Cycling
Contador makes it six with another Spanish Vuelta win
SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain – Alberto Contador won the Spanish Vuelta for a third time Sunday after protecting his lead on the 21st and final stage, giving the Spaniard his sixth grand tour title.
Contador entered the concluding 6-mile individual time trial with a healthy lead of 1 minute, 37 seconds over fellow former Tour de France winner Chris Froome and focused on avoiding any slips on the rain-slick streets.
Froome finished the race second, and Alejandro Valverde completed the podium.
Adriano Malori of Italy won the stage.
Contador won the Vuelta in 2008 and 2012 and clinched the Giro d’Italia in 2008.
The 31-year-old won the Tour de France in 2007 and 2009, but was stripped of a third Tour win in 2010 for doping.
Wiggins can’t squeak past Van Baarle at Tour of Britain
LONDON – Dutch rider Dylan van Baarle won the Tour of Britain on Sunday, holding onto the lead despite a strong time trial by former champion Bradley Wiggins on a final day featuring two stages in central London.
Van Baarle, who rides for Garmin-Sharp, finished 10 seconds clear of Poland’s Michal Kwiatkowski. Wiggins was third, a further 12 seconds back.
Wiggins, the Tour de France and Olympic champion in 2012, moved up from seventh to third by winning the time trial in the morning’s next-to-last stage.
Golf
Casey’s cruise hits a bump, keeps on rolling toward win
ZANDVOORT, Netherlands – Paul Casey shot a four-under 66 Sunday to win the KLM Open at 14 under, a single shot ahead of fellow Englishman Simon Dyson.
Casey looked to be cruising to victory before recording his only bogey of the day at the par-three 15th. He followed that with a wild tee shot on the 16th but his second shot out of the rough landed wide and bounced onto the green, giving him two putts for par.
Dyson, looking for his fourth KLM Open title, birdied the 18th to move within a shot of the lead, but Casey comfortably closed out with pars on the 17th and 18th for his 13th European Tour title.
A drink of fresh water: teenager wins the Evian title
EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France – South Korean teenager Hyo-Joo Kim beat Australian veteran Karrie Webb by one shot on Sunday to win the Evian Championship and become the third youngest major winner at 19 years, 2 months.
Kim trailed the 39-year-old Webb by one shot heading into the final hole. But she turned the tables with a superb birdie from 12 feet out, and Webb then missed a chance to force a playoff when a difficult attempt for par from the same distance drifted left of the hole.
Kim led Webb by one shot overnight, and they both posted 3-under rounds of 68 in perfect playing conditions, with no clouds or wind to disrupt them.
Webb was looking to win her eighth career major and first since Kraft Nabisco in 2006.
Greg Norman recovering from chain-saw accident
ATLATNA – Greg Norman is recovering from a chain-saw accident that nearly cost him his left hand, but not his sense of humor.
Norman said Sunday morning, “At least I can still play tennis.”
Norman was cutting back some trees in his South Florida home when the weight of a branch pulled his left hand toward the chain saw. He says he was lucky the saw wasn’t running full speed or it would have taken off his hand.
He posted a photo on Instagram from the hospital bed of his heavily bandaged left hand protected by a large piece of purple foam. The post said: “Work with a chainsaw ALWAYS be respectful of the unexpected. I was one lucky man today. Damaged, but not down & out. Still have left hand.”
Associated Press
