Sunday Sport: California, San Marino, and Brooks Koepka

Yesterday's cycling's Tour of California comes to an end, while the Giro d'Italia begins its second week.  In California, the race to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, in the final stage of the race,  resulted in a bunch sprint, with Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar (Team UAE-Emirates) maintaining his lead at the top of the standings, winning the overall race,  while Sunweb's Cees Bol won today's stage.  Peter Sagan was second over the Line of the 112 riders left in the race.    EF Eduction First took  the team competition in an overall win in the stage race.

Meanwhile, in San Marino, the Giro d'Italia cyclists will compete in their second Individual Time Trial today.  If the San Marino time trial has loomed large over the opening week of this Giro, then so too has Slovenian cyclist Primoz Roglič's (Team Jumbo Visma) presumed supremacy on the stage, as he is a great specialist at Time Trials.  . His victory in the opening time trial in Bologna last weekend installed him as the favourite for Sunday's longer time trial. This one will go from the beach up into the mountains of San Mariano. 

Valerio Conti (Team UAE Emirates) wears the maglia rosa as the overall race leader.  Roglič reaches the end of the Giro's opening phase atop the virtual rankings of the pre-race favourites. Thanks to his victory in Bologna and his performance through the week, he holds a buffer of 35 seconds over other race favorite  Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott), 39 over Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida), 44 over Miguel Ángel López (Astana) and 1:49 over Mikel Landa (Movistar).  Roglič is an amazing 5:24 down on Conti, and surely will not regain the pink jersey from him in San Marino but, come Sunday evening, he might well have closed the gap enough that he will have an buffer which may lead him to victory by the final stage in Verona. 

 

Brooks Koepka is currently at the top of the standings, with the lowest score, heading into the final round of the PGA Golf Championship, this year being held at the Black Course of the Bethphage State Park, Farmingdale, New York.  Four of the top five spots in the competition, up to today, are held by Americans.  The fifth spot is currently held by Thai golfer  Atiwit "Jazz" Janewattananond.  The challenging play, as well as the beautiful scenery, should attract many fans to their televisions today, or to attend the tourney personally on this final day.