Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/350843
21 Sport maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 23 JULY 2014 TOUR DE FRANCE ATHLETICS Rogers victorious as Pinot knocks Bardet off podium Bolt fit and ready for Commonwealth Games Michael Rogers used all his experience to win stage 16 of the Tour de France in Bagneres-de-Luchon THE former Team Sky rider fol- lowed up his Giro successes on his return from suspension by taking stage 16, the 237.5 kilometre run from Carcassonne to Bagneres-de- Luchon. Rogers, cleared of wrongdoing in April after a positive test for clen- buterol, and Voeckler, who had Europcar team-mate Cyril Gautier for company in the closing stages, were part of a 21-man break-away which took shape in three waves from 28km, and they were 12 min- utes clear by the time they reached Port de Bales - 35km from the fin- ishing line. But the Australian made his move 4.5km from the line and it proved decisive to prevent Voeckler from extending his unbeaten run at Bag- neres-de-Luchon. Italy's Vincenzo Nibali main- tained his overall lead for Astana with his advantage over second- placed Alejandro Valverde remain- ing at 4'37". But there was a reshuff ling of the pack behind them as Frenchman Thibaut Pinot jumped to third place 29 seconds adrift, with com- patriots Jean-Christophe Peraud and Romain Bardet in fourth and fifth respectively. Rogers was thrilled to have claimed his maiden victory on a day when he simply refused to be beaten. He said: "I had the feeling that my stage truly began at the foot of the final climb and at the top, we were only three guys left in the group. "On the descent, Europcar's Gau- tier bridged the gap and rejoined Voeckler, but I just rode as fast as I possibly could on the lower slopes, created the gap and kept the pace up to the finish line. "No-one was going to beat me today. Of course, I'm immensely happy and it's a good feeling to have a Tour de France stage win on my resume." While Rogers celebrated, Nibali was taking nothing for granted. He told www.letour.com: "I don't underestimate Pinot. I don't un- derestimate anyone. I've learnt that last year at the Vuelta [racing against Chris Horner]. "When Pinot attacked, I went to catch him straight away. Valverde let a gap. I didn't let the gap grow." Michael Rogers celebrates his stage victory Stage 16 result 1 Michael Rogers (Aus) Tinkoff-Saxo, 6:07:10 2 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Europcar, +0:09 3 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Team Sky, same time 4 Jose Serpa (Col) Lampre-Merida, st 5 Cyril Gautier (Fra) Europcar, st 6 Greg van Avermaet (Bel) BMC, +0:13 7 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step, +0:36 8 Matteo Montaguti (Ita) Ag2r-La Mondiale, +0:50 9 Tom-Jelte Slagter (Ned) Garmin Sharp, +2:11 10 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Belisol, st General classification 1 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana, 73:03:19 2 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar, +4:37 3 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ, +5:06 4 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale, +6:08 5 Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale, +6:40 6 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC, +9:25 7 Leopold Konig (Cze) NetApp-Endura, +9:32 8 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Belkin, +11:12 9 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step, +11:28 10 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Belkin, 11.33 SIXTIMES Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt says he is ready to put in a good showing in the sprint relay at the Commonwealth Games after recovering from foot surgery and a hamstring injury. The Jamaican, who missed nine weeks of training after surgery on his left foot in March, told Reuters he is back in sub 10-second shape after training twice a day to get ready for the event in Glasgow which starts on Wednesday "It's been rough, but I've been through it a couple times so I know what it takes to get back so I'm just pushing on and working towards what's necessary for this season," Bolt told Reuters on Tuesday morn- ing during a training session. His coach Glen Mills said that twice a day workouts were necessary to get Bolt ready to compete after he missed a lot of foundation work. "We usually train in the morning when it is necessary, but it's not the routine," Mills said, noting that this year's setback was a bit more severe than 2012 leading up to the London Olympics. "Usain has lost quite a significant amount of training time and in his desire to at least run a couple races in the summer, in order to get in the sufficient amount of sessions, we have to double up training morning and evening," Mills said. The lanky sprinter, who also has eight world championship gold med- als in his collection, said the surgery was necessary in this off year. "I went to see my doctor and he said the best thing to do was to ac- tually get the surgery done because it would bother me over my career, so it was best to get it done now, so I just did it because I considered this my off season. It definitely one of those things so I got it out of the way and right now I'm just trying to get back and that's the key right now and that's the focus," Bolt said. The 27-year-old, who has penciled in four 100m races over the next six weeks, says he did not want to miss the Commonwealth Games. "I really wanted to run at the Commonwealths Games over the years and although I got injured I see where I can run the 4x100 I see where I'm getting back into shape to actually compete in the 4x100" Bolt said, adding that he did not want to take anyone's spot in the 100m hav- ing missed the trials. "I'm going there for my fans and I'm going there to show that I'm getting back into shape and they can look for great things now and for the years to come," he said. Usain Bolt