Auto Racing
CONCORD, N.C. – Rain washed out all track activity Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which will now try to cram it’s All-Star weekend into one day.
The steady showers forced NASCAR to call off the scheduled Sprint Showdown, a race that will send five drivers not already qualified for the All-Star race, into the main event. The Truck Series race also was postponed.
Both events were rescheduled for early Saturday, with the $1 million All-Star Race still scheduled to go off in the evening. NASCAR set the showdown field by points.
The lack of track time Friday could be problematic for many race teams. NASCAR only announced the format for the all-star race on May 6, and the rules were not given to teams until earlier this week.
Cycling
ASPEN – For the second consecutive year, Lance Armstrong will lead a 50-mile bike ride through the Aspen area that kicks off the summer cycling season.
The Aspen Daily News reported that Armstrong won’t be paid for his role in the Aspen Gran Fondo on June 11.
Aspen’s director of special events and marketing Nancy Lesley says participants seem to enjoy the camaraderie of the ride and riding with Armstrong.
The part-time Aspen resident has competed in local biking and running events and is a regular on hiking and mountain biking trails in the area. But he’s banned from competing in elite events because of his use of performance-enhancing drugs during his record-setting cycling career.
FOLSOM, Calif. – Rohan Dennis delivered a blistering performance to win the Stage 6 time trial at the Tour of California on Friday, while Julian Alaphilippe did enough to retain his overall lead.
Dennis covered the 12.6-mile course in 24 minutes, 16 seconds. American rider Andrew Talansky was 17 seconds back in second, and Taylor Phinney was 20 seconds behind in third.
The big question was whether Alaphilippe, a strong climber but average time trialist, could minimize his losses. He wound up finishing eighth, just 45 seconds behind the winning time, to keep a 16-second lead over Dennis heading into the penultimate stage.
Earlier, TWENTY16-Ridebiker won the women’s team time trial over the same course, followed by Boels Dolmans and UnitedHealthcare. Megan Guarnier retained the overall lead.
CIVIDALE DEL FRIULI, Italy – Andrey Amador became the first rider from Costa Rica to wear the pink jersey at the Giro d’Italia, while Mikel Nieve won the first big mountain stage on Friday.
Nieve got into a breakaway and launched a solo attack on the third of four categorized climbs in Stage 13.
A Spaniard with Sky, Nieve clocked just over 4½ hours over the 106-mile route from Palmanova to Cividale del Friuli. Nieve finished 43 seconds ahead of second-place Giovanni Visconti, and 1:17 ahead of third-place Vincenzo Nibali, who edged overall rival Alejandro Valverde in a sprint for the final podium spot.
Golf
IRVING, Texas – Ben Crane made a 14-foot birdie putt on his last hole Friday for a 7-under 63 and a one-stroke lead after two rounds at the Byron Nelson.
At 12-under 128, Crane was one stroke ahead of Jordan Spieth, Sergio Garcia, Brooks Koepka and Bud Cauley.
Spieth had a 65.
Associated Press
