CYCLING
Froome extends lead on tough day at Tour
Chris Froome fiercely defended – and even extended – the overall lead in the Tour de France on an ultra-tough day of high drama and punishing climbs in eastern France’s Jura mountains on Sunday, seeing both his top teammate and one of his top rivals crash out and surviving daredevil descents at speeds exceeding 45 miles per hour.
Getting through Stage 9 unscathed, arguably the toughest of this Tour’s 21 stages, marked a crucial step in the three-time champion’s campaign for a fourth win.
The last descent of the day with seven climbs saw a terrifying high-speed crash involving Richie Porte, who had been fifth overall but is now out of the race.
MMA
UFC: UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes says sinusitis is the reason she dropped out of her title defense at UFC 213 with just a few hours’ notice.
Nunes revealed her condition in postings Sunday on Twitter and Instagram.
Nunes says she felt out of breath during her weight cut and “felt off balance from the pressure in my sinuses. I was not feeling well enough to risk getting punched in the head with such pressure.”
AUTO RACING
FORMULA ONE: Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas made a great start from pole position to win the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg, Austria, while Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel finished just behind in second to extend his championship lead over main rival Lewis Hamilton to 20 points.
Bottas did just enough to hold off Vettel’s late charge, with the German driver crossing the line 0.6 seconds behind.
• Helio Castroneves dominated the IndyCar race at Iowa Speedway for his first victory since 2014.
J.R. Hildebrand was a career-best second, followed by Ryan Hunter-Reay, Will Power and Graham Rahal.
BASKETBALL
WNBA: Brittney Sykes scored 12 of her 18 points in the decisive third quarter and the Atlanta Dream beat the Dallas Wings 98-78 in Atlanta.
Sykes was one short of her career-high and the rookie had eight rebounds.
• Brittney Griner had 31 points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots to help the Phoenix Mercury beat the New York Liberty 81-69 in Phoenix.
SOCCER
PREMIER LEAGUE: Romelu Lukaku has confirmed he will be joining Manchester United from Everton.
Pre-empting an official announcement by the club, the Belgium striker said in an interview with ESPN that he chose United despite a late offer from Premier League champion Chelsea, his former team.
• Chelsea has signed defender Antonio Ruediger from Roma ahead of its Premier League title defense.
The 24-year-old Ruediger signed a five-year deal on Sunday, a week after winning the Confederations Cup with Germany in Russia.
TRACK AND FIELD
DOPING: The reigning Olympic and world champion in the men’s 50-kilometer race-walk, Matej Toth, has been suspended over an alleged breach of anti-doping rules.
The IAAF’s Athletics Integrity Unit said Sunday that the Slovakian was provisionally suspended due to irregularities in his biological passport, which tracks blood data over time for signs of drug use.
He faces a four-year ban.
– News service report
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