Peter Sagan celebrates green jersey record with Tour de France stage win

By OlympicTalkJul 11, 2018, 1:30 PM EDT

Slovakian Peter Sagan won his 10th career Tour de France stage on the day he wore the green sprinter’s jersey for a record 89th time in Tour history.

Sagan, the three-time world road race champion, beat Italian Sonny Colbrelli to the uphill finish of stage five on Wednesday. It’s Sagan’s second stage win of this year’s Tour.

“It was a little bit lucky because Colbrelli was coming close again,” said Sagan, who also relegated Colbrelli to runner-up in stage two Sunday.

German Erik Zabel wore the green jersey as the top sprinter 88 times in the 1990s and 2000s as he won a record six points classifications, according to Gracenote. Sagan will match Zabel’s record six titles if he’s in green in Paris on July 29.

In the yellow jersey race, Belgian Greg Van Avermaet increased his overall standings lead from zero to two seconds by earning a time bonus with seven miles left on Wednesday.

But Van Avermaet, the Rio Olympic road race champion, mistimed his sprint, helping allow Sagan to win.

“I don’t know if he did it on purpose or if he wanted to drop everybody but I have to say thanks,” Sagan said.

After a move from Philippe Gilbert, Van Avermaet accelerated out of the final turn with 300 meters to go but couldn’t maintain his pace.

“I tried to win the stage, but it was pretty complicated,” Van Avermaet said. “Phil went early, and he’s still pretty close on GC (general classification) so I couldn’t let him go. I think I went too early in the sprint. I thought the corner was closer to the finish than it really was.”

Van Avermaet, the Rio Olympic road race champion, had been tied with BMC teammate Tejay van Garderen for the overall race lead, but van Garderen did not become the second (or sixth) American to wear the yellow jersey due to a tiebreaker.

Van Avermaet is expected to cede the lead in upcoming cobblestone or mountain stages. He hopes the man to take it is BMC team leader Richie Porte.

Porte and the rest of the overall contenders for the title finished in the same time with the peloton on Wednesday,

The Tour de France continues Thursday with stage six, live on NBCSN and NBC Sports Gold (full broadcast schedule here).

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!

TOUR DE FRANCE: Standings | TV Schedule | Riders to Watch

Follow @nbcolympictalk

2023 French Open women’s singles draw, scores

By OlympicTalkJun 2, 2023, 5:56 PM EDT

At the French Open, Iga Swiatek of Poland eyes a third title at Roland Garros and a fourth Grand Slam singles crown overall.

The tournament airs live on NBC Sports, Peacock and Tennis Channel through championship points in Paris.

Swiatek, the No. 1 seed from Poland, can join Serena Williams and Justine Henin as the lone women to win three or more French Opens since 2000.

Having turned 22 on Wednesday, she can become the youngest woman to win three French Opens since Monica Seles in 1992 and the youngest woman to win four Slams overall since Williams in 2002.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Men’s Draw

But Swiatek is not as dominant as in 2022, when she went 16-0 in the spring clay season during an overall 37-match win streak.

She retired from her last pre-French Open match with a right thigh injury and said it wasn’t serious. Before that, she lost the final of another clay-court tournament to Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.

Sabalenka, the No. 2 seed, and Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, the No. 4 seed and Wimbledon champion, are the top challengers in Paris.

No. 3 Jessica Pegula, the highest-seeded American man or woman, was eliminated in the third round.

No. 6 Coco Gauff, runner-up to Swiatek last year, is the best hope to become the first American to win a Grand Slam singles title since Sofia Kenin at the 2020 Australian Open. The 11-major drought is the longest for U.S. women since Seles won the 1996 Australian Open.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!

Follow @nbcolympictalk

2023 French Open Women’s Singles Draw

2023 French Open men’s singles draw, scores

By OlympicTalkJun 2, 2023, 5:56 PM EDT

Getty

The French Open men’s singles draw is missing injured 14-time champion Rafael Nadal for the first time since 2004, leaving the Coupe des Mousquetaires ripe for the taking.

The tournament airs live on NBC Sports, Peacock and Tennis Channel through championship points in Paris.

Novak Djokovic is not only bidding for a third crown at Roland Garros, but also to lift a 23rd Grand Slam singles trophy to break his tie with Nadal for the most in men’s history.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Women’s Draw

But the No. 1 seed is Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who won last year’s U.S. Open to become, at 19, the youngest man to win a major since Nadal’s first French Open title in 2005.

Now Alcaraz looks to become the second-youngest man to win at Roland Garros since 1989, after Nadal of course.

Alcaraz missed the Australian Open in January due to a right leg injury, but since went 30-3 with four titles. Notably, he has not faced Djokovic this year. They could meet in the semifinals.

Russian Daniil Medvedev, the No. 2 seed, was upset in the first round by 172nd-ranked Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild. It marked the first time a men’s top-two seed lost in the first round of any major since 2003 Wimbledon (Ivo Karlovic d. Lleyton Hewitt).

No. 9 Taylor Fritz and No. 12 Frances Tiafoe are the highest-seeded Americans, looking to become the first U.S. man to make the French Open quarterfinals since Andre Agassi in 2003. Since then, five different American men combined to make the fourth round on eight occasions.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!

Follow @nbcolympictalk

2023 French Open Women’s Singles Draw

More: Olympics

2023 French Open Men’s Singles Draw

More: Olympics