Sports FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2013 Mollema wins 17th Tour stage

MADRID: Dutch rider Bauke Mollema of the Belkin team However, several riders lost time after cracks appeared won the 17th stage of the Tour of Spain in Burgos yester- in the peloton when Ireland’s Nicolas Roche and his Saxo- day as Italy’s retained the overall race Tinkoff team attacked in crosswinds with just under 30 leader’s red jersey. Mollema, 26, attacked at the end of the kilometres to go. France’s and Italy’s 189-km ride from Calahorra to take the stage win ahead of Domenico Pozzovivo were among the riders worst affect- Sky’s Norwegian rider and ed, with both losing 1min 31sec on Nibali. Argentina’s Maximiliano Richeze, of Lampre, who were “It was a stage in which we needed to be wary from second and third respectively. The Dutchman’s move com- beginning to end. On paper it looked easy, but we saw pletely took by surprise the peloton, containing the lead- what happened to two riders with high hopes in ing riders in the general classification, to recover some Pozzovivo and Pinot,” commented Valverde at the finish. pride from a race in which he had been left trailing in the While Pozzovivo and Pinot sit more than five and six min- overall standings. “I knew that this was my only chance to utes behind Nibali respectively, Roche climbs back into win a stage,” Mollema told Spanish television at the end of the top five in the overall standings, 3min 43sec behind a stage that had been earmarked as one for the sprinters. “I the overall leader. Horner sits second at 28sec, with came to the Vuelta with ambitions to do well in the gener- Valverde third at 1min 14sec and Rodriguez fourth at SPAIN: Belkin’s Dutch rider Bauke Mollema celebrates winning as he al classification, my team had designated me for that role, 2min 29sec. This year’s Vuelta concludes in Madrid on crosses the finish line after the 17th day of the 68th edition of ‘La Vuelta’ but it hasn’t been possible and so we decided to go for Sunday but, before that, the peloton must prepare for a Tour of Spain. —AFP stage wins instead,” added Mollema, who became some- first-category finish yesterday on the Pena Cabarga, where thing of a cult hero in his native on his way to ‘Purito’ Rodriguez won in 2010. And on Saturday there will finishing sixth at this year’s . be a finish atop the unclassified Alto de l’Angliru, at an Nibali and his principle rivals - the American veteran altitude of 1,557 metres. “I like this climb,” said Nibali, win- Chris Horner of RadioShack and Spanish duo Alejandro ner of this year’s Giro d’Italia and the 2010 Vuelta, of the Woods happy to be back at Valverde of Movistar and Joaquim Rodriguez of Katusha - Pena Cabarga. “I know it well from 2010 and 2011. In 2010, reached the finish just behind Mollema and were given I remember that Puriot was very good. We will see. It is a Chicago hunting ground the same time as the stage winner. great finish.”— AFP LAKE FOREST: With his ailing second in the points standings, back much improved after a one- behind Swede Henrik Stenson week break from the PGA Tour, an who took over at the top by win- upbeat Tiger Woods will tee off in ning the Deutsche Bank late yesterday’s opening round of Championship nine days ago. the BMW Championship in pur- While Woods finished a lowly suit of his sixth win this season. 65th at the Deutsche Bank after Though the American world closing with a two-over 73 in low- number one will be competing scoring conditions, he was espe- for the first time on the par-71 lay- cially pleased to have the next out at Conway Farms Golf Club, week off to work on his problem he boasts an impressive record in back. the Chicago area. “That was nice,” the 14-times Not only has Woods twice major champion smiled. “It was clinched the PGA Championship nice to have that week of treat- at nearby Medinah, but he has ment and strengthening, so that also visited the winner’s circle on was all good. And I was practising five occasions at Cog Hill, twice in towards the end of the week.” the BMW Championship and Woods had collapsed to his three times in its predecessor, the knees in pain with a back spasm SAN FRANCISCO: Oracle Team USA sails near the Golden Gate Bridge before the 34th America’s Cup in this file Western Open. on the 13th hole during the final photo. — AFP “Obviously it’s very different round of The Barclays in New compared to Cog Hill and