CYCLING
Belgian rider Wout van Aert won the hilly fourth stage of the Tour de France and extended his overall lead after attacking strongly on the day’s final climb.
The Belgian rider kept the leader’s yellow jersey for the Jumbo–Visma team after taking it for the first time on Saturday. He also extended his lead in the green jersey contest for best sprinter.
Van Aert shook up the peloton when he surged ahead up the last of the five climbs – a 900-meter ascent up Cote du Cap Blanc-Nez at a gradient of 7.5 % – about 6 miles from the end.
SOCCER
PREMIER LEAGUE: Tottenham forward Richarlison was banned from his new club’s English Premier League opening game after throwing a smoke canister when playing for Everton last season.
Richarlison admitted a charge of improper conduct and was banned for one game and fined $30,000, the English Football Association said in announcing the tribunal verdict.
Tottenham start the league hosting Southampton on Aug. 6. Richarlison should be available to play at Chelsea one week later.
BASKETBALL
NBA: Bismack Biyombo is staying in the desert.
The Phoenix Suns re-signed Biyombo on Tuesday after the veteran center gave them a lift off the bench last season. Terms of the deal were not announced.
Biyombo signed with the Suns on Jan. 1 and he averaged 5.8 points on 59% shooting while grabbing 4.6 rebounds in 36 games. The Congo native has played 11 NBA seasons with Charlotte, Toronto, Orlando and Phoenix.
• The NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers are not currently for sale, the chairwoman of both franchises said Tuesday.
Jody Allen’s statement came amid growing speculation about the future ownership of the teams due to stipulations in Paul Allen’s will that called for both teams to eventually be sold and the proceeds given to philanthropic endeavors. Most of the speculation has centered on the future of the Trail Blazers.
“As chair of both the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle Seahawks, my long-term focus is building championship teams that our communities are proud of,” Jody Allen said in her statement. “Like my brother Paul, I trust and expect our leaders and coaches to build winning teams that deliver results on and off the court and field. As we’ve stated before, neither of the teams is for sale and there are no sales discussions happening.”
Allen has overseen both teams since her brother died in 2018 and is the trustee for his estate. She acknowledged the teams will eventually be put up for sale but said there is no set timeline.
WNBA: Jewell Loyd scored 25 points, Tina Charles had 13 points and eight rebounds, and the Seattle Storm beat the Indiana Fever 95-73 in Indianapolis.
Seattle (14-8) got its 400th regular-season win.
Gabby Williams added 14 points, Ezi Magbegor had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Breanna Stewart also scored 12 for Seattle. Sue Bird had two points, on 1-of-7 shooting and five assists. Briann January, who is retiring after the season, also scored two points in her final trip to Indiana, where her 14-year career began.
• Arike Ogunbowale scored 20 points, Teaira McCowan had 14 points, seven rebounds and four blocks and the Dallas Wings beat the Connecticut Sun 82-71 in Arlington, Texas.
Ogunbowale sank a 3-pointer for an 80-69 lead and McCowan blocked Brionna Jones’ layup attempt with 32.8 seconds left.
Dallas (10-12) won two of three matchups with Connecticut this season for the first series win with the Sun in franchise history.
HOCKEY
RUSSIA BAN: Appeals by Russia and its ally Belarus against bans from the world ice hockey championship following the invasion of Ukraine were rejected by the international governing body.
The decision “was not a sanction but was a safety policy” and also “the safety policy was not discriminatory and was proportionate,” the International Ice Hockey Federation disciplinary board ruled on Tuesday.
The IIHF council argued its decision on Feb. 28, four days after Russian troops surged over the border into Ukraine, was to ensure the safety of players, fans and other tournament participants.
TRACK AND FIELD
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: Allyson Felix was named to her 10th world championship team, where she will have a chance to run in the mixed relay event and add to her record medal collection.
Felix, whose 18 medals are the most in world-championship history, has announced that this will be her final season in track. At last month’s U.S. championships, she finished sixth in the 400 meters and did not qualify for any individual events. But the 36-year-old was named to the mixed relay pool Tuesday when USA Track and Field released its 151-person roster for worlds.
The world championships run July 15-24 in Eugene, Oregon.
Missing from the roster was Sha’Carri Richardson, who failed to qualify for the finals of either the 100 or 200 meters at nationals. Richardson won the women’s 100 at Olympic trials last year but was banned from the games after testing positive for a substance found in marijuana.
WORLD HALF-MARATHON CHAMPIONSHIPS: The world half-marathon championships have been canceled because China wasn’t able to host the races due to the coronavirus pandemic, World Athletics said.
The president of the governing body, Sebastian Coe, said it was “no fault” of local organizers in China that the event can’t be held in Yangzhou in November. The city will, instead, be given the rebranded world road running championships in 2027.
This year’s event was due to be the last before the championships are renamed the world road running championships with the addition of 5-kilometer races and mass-participation events alongside the elite competitions. The first of those is in Riga, Latvia, next year.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
