duet Free: 1. Gurbanberdieva/Maltsev (RUS), 92.4000; 2. Manila Flamini/Giorgio Minisini (ITA), 90.7333; 3. Garcia/Ribes (ESP). 88.8867.

THE BIG PICTURE: London Sunday Times says Russia covered up a doping violation for high jumper Lysenko

By

Rich Perelman

-

June 1, 2019

tsx pix 2019-601 lysenko, danil 750 — Russia's Danil Lysenko celebrating his World Indoor Championships title in 2018.

If it’s in a British newspaper, the headline has to be dramatic: “Russia faces new Olympics ban over doping” and “There can be no way back for Russia after latest doping scandal.”

Those are from the Sunday (2 June) editions of The Sunday Times of London (GBR), concerning a potentially significant new problem for Russia and doping:

“Sources have told The Sunday Times that officials from the Russian Athletics Federation conspired to help Danil Lysenko, the world indoor high jump champion, avoid a ban for failing to inform drug testers about his whereabouts last year.”

This cover-up would be a fresh violation of the worldwide anti-doping rules, which require athletes who are part of the active testing pool, to keep the anti-doping organization in their country aware of their location so that unannounced drug testing can take place. This procedure is known as “whereabouts” disclosure.

Apparently, documents were fabricated by individuals associated with the Russian Athletics Federation to help Lysenko avoid a ban and be excused from reporting his location.

Lysenko performed brilliantly in 2018, winning the World Indoor Championships high jump in Birmingham (GBR) and then setting a lifetime best of 2.40 m (7-10 1/2) to win his second straight IAAF Diamond League meet in Monaco last July. But his approval to compete in 2018 was withdrawn when the whereabouts issue surfaced last August, and he has been on “provisional suspension” since then.

That 2.40 m (7-10 1/2) mark gave Lysenko a tie for the best jump of the year with Qatar’s injured Mutaz Essa Barshim, who had cleared the height in May. But the Herculis meet on Monaco on 20 July was the last time anyone saw him in competition.

The IAAF’s Athletics Integrity Unit, a no-nonsense group, has already been investigating the matter.

The IAAF still has Russian Athletics Federation under suspension, awaiting the outcome of the data review acquired and validated by the World Anti-Doping Agency in January and then testing some of the thousands of samples retrieved from the former Russian Anti-Doping Agency’s Moscow Laboratory. It appeared that with the Moscow Lab data and samples in hand, the path for the IAAF to reinstate Russia was fairly clear.

Now, who knows?

Currently, the IAAF allows a limited number of Russian athletes to compete as “Approved Neutral Athletes” (ANA), following applications submitted by the Russian Athletic Federation and then reviewed by a three-member IAAF working group. According to the Russian TASS News Agency, the Russian federation has received applications from 306 athletes to compete, of which 296 have been submitted to the IAAF by 31 May. But only 67 have been approved for international competition in 2019 so far.

The IAAF’s Russian suspension, which began in 2015 with the disclosure of the massive state-run doping scandal in the country from 2011-15, is reviewed continuously by a special working group chaired by Rune Andersen (NOR). The next review is due at the IAAF Council meeting in Monaco later this month.

It appears Andersen and his team will be busy well before then.

For now, this is about track & field and not about the entire Russian team, and any broad ban of Russia from the 2020 Tokyo Games would have to come from the International Olympic Committee. That’s not happening, at least not yet.

SWIMMING: King sweeps Efimova, but Flickinger and Hosszu also claim world leaders in Champs Series finale

By

Rich Perelman

-

June 1, 2019

tsx pix 120218 flickinger hali 750 (Red&Blk) — U.S. swim star Hali Flickinger

The final day of the final stop in the inaugural FINA Champions Swim Series in Indianapolis saw three world-leading swims, and further confirmation that Lilly King owns the women’s breaststroke events:

● King completed a sweep of the 50-100-200 m Breaststroke swims, beating Russian Yulia Efimova for the third straight time, winning the 100 m event in a world-leading 1:05.13. King shot off the blocks with the fastest reaction time and had a 1.18-second lead over Efimova at the turn and even though she gave some back, won by daylight in 0.38. Very impressive.