Jersey, the opening playoff event, Oracle Team could replace Medinah, but it is a nice track,” forcing him to limit his practice Woods said of Conway Farms time at the Deutsche Bank after playing there in the pro-am Championship. tactician in America’s Cup competition on a muggy With his caddie, Joe LaCava, Wednesday. having scouted out the Conway SAN FRANCISCO: A blunder on Tuesday that led to a Zealand. Oracle was winning the race on Tuesday when it “It’s a little confined in the Farms layout earlier this week, commanding victory for Emirates Team Zealand and tried to do something that has never before been done - sense that it’s going to be inter- Woods likes the look of a relative- prompted Oracle Team USA to call an unusual time-out in to lift its foils out of the water while tacking. But the team esting to see how they’re going ly short course where birdies the 34th America’s Cup regatta might have cost sailor bungled the maneuver, almost stopped dead and gave to get the gallery around here, should be plentiful. John Kostecki his job. up an eight-second lead. especially on the front nine, the “We know we’ve got some eas- The 49-year-old American was nowhere to be seen Criticism was also heaped on Oracle for heading to the bottlenecks over on (holes) five ier holes out there, and if you when software magnate Larry Ellison’s team got back on right side of the upwind leg near Alcatraz Island to escape and six. drive the ball well here, you’re its 72-foot catamaran for a practice run on Wednesday current, allowing the Kiwis to use better wind in the cen- “All the times I’ve been in going to have a lot of eight-irons after Tuesday’s devastating loss. Acclaimed British sailor ter of the course to get ahead. The team used a so-called Chicago, it’s a great sporting on down, and those are some Sir Ben Ainslie, who has been at the helm of Oracle’s sec- postponement card to skip the second race of the day. town. They come out and support scoring clubs,” Woods said. ond yacht during training matches, took his place. Skipper Jimmy Spithill said Oracle would return to the Oracle representatives did not immediately respond to water to figure out how to make the hard-to-handle twin- their events. This will be a fun “There’s a lot of funneling calls and emails asking for confirmation that Ainslie would hulled yacht move faster before two races scheduled for crowd.” Asked by a reporter what where you can get to some of replace Kostecki as the tactician when Oracle again faces Thursday. Asked at a post-race press conference if he considered as his single great- these pins. You don’t have to fire Team New Zealand for two races late yesterday. Kostecki would be fired, Spithill said, “I can’t guarantee est moment in the Chicago area, right at the flag, you can funnel it The government-backed Kiwis have won four of the anything. I can’t guarantee I’ll be there.” An international Woods replied: “Probably in there. You can get the ball nine races they need to take the Auld Mug, as they call the jury expelled Kostecki’s brother-in-law, first-choice wing Medinah, winning there twice.” pretty stiff. The scores are going silver trophy, back to their tiny, sailing-crazed island trimmer Dirk de Ridder, after finding he and other team When twice pressed to narrow to be low.” Woods, who has tri- nation. Because of a jury-imposed penalty, Oracle must members illegally modified smaller, prototype boats used that ‘moment’ down to just one, umphed a season-high five times finish first in 11 races - two more than New Zealand. in warm-up regattas. Kostecki grew up sailing on San Woods grinned while replying on the 2013 PGA Tour, has been Ainslie, 36, has won four Olympic gold medals and is Francisco Bay and is said to have been hired as Oracle’s each time: “Winning there twice.” grouped with Stenson and considered one of the most decorated sailors of all time. tactician because of his insider knowledge. Asked at a Woods heads into the third of Masters champion Adam Scott Though Oracle flies the American flag, the loss of Kostecki press conference on Sunday if his local knowledge had the PGA Tour’s four lucrative for the first two rounds at would leave only one U.S. sailor on the team, trimmer given him a leg up on the Kiwis, he replied, “I think these FedExCup playoff events ranked Conway Farms. — Reuters Rome Kirby. All but two of the Kiwi sailors hail from New guys know the Bay pretty well.”— Reuters