Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 20, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A14 A 14 SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2020 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COMSPORTS L A PLANCHE DES BELLES FILLES, France — In an incredible climax to the Tour de France, Tadej Pogacar crushed fellow Slo- venian Primoz Roglic in the last stage Saturday before the finish in Paris, all but guaranteeing that he’ll win the title at cycling’s greatest race. Set, at one day shy of 22, to become the young- est post-Second World War champion, Pogacar flew on the penultimate stage, an uphill time trial, devouring the 57-second lead that had made Ro- glic look impregnable before the showdown. Also amazing: This is Pogacar’s first Tour. In the end, it wasn’t even close. Pogacar was sensational, not only ripping the iconic race leader’s yellow jersey from Roglic, but winning the time trial, too. Roglic managed no better than fifth, a whopping 1 minute, 56 seconds slower than his countryman. “Unbelievable, unbelievable,” Pogacar said. “My head will explode.” Not since British riders Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome finished 1-2 at the 2012 Tour has one nation taken the top two spots. But almost everyone — even Pogacar — had been expecting that Roglic would be rolling into Paris with the yellow jersey on his shoulders, on his way to becoming Slovenia’s first winner. Roglic had taken the race lead on Stage 9 and held it all the way to Saturday, the worst day to lose it. He now trails Pogacar by 59 seconds. “I cannot believe how hard it must be for him,” Pogacar said. “He must be devastated. But that’s bike racing.” Only a major mishap today — highly unlikely — on what is traditionally a leisurely and ceremonial ride into Paris before the final sprint to the line will prevent Pogacar from taking over from 2019 winner Egan Bernal, who was 22, as the youngest post-war champion. “I can’t wait to cross the line in Paris,” Pogacar said. Australian Richie Porte will complete the po- dium, having ridden his way from fourth to third overall in the time trial to the Planches des Belles Filles ski station in eastern France. Porte is a veteran of 10 Tours, but he’d only once finished in the top 10 — a fifth place in 2016 — before now in a career sometimes dogged by ill-fortune. Aged 35, he had wanted a picture of him on the Tour podium before his career ends. He’ll get that today. “It really does feel like a victory,” Porte said. He, too, said he felt for Roglic. “It’s kind of brutal what happened,” he said. The high drama was reminiscent of French- man Laurent Fignon’s collapse in 1989. He had a lead of 50 seconds over Greg LeMond before the final stage, also a time trial, from Versailles to Paris. Fignon ended up losing to the American by just eight seconds — the smallest ever margin of victory. The 30-year-old Roglic slumped on the tarmac at the finish as the enormity of his collapse sank in. Pogacar, who finished third at last year’s Span- ish Vuelta won by Roglic, might have had an even bigger lead by now had he not suffered a major setback in the first week of the three-week mara- thon, raced over more than 3,400 kilometres and all five of France’s mountain ranges. On Stage 7, Pogacar plummeted from third to 16th overall, when he was caught out in crosswinds that broke up the racing. But he shook off his disap- pointment and set about clawing his way back. A win on Stage 9 ahead of Roglic in the Pyr- enees soon followed and helped put him back in contention. In hindsight, Roglic may well rue that he and his Jumbo-Visma teammates didn’t pay closer attention and allowed him so much leash. Pogacar followed up with another victory on Stage 15 and had been in second place overall for the past week. While Roglic was surrounded at the Tour by powerful support riders who laboured tirelessly to protect his race lead, Pogacar had no such luxu- ries. Beating Roglic in the man-to-man time trial, where riders raced alone against the clock, was a fitting tribute to the way in which Pogacar has often fought by himself at the race. — The Associated Press Youngster wins epic battle of Slovenians Pogacar crushes Roglic to seal Tour de France title ASSOCIATED PRESS POOL PHOTOS Stage winner and new overall leader Tadej Pogacar celebrates with the Tour de France mascot (top). Fellow Slovenian Primoz Roglic slumps defeated (above). LIO ZITS THE ARGYLE SWEATER BIZARRO MOTHER GOOSE & GRIMM F MINUS PICKLES SIX CHIX BUCKLES ● MORE SPORTS COVERAGE A17-20 LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Getting big leads has been relatively easy for the Boston Celtics in these Eastern Conference finals. This time, they also found a way to finish the job. And just like that, the East title series got a whole lot closer. Jaylen Brown scored 26 points, Jayson Tatum added 25 and the Celtics got right back into the East finals with a 117-106 victory over the Mi- ami Heat in Game 3 on Saturday night. Kemba Walker added 21 to help Boston pull to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. Marcus Smart scored 20 points for Boston, going 9 for 9 from the foul line in the fourth quarter. The Celtics — who also got 14 rebounds and eight assists from Tatum — outscored Mi- ami 60-36 inside the paint, led by as many as 20 and never trailed. The Celtics held Miami to 39 per cent shoot- ing. Bam Adebayo had 27 points and 16 rebounds for the Heat, who fell for just the second time in 12 games in these playoffs. Tyler Herro scored 22 points, Jimmy Butler had 17 and Duncan Robinson 13. The Heat rallied from 14 points down to win Game 1 in overtime, 17 points down to win Game 2, but never caught up Saturday — though they put together a late run to make matters interesting. They got within eight on a 3-pointer by Robin- son with 1:12 left, setting the tone for the Celtics to scramble at the end. Brown committed a flagrant foul nine seconds later, and Robinson made one of two free throws to cut Boston’s lead to 109-102. Adebayo scored on the ensuing possession to get Miami within five and cap a 24-9 run, but the Heat got no closer. Herro had 16 points in the second quarter alone to keep Miami close, the last of those 16 coming on a 3-pointer with 3:22 left before half- time to cut Boston’s lead to 51-48. — The Associated Press Celtics hang on, close gap on Heat CELTICS 117 HEAT 106 A_14_Sep-20-20_FP_01.indd A14 2020-09-19 11:11 PM ;