● American Hali Flickinger, sitting second on the world list for 2019, faced list-leader Katinka Hosszu of Hungary in an interesting 1-2 showdown. But the race started with Kelsi Dahlia of the U.S. taking the first-lap lead, but then Flickinger picked up the pace on the third lap and built a body-length lead on Hosszu on her way to 2:06.40-2:07.87 victory. Flickinger had been the world leader earlier in the year and is now again.

● Hosszu was not to be denied in her specialty, however, the 200 m Medley. Already the world leader at 2:08.55, she fell well behind Canada’s Sydney Pickrem and was down by 1:29 seconds heading into the final lap of freestyle. But the jets came on and Hosszu clocked a very impressive 29.31 on her final 50 to overtake Pickrem with a few meters left and touch first at 2:08.50 – a new world leader – against 2:08.61 for Pickrem, moving the Canadian to no. 2 on the world list for 2019.

All together, there were five world leaders in the two days in Indianapolis:

● Women/100 m Butterfly: 56.42, Sarah Sjostrom (SWE)
● Women/50 m Breast: 29.63, Lilly King (USA)
● Women/100 m Breast: 1:05.13, Lilly King (USA)
● Women/200 m Butterfly: 2:06.40, Hali Flickinger (USA)
● Women/200 m Medley: 2:08.50, Katinka Hosszu (HUN)

There were lots of other highlights and many of them had something to do with Swedish superstar Sjostrom. She had won four of her five events in Guangzhou, all five in Budapest and took 100 m Fly and 100 m Free on Friday.

She started well on Saturday with a win in the women’s 50 m Fly (25.48), but then ran into a buzzsaw named Pernille Blume (DEN) in the 50 m Free. Sjostrom had the lead heading to the wall, but Blume overcame her in the final 10 m and touched first, 24.08-24.18 in a seasonal best for Blume that continued her as no. 3 on the 2019 list.

Sjostrom went into the women’s 200 m Free at the end of the program with a chance to sweep the Champions Series in that event. But she looked tired and Canada’s Penny Oleksiak – who had been having a rough meet – dominated in winning in 1:57.18, with Leah Smith (USA) second and Sjostrom third.

Still, Sjostrom raced 15 times in three meet across three continents, winning 12 times and leading the money table with $142,000 for 12 wins, two seconds and a third.

Four swimmers came into Indianapolis with chances to complete a sweep of the Champions Swim Series – in eight events – and all four won their triple, with Sjostrom getting three:

● Men/100 m Free: Pieter Timmers (BEL)
● Men/200 m Breast: Anton Chupkov (RUS)
● Men/50 m Fly: Nicholas Santos (BRA)

● Women/100 m Free: Sarah Sjostrom (SWE)
● Women/50 m Fly: Sjostrom
● Women/100 m Fly: Sjostrom
● Women/200 m Medley: Katinka Hosszu (HUN)

In the men’s racing, everyone was out to get double Olympic champ Ryan Murphy in the Backstroke events. American teammates Jacob Pebley (200 m) and Matt Grevers (50 m) managed to out-touch Murphy in both of Saturday’s events by 0.13 (Grevers) and 0.16 (Pebley).

Michael Andrew finally got a win in the Champions Swim Series, with a 51.87 effort in the 100 m Fly, out-touching Piero Codia (ITA), who finished in 52.22.

Prize money was $10,000-8,000-6,000-5,000 for the four placers in the individual events. Summaries:

FINA Champions Swim Series
Indianapolis, Indiana (USA) ~ 31 May-1 June 2019
(Full results here)

Men

50 m Freestyle: 1. Vladimir Morozov (RUS), 21.65; 2. Michael Andrew (USA), 21.86; 3. Bruno Fratus (BRA), 22.202; 4. Anthony Ervin (USA), 22.68.

100 m Free: 1. Pieter Timmers (NED), 48.36; 2. Morozov (RUS), 49.47; 3. Townley Haas (USA), 49.80; 4. Fratus (BRA), 49.90.

200 m Free: 1. Danas Rapsys (LTU), 1:45.56; 2. Haas (USA), 1:47.09; 3. Gabriele Detti (ITA), 1:47.29; 4. Pieter Timmers (BEL), 1:48.74.

400 m Free: 1. Detti (ITA), 3:46.13; 2. Rapsys (LTU), 3:46.23; 3. Mykhallo Romanchuk (UKR), 3:49.92; 4. Townley Haas (USA), 3:55.42.

