The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Sainz claims Dakar opener
- Nicol David eases into World Series final
- Report: Armstrong may admit to doping
| Posted: 05 Jan 2013 05:01 PM PST PISCO, Peru - Former champion Carlos Sainz opened his campaign for a second Dakar Rally title by taking the opening 13km special stage between Lima and Pisco on Saturday. The Spaniard, who won the gruelling race in 2010 in a Volkswagen, drove his Buggy to victory in a time of 7min 40sec, beating Argentina's Lucio Alvarez, in a Toyota, into second, with French driver Guerlain Chicherit, in an SMG, claiming third. Sainz enjoyed an eight-second advantage over Alvarez and a 10-second gap on Chicherit. His Qatari teammate, Nasser al-Attiyah, who was the 2011 champion, also in a Volkswagen, but was forced to retire in a Hummer 12 months ago, finished fourth. The two Buggys, backed by the financial might of Qatar but prepared in California, gave an early glimpse of their strengths. That was bad news for defending champion Stephane Peterhansel whose bid for an 11th Dakar title, after collecting four wins in the auto section and six on two wheels, got off to a disappointing start. The French driver was down in sixth place in his Mini, 34sec behind Sainz. "It feels great to be racing after spending so much time on test drives. So I'm quite happy just to start the Dakar with this car," said al-Attiyah. "I put the pedal on the metal from the start and I'm happy with the time I posted in such a short special. Of course, everyone drove really hard today, but I think we're well placed for tomorrow's stage." America's Robby Gordon, who was fifth last year after coming close to a disqualification, was in 87th place in his Hummer after experiencing trouble with his vehicle's GPS. Peterhansel said his Mini would improve as the race progressed towards its January 19 finish. "The special was quite fun, with nice dunes and high speeds, but it wasn't easy because it's been a few months since the last time we drove a race car, so we need two or three days to get used to all this again," he said. "We hit the brakes for no good reason at the top of the dunes quite a lot, which cost us some time. We're going to ease into the rally." Chile's Francisco Lopez, riding a KTM, won the opening motorcycling stage. Dutchman Frans Verhoeven, on a Yamaha, was second, with another Chilean, Pablo Quintanilla, claiming third place for Honda who are making their Dakar return after a 24-year absence. Lopez covered the 13km stage in 7min 51sec, with Verhoeven a second further back and Quintanilla five seconds off the pace. French rider Cyril Despres, the defending champion, was in fifth place, 13sec behind Lopez. In all, 449 vehicles (183 motos, 153 autos, 38 quads and 75 lorries), left the starting line on Saturday. Sunday's second stage is a 327km (242km timed) stage in and around Pisco. - AFP |
| Nicol David eases into World Series final Posted: 05 Jan 2013 03:22 PM PST LONDON - Seven-time world champion Nicol David (pic) eased into the title match at the World Series Squash Finals on Saturday with an 11-5, 11-8 win over France's Camille Serme. The world number one, who won the tournament in 2012, will face England's Laura Massaro in Sunday's final in a repeat of the pair's World Open final showdown won by the Malaysian star in the Cayman Islands last month. Massaro overcame compatriot Jenny Duncalf 6-11, 11-8, 11-9 in her semi-final. "In our pool match, Laura was playing better on the day. She's a tough player but I just know that as the week develops you feel better and better," said Nicol, who had been surprisingly beaten by Massaro in a round-robin match on Thursday. "I'm looking forward to playing the final and putting it all out there." In the men's event, England's Nick Matthew was facing French world number four Gregory Gaultier in his semi-final while James Willstrop takes on Egypt's Amr Shabana. - AFP |
| Report: Armstrong may admit to doping Posted: 05 Jan 2013 03:07 PM PST NEW YORK: Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong, who was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles for doping, is weighing whether to admit he used performance-enhancing drugs, The New York Times reported on Friday. Armstrong has told associates and anti-doping officials that in an effort to restore his credibility so he can become a competitive athlete again he is considering admitting publicly that he used blood transfusions and banned drugs during his cycling career, the newspaper reported. The Times did not name its sources but cited "several people with direct knowledge of the situation." The International Cycling Union (UCI) late last year effectively erased Armstrong from the cycling history books when it decided not to appeal sanctions imposed on the American by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). A damning report by USADA concluded that Armstrong helped orchestrate the most sophisticated doping programme in the history of sport. The report included hundreds of pages of eyewitness testimony, emails, financial records and laboratory analysis of blood samples. Armstrong has vehemently denied ever having doped. Tim Herman, a lawyer for Armstrong, told the Times he was not aware of any admission plans. "I do not know about that. I suppose anything is possible, for sure. Right now, that's really not on the table," Herman was quoted as saying. The newspaper said the 41-year-old Armstrong is seeking to meet with both David Howman, the director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency, and USADA chief executive Travis Tygart. Herman denied that Armstrong has tried to contact Tygart or Howman. Cancer survivor Armstrong is the founder of Livestrong and it is believed the cancer-fighting charity is pressuring him to come clean as a way to save the organisation from further damage. Athletes who confess to doping are eligible for reduced punishment under the World Anti-Doping code. Not only was Armstrong stripped of his Tour de France titles but he was barred for life from competing in Olympic competitions. The lifetime ban also extends to some of the sanctioned regional triathlons and running events that Armstrong has been competing in since he stopped racing in the Tour de France. Many of those events adhere to the World Anti-Doping Code. Armstrong won the Tour de France from 1999-2005 but his career crashed following the USADA report, which also has caused him to lose many of his corporate sponsors. He is also the subject of a whistle-blowing lawsuit filed by his former cycling team-mate Floyd Landis and a British newspaper, The Sunday Times, has filed a lawsuit to try and recover US$500,000 paid to Armstrong to settle a libel suit. — AFP |
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