CYCLING
On a day of mixed feelings for the home nation, rookie Nans Peters won the eighth stage of the Tour de France following a long breakaway in the Pyrenees, while fellow Frenchman Thibaut Pinot’s love-hate relationship with cycling’s marquee event continued.
Peters was part of a group of 13 riders who broke away in the early stages of the 87.5-mile stage featuring three punishing ascents to the town of Loudenvielle, where he soloed to the biggest win of his career.
Pinot, hoping to become the first French overall winner since 1985, lost contact with the main contenders 41 kilometers from the finish. He dropped to 30th overall, 18 minutes and 56 seconds behind race leader Adam Yates.
Yates and other overall contenders, including defending champion Egan Bernal and favorite Primoz Roglic, crossed the finish line 6 minutes, 40 seconds after Peters. Yates has a three-second lead over Roglic.
AUTO RACING
XFINITY: Brandon Jones swept past leaders Ross Chastain and Denny Hamlin two laps from the end to win an Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway.
Chastain’s runner-up finish locked him into the playoffs with three races remaining before the postseason starts.
FORMULA ONE: Lewis Hamilton set the fastest Formula One lap ever to grab pole position at the Italian Grand Prix, nudging Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas into second place by just 0.069 seconds.
Hamilton raced around the 3.54 miles at the so-called Temple of Speed in Monza with an average speed of 164.267 mph. That eclipsed Kimi Raikkonen’s one-lap record of 163.785 mph at Monza two years ago.
COLLEGES
FOOTBALL: The second preseason scrimmage for No. 4 Georgia provided no clarity to the quarterback competition that continues without a top contender.
After Wake Forest transfer Jamie Newman announced his decision to opt out on Wednesday, the competition took on a different look. Newman was cast by many observers, but not Coach Kirby Smart, as the favorite to win the starting job for the Bulldogs’ opening game at Arkansas on Sept. 26.
Smart said another transfer, former Southern Cal starter, JT Daniels, and D’Wan Mathis worked with the first-team offense in the scrimmage. Freshman Carson Beck shared time with Daniels and Mathis with the second team. Stetson Bennett was with the third team.
• Sandon McCoy ran for three first-half touchdowns and Army opened its season with a 42-0 victory over Middle Tennessee in West Point, New York.
McCoy scored on runs of 1, 2 and 4 yards, twice finishing drives that began after Blue Raiders turnovers.
BASKETBALL
WNBA: DeWanna Bonner scored 26 points and Alyssa Thomas and Brionna Jones added 20 each to lead the Connecticut Sun to a 96-77 victory over the Indiana Fever in Bradenton, Florida.
• A’ja Wilson scored 13 of her 21 points in the second half and Jackie Young sparked a fourth-quarter run to help the Las Vegas Aces beat the Atlanta Dream, 89-79.
• Skylar Diggins-Smith scored a season-high 30 points and the Phoenix Mercury beat the New York Liberty, 83-67, for their sixth straight victory.
GOLF
EUROPEAN TOUR: American golfer John Catlin shot a 1-over 72 and will take a two-shot lead into the final round of the Andalucia Masters in Sotogrande, Spain.
Two-time major champion Martin Kaymer (69) is in second place, and Jamie Donaldson (73) and Lorenzo Gagli (71) are both three strokes behind at Valderrama, the notoriously tough 1997 Ryder Cup venue.
SOCCER
MLS: The New York Red Bulls promoted Bradley Carnell to interim head coach, a day after firing Chris Armas.
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