50 m Backstroke: 1. Matt Grevers (USA), 24.78; 2. Ryan Murphy (USA), 24.91; 3. Robert Glinta (ROU), 24.99; 4. Morozov (RUS), 25.16.

100 m Back: 1. Murphy (USA), 52.99; 2. Grevers (USA), 53.37; 3. Jacob Pebley (USA), 53.40; 4. Glinta (ROU), 54.33.

200 m Back: 1. Pebley (USA), 1:56.35; 2. Murphy (USA), 1:56.51; 3. Grevers (USA), 1:59.47; 4. Rapsys (LTU), 2:14.02.

50 m Breaststroke: 1. Joao Gomes Jr. (BRA), 26.60; 2. Felipe Lima (BRA), 26.72; 3. Fabio Scozzoli (ITA), 27.40; 4. Andrew (USA), 27.42.

100 m Breast: 1. Cody Miller (USA), 59.26; 2. Arno Kamminga (NED), 59.72; 3. Anton Chupkov (RUS), 59.90; 4. Kevin Cordes (USA), 1:01.27.

200 m Breast: 1. Chupkov (RUS), 2:08.98; 2. Dmitriy Balandin (KAZ), 2:10.02; 3. Kamminga (NED), 2:10.04; 4. Josh Prenot (USA), 2:11.79.

50 m Butterfly: 1. Nicholas Santos (BRA), 22.94; 2. Andrew (USA), 23.11; 3. Andrii Govorov (UKR), 23.14; 4. Oleg Kostin (RUS), 23.29.

100 m Fly: 1. Andrew (USA), 51.87; 2. Piero Codia (ITA), 52.22; 3. Jack Conger (USA), 52.56; 4. Govorov (UKR), 54.49.

200 m Fly: 1. Chase Kalisz (USA), 1:56.91; 2. Justin Wright (USA), 1:57.93; 3. Zach Harting (USA), 1:58.83; 4. Conger (USA), 1:58.96.

200 m Medley: 1. Kalisz (USA), 1:58.41; 2. Andrew (USA), 2:00.08; 3. Josh Prenot (USA), 2:01.13; 4. Harting (USA), 2:08.33.

Women

50 m Freestyle: 1. Pernille Blume (DEN), 24.08; 2. Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 24.18; 3. Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED), 24.56; 4. Farida Osman (EGY), 25.08.

100 m Free: 1. Sjostrom (SWE), 52.97; 2. Blume (DEN), 53.68; 3. Kromowidjojo (NED), 53.72; 4. Penny Oleksiak (CAN), 54.22.

200 m Free: 1. Oleksiak (CAN), 1:57.18; 2. Leah Smith (USA), 1:57.84; 3. Sjostrom (SWE), 1:57.92; 4. Melanie Margalis (USA), 1:58.85.

400 m Free: 1. L. Smith (USA), 4:03.86; 2. Margalis (USA), 4:06.35; 3. Hali Flickinger (USA), 4:09.72; 4. Katinka Hosszu (HUN), 4:12.30.

50 m Backstroke: 1. tie, Kylie Masse (CAN), and Anastasiia Fesikova (RUS), 28.20; 3. Kromowidjojo (NED), 28.71; 4. Etiene Medeiros (BRA), 28.85.

100 m Back: 1. Masse (CAN), 59.13; 2. Margherita Panziera (ITA), 59.45; 3. Fesikova (RUS), 1:00.68; 4. Hosszu (HUN), 1:00.95.

200 m Back: 1. Panziera (ITA), 2:06.64; 2. Hosszu (HUN), 2:06.94; 3. Masse (CAN), 2:07.59; 4. Fesikova (RUS), 2:12.41.

50 m Breaststroke: 1. Lilly King (USA), 29.63; 2. Yuliya Efimova (RUS), 29.93; 3. Molly Hannis (USA), 30.40; 4. Bethany Galat (USA), 31.72.

100 m Breast: 1. King (USA), 1:05.13; 2. Efimova (RUS), 1:05.51; 3. Hannis (USA), 1:07.26; 4. Micah Sumrall (USA), 1:07.45.

200 m Breast: 1. King (USA), 2:21.29; 2. Efimova (RUS), 2:21.59; 3. Sumrall (USA), 2:23.88; 4. Galat (USA), 2:24.33.

