Auto Racing
Larson wins Nationwide race for second win this season
CONCORD, N.C. – Kyle Larson raced to his second Nationwide Series victory of the season Saturday, holding off Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The 21-year-old Larson passed Keselowski on the 118th lap in the 200-lap race and led the rest of the way.
Larson also won at Fontana.
Keselowski was second, followed by Busch, Kevin Harvick and Brian Scott.
Mercedes ’mates to start 1-2 for Monaco Grand Prix
MONACO – Nico Rosberg took pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix in controversial circumstances Saturday, ahead of his unhappy Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo.
The Mercedes pair went out for one final qualifying lap with less than a minute remaining, and Rosberg lost control coming out of the Mirabeau turn, sliding down an escape road. After Rosberg backed out onto the circuit, a yellow flag came up which meant that Hamilton could not improve on his time.
It’s the second pole of the season for Rosberg. Hamilton has the other four.
Rosberg’s leading time was 1 minute, 15.989 seconds, with Hamilton clocking 1:16.048 and Ricciardo a 1:16.384.
Hamilton has won the past four races and leads the overall standings by three points from Rosberg.
Four-time defending champion Sebastian Vettel of Germany finished fourth, while Fernando Alonso of Ferrari was fifth.
Cycling
Battaglin battles for victory; Evans cuts Uran’s Giro lead
OROPA, Italy – Enrico Battaglin sprinted to victory on a tough uphill finish to claim the 14th stage of the Giro d’Italia on Saturday as the race hit the first of the high mountains.
The Italian came from behind to overtake Jarlinson Pantano in the final 50 meters and edge out Dario Cataldo on the line after a climb to the sanctuary of Oropa, the scene of Marco Pantani’s memorable victory in 1999.
Pantano finished seven seconds behind.
Rigoberto Uran of Colombia retained the overall lead but saw his advantage cut on the 102-mile route from Aglie.
Cadel Evans – who wore the pink jersey earlier in the race – gained five seconds and now is 32 seconds behind Uran.
Hockey
Finland and Russia will play for the world championship
MINSK, Belarus – Russia beat defending champion Sweden 3-1 on Saturday in a matchup of the last two title holders to advance to the final of the ice hockey world championships.
It was the ninth consecutive victory at the tournament for Russia, which is one win away from its second title in three years.
Finland blanked the Czech Republic 3-0 in the other semifinal Saturday to set up the final against Russia.
Tennis
Four ATP/WTA tournaments wrap before French Open
DUESSELDORF, Germany – Top-seeded, 30-year-old Philipp Kohlschreiber claimed his fifth ATP World Tour trophy by defeating Ivo Karlovic of Croatia 6-2, 7-6 (4) in the Duesseldorf Open final on Saturday.
NICE, France – Second-seeded Ernests Gulbis of Latvia maintained his perfect record in finals as he swept aside Federico Delbonis 6-1, 7-6 (5) to win the Open de Nice on Saturday for his sixth tournament victory on the ATP Tour.
NUREMBERG, Germany – Second-seeded, 20-year-old Eugenie Bouchard of Canada defeated Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 on Saturday to win the Nuremberg Cup for her first WTA title.
STRASBOURG, France – Monica Puig became the first Puerto Rican player to win a WTA title Saturday by beating Silvia Soler-Espinosa of Spain 6-4, 6-3 in the Strasbourg International final.
Associated Press