50 m Butterfly: 1. Sjostrom (SWE), 25.48; 2. Osman (EGY), 25.95; 3. Kromowidjojo (NED), 26.01; 4. Kelsi Dahlia (USA), 26.14.

100 m Butterfly: 1. Sjostrom (SWE), 56.42; 2. Dahlia (USA), 57.55; 3. Oleksiak (CAN), 58.44; 4. Farida Osman (EGY), 58.67.

200 m Fly: 1. Flickinger (USA), 2:06.40; 2. Hosszu (HUN), 2:07.87; 3. Dahlia (USA), 2:10.25; 4. L. Smith (USA), 2:14.04.

200 m Medley: 1. Hosszu (HUN), 2:08.50; 2. Sydney Pickrem (CAN), 2:08.61; 3. Melanie Margalis (USA), 2:10.41; 4. Flickinger (USA), 2:13.31.

Mixed

4×100 m Freestyle: 1. Team 4 (Michael Andrew/USA, Jacob Pebley/USA, Kelsi Dahlia/USA, Ranomi Kromowidjojo/NED), 3:28.27; 2. Team 2 (Ryan Murphy/USA, Nicholas Santos/BRA, Etiene Medeiros/BRA, Kylie Masse/CAN), 3:30.94; 3. Team 3 (Jack Conger/USA, Cody Miller/USA, Sydney Pickrem/AUS, Hali Flickinger/USA), 3:33.85; 4. Team 1 (Zach Harting/USA, Josh Prenot/USA, Lilly King/USA, Yuliya Efimova/RUS), 3:39.13.

4×100 m Medley: 1. Team 4 (Jacob Pebley/USA, King/USA, Conger/USA, Kromowidjojo/NED), 3:46.21; 2. Team 1 (Masse/CAN, Efimova/RUS, Santos/BRA, Townley Haas/USA), 3:47.01; 3. Team 3 (Medeiros/BRA, Kamminga/NED, Dahlia/USA, Andrii Govorov/UKR), 3:48.64; 4. Team 2 (Anastasiia Fresikova/RUS, Pickrem/AUS, Andrew/USA, Vladimir Morozov/RUS), 3:51.61.

CYCLING: Attacks galore, but Carapaz minds the store to all but clinch Giro d’Italia crown

By

Rich Perelman

-

June 1, 2019

tsx pix 2019-601 bilbao wins giro 20 750 — Spain's Pello Bilbao surges at the end to win Stage 20 of the Giro d'Italia!

Everyone knew what was coming, most of all Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz, the race leader of the 102nd Giro d’Italia. Saturday’s final mountain stage was the last real chance for someone to challenge him and he was determined that it was not going to happen.

And it didn’t.

There were multiple breakaway attempts, but Carapaz rode with all of them. Colombia’s Miguel Angel Lopez attacked as the race climbed to the highest point of the entire Giro d’Italia, the 2,047 m (6,716 feet!) Passo Manghen, which dropped Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic and Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali, but Carapaz stayed close.

Italy’s Fauto Masnada crossed the top of the peak in front and continued the lead on the long descent. Nibali made it back to the chasing group (including Carapaz) and Carapaz simply stayed with the Italian star over the next-to-last climb, the Passo Rolle, to stay out of trouble.

The final climb to the finish up the Croce d’Aune saw multiple attacks and multiple crashes. A fan running alongside Spain’s Lopez fell into him when he collided with another fan with about 5 km left. Lopez slapped him aside as he recovered and continued riding, but it took him out of contention.

Roglic also had fan issues as one spectator tried to help him up the Croce d’Aune by pushing him! Roglic didn’t seem to mind the support and for allowing the push was penalized 10 seconds by the race jury afterwards.

In the meantime, Nibali attacked with 4 km left and then again with 1.8 km remaining, but could not shake Carapaz. There were six riders in the front group now and Spain’s Pello Bailbao came around the group to pass Mikel Landa (ESP) at the line for the stage win.

However, Carapaz maintain his lead of 1:54 over Nibali, with Landa now third (+2:53) and Roglic fourth (+3:06). There’s little doubt that Carapaz will win now – the first from Ecuador to win the Giro d’Italia – although Nibali will likely close the final gap. Look for Roglic to pass Landa for third in the final standings thanks to his great ability in time trials. Summaries so far: