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AUCKLAND — New Zealand beat Norway 1-0 for a first Women’s World Cup win ever and Australia battled past Ireland by the same scoreline on a triumphant opening day for the co-hosts on Thursday.

Both games played out to bumper crowds — the more than 42,000 who witnessed a piece of history at Auckland’s Eden Park was a New Zealand football record crowd, men’s or women’s, while over 75,000 packed Stadium Australia in Sydney. 

It was a fitting start to the biggest Women’s World Cup yet — 32 teams will do battle over the next month, up from 24 in France four years ago, and global interest in women’s football is at an all-time high.

It was also a joyous end to a day which started with tragedy when Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, was shaken by a shooting which left two people and the gunman dead.

The shooting unfolded close to where several teams, including Norway, were staying. A moment of silence was held before kick-off of both matches to remember the victims.

Hannah Wilkinson was the Football Ferns’ hero, scoring three minutes after half-time to give them a precious victory over Norway, who are former winners of the competition.

It was New Zealand’s first win at the World Cup at the 16th attempt.

“We waited for this moment for such a long time. Hearing our fans behind us was just an unforgettable moment, for me as a coach and for all the players involved,” their coach Jitka Klimkova said.

The margin of victory on a cold, wet and windy evening would even have been greater had Ria Percival not missed a late penalty. 

Qualifying for the knockout stages for the first time is now a realistic aim for New Zealand, with Switzerland and minnows the Philippines their other opponents in Group A. 

Kerr injury setback

New Zealand’s tears of joy came just as co-hosts Australia suffered a huge setback with the news that skipper Samantha Kerr will miss at least the first two matches with a calf injury.

The Chelsea forward is the country’s all-time leading scorer and the face of the tournament, but had to sit out the Matildas’ opening match against debutants Ireland and will miss the clash with Nigeria next week.

“Unfortunately I sustained a calf injury yesterday in training,” Kerr said in a statement just prior to kickoff. “I wanted to share this with everyone so there is no distraction from what we came here to achieve.”

Australia looked blunt in her absence but a 52nd-minute penalty from stand-in skipper Steph Catley was just enough to beat an Ireland side which refused to go quietly in their first game at a Women’s World Cup.

It ensured three points in a tough Group B as the Matildas kick-started their mission to get beyond the quarterfinals for the first time.

Australia was one of the pre-tournament favourites, along with England and several other major European nations.

But Megan Rapinoe’s United States is the favourites to win an unprecedented third consecutive title and a record-extending fifth overall.

They begin their title defence on Saturday against minnows Vietnam in Auckland, with European champions England in action the same day against Haiti in Brisbane.

Spain hopeful 

on Putellas

Spain, another of the favourites, hope to have Alexia Putellas fit for their opener against Costa Rica on Friday, coach Jorge Vilda said, but warned they will have to carefully manage her fitness.

The reigning two-time Ballon d’Or winner only returned to action in April following a serious knee injury and then withdrew 20 minutes into a training session earlier this week.

“We have one training session to go this afternoon. All players are available to play tomorrow,” Vilda said on Thursday on the eve of the match in Wellington.

Spain’s World Cup preparations were clouded by a player revolt against Vilda that saw 15 players declare themselves unavailable for selection. Three later returned to the World Cup squad.

Also on Friday, Olympic champions Canada face Nigeria with evergreen skipper Christine Sinclair in buoyant mood.

“We were overlooked heading into the Tokyo Olympics and showed what we can do,” said the 40-year-old forward, who has scored an incredible 190 goals in 323 appearances for her country.

“We can beat any team in the world.” 

World Cup debutants the Philippines face Switzerland in Friday’s other match.

AMMAN — Jordan’s national basketball team has started a training camp in Lithuania amid preparations for the FIBA World Cup 2023 set to be held in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia as of August 25.

The team will play three matches in Lithuania this week before leaving for another tourney in Portugal grouping the Ivory Coast, the Czech Republic and hosts Portugal July 26-30.

Jordan qualified to the World Cup finals for the second consecutive and third overall time after a long qualifying journey that had its ups and downs. However, a precious 91-90 win over the Philippines and reversing an earlier loss to New Zealand by winning 92-75 moved Jordan to the World Cup.

At the World Cup, Jordan was drawn in Group C and is set to meet Greece on August 26, before facing New Zealand on August 28 and the United States on August 30 in matches set for Manila, the Philippines. Jordan has a tough group with a tough contender like Greece, while the US, champs in 2010 and 2014, were 7th at the last World Cup won by Spain.

“We have booked a place among the top 32 teams in the world. We have a tough group and it will not be an easy task, but we aim to work hard throughout and be part of the building of a new generation for the national basketball squad,” coach Wisam Al Sous told the media.

Sous, a star of the 2010 World Cup qualifying team has inspired his lineup to jump back from inconsistent results in Round 1 to a winning spirit of a team that finished 4th at the FIBA Asia Cup last summer. 

The coach, who has come under fire during the qualifiers for his choice of players, rebounded after each slump and hopes the team will give it all it’s got in the finals. During the qualifiers Sous told the media “the fear of losing dominated the lineup more than the appetite for a win”.

Eight nations from Asia and Oceania join the 32-country FIBA World Cup 2023 field that will take place from August 25 to September 10, 2023. Japan and the Philippines qualify as hosts while third host Indonesia did not make it to the FIBA Asia Cup quarters and failed to qualify. 

Representing Asia, Jordan joins the Philippines, Japan, Iran, New Zealand, Australia, Lebanon and China.

On its way to the World Cup, Jordan will play around 15 high level matches in different continents. They recently concluded a training camp in Canada following matches in Greece and Lithuania in June. They are slated to face Mexico, Portugal and Angola at the 11th King Abdullah Cup Aug 1-10, before playing Georgia, Iran, Montenegro August 11-14, and facing China, South Sudan and Venezuela August 18-22 ahead of the finals.

The basketball squad was the first and only Jordanian team to reach a World Cup in a team sport alongside the junior men’s team in 1995. Jordan has now reached the FIBA Basketball World Cup — the world’s premier basketball competition three times — in 2010, 2019 and 2023. At the 2010 World Cup Jordan finished 23rd among 24 countries after losing five matches. In 2019, Jordan managed a win over Senegal to finish 28th among 32 teams.

The tournament serves as a qualifier for the 2024 Summer Olympics, where the top two teams from each of the Americas and Europe, and the top team from each of Africa, Asia and Oceania, will qualify alongside the tournament’s host France.

In the qualifiers, Jordan was powered by naturalised pro Dar Tucker,who will not play at the World Cup, and the towering Ahmad Dweiri, who led Fenerbahce Club to the Turkish League crown last season. Freddy Ibrahim, has become another household name for fans, after he secured Jordan’s spot in the last FIBA Asia Cup quarters on a dramatic half court three-pointer buzzer-beater to beat Chinese Taipei 97-96 — a result now etched in Jordan’s basketball memory, as Jordan won after being nine points down with just under one minute left.

The Kingdom stunned three-time champs Iran 91-76 in the quarters and moved to the semis for the first time since 2011, where they faced three-time silver medallist Lebanon who ousted record 16-time champs China, In the semis, Jordan handed the match to Lebanon 86-85, and settled for fourth place after losing to New Zealand as Australia beat Lebanon to win the title.

It was Jordan’s 16th time at the FIBA Asia Cup, previously called FIBA Asia Championship, with the Kingdom’s best performance at the event placing third in 2009 and runner-up in 2011 when they reached the final for the first time in the country’s history, but lost the chance of qualifying to the 2012 Olympic Games after losing the final 70-69 to China. Jordan then played the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, but lost to Puerto Rico and Greece and were eliminated.

Jordan’s best showing at the FIBA Asia Cup (previously named FIBA Asia Championship) was third in 2009 and runner-up in 2011. In 2022, Jordan finished fourth.

AMMAN – Faisali will face all time rivals Wihdat on Friday in the Jordan Super Cup as the 2023 football season gets into full swing soon.

The event format has been changed to include two-legs with both teams meeting again Friday July 28. Faisali are a record 17-time champions while Wihdat have won the title 14 times.

Reigning Jordan Professional Football League (Pro League) champs Faisali just won their 9th Jordan Football Association (JFA) Shield title, while the league is slated to kick off on August 3.

Last season, three teams split four titles: Faisali were crowned Pro League champs, and also won the 35th JFA Shield title when they beat Ramtha, who in turn upset Faisali to win the 39th Jordan Super Cup. Wihdat defeated Aqaba for their 11th Jordan Cup final. 

The 70th edition of the Pro League saw a close-fought contest at both ends of the standings with veteran Jazira, a three-time league champ, relegated alongside Sarih, while Ahli and Jalil were promoted from the first Division. Faisali grabbed the title one point ahead of Wihdat and Hussein who tied in overall points and finished second and third respectively. They were followed by Shabab Urdun, Aqaba, Ramtha, Ma’an, Salt , Sahab, Mugheer Sarhan, Sarih and Jazira.

In 2021, Ramtha won the Pro League crown for the third time in their history after 39 years without a league title. In 2022, they finished midway through the standings while another ambitious team, Jazira, will be the notable absentee next season. Their relegation will be the fourth — 1977, 1992, 2003, 2022 after the club was a frontrunner in the past five years and played in the AFC West Asia Zone final in 2018 and 2019.

Since the league kicked off in 1944 with only Faisali, Ahli, Urdun and Homenetmen competing, Faisali are now 35-time record league champs while Wihdat were champs 17 times since they joined in 1980. Although Faisali are the all-time record holders, Wihdat’s record is quite impressive. After four years in the Pro League, they won their first title in 1980 and have gone on to win the majority of titles since then. Ahli won eight times, Ramtha and Jazira three times each , Shabab Urdun twice, Amman and Urdun clubs once each.

Arab and Asian club championships

This season, Faisali will compete in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League, alongside Wihdat who comepted in two earlier editions, as well. If Wihdat advance in the ACL, Hussein will play in the AFC instead of them.

In 2022, Wihdat were eliminated in the group stages of the ACL after they became the first of the Kingdom’s clubs to play in the round robin group stages in 2021. None of the Kingdom’s clubs have ever made it past the AFC Champions League preliminary round where Faisali played in 2020 and 2018, Wihdat in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019 and Shabab Urdun in 2014.

In the second-tier Asian club competition — the AFC Cup — no Jordanian competed due to financial and technical constraints last season. It was the first time Jordanian teams missed the competition since 2005 when Faisali won two back-to-back titles and Shabab Urdun won once.

This year, Shabab Urdun played at the preliminary round of the King Salman Clubs Cup (the 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup, where they were eliminated after going down 4-1 to Mauritania’s FC Nouadhibou and wining the second leg 1-0. Nouadhibou advanced 4-2 on aggregate but were ousted by Kuwait FC in the second qualifying round before 16 teams made it to the finals of the competition.

A total of 37 teams are participating in the 30th season of the Arab Club Champions Cup, the Arab world’s club football tournament organised by UAFA with a total of $10 million of prize money awarded.

Raja CA are the defending champions, having won their second title in the previous edition. Algeria’s CR Belouizdad, Egypt’s Zamalek, Iraq’s Shurta, Morocca’s Raja CA, Wydad AC, Qatar’s Al-Sadd, Saudi Arabi’s Hilal, Nassr and Ittihad Jeddah, Tunisa’s Esperance advanced directly to the group stage, while Kuwait SC, Libya’s Ahli Tripoli, Saudia Arabia’s Al Shabab, Tunisia’s Club Sfaxien and Union Monastirienne and UAE’s Wahda moved from the qualifying round.

AMMAN — Jordan’s senior women’s basketball team was drawn in Group B for the Women’s Asia Cup Division B which will be held in Thailand August 13-19. 

It will be the third time for Jordan at the event after they played in 1995 and 2021.

The Kingdom will play Group B alongside Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan and Thailand while Group A includes Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia and Mongolia. 

The top team from each group will automatically move to the semis while the second and third from the groups will play for a spot in the semis from which one team will be promoted to Division A in the 2025 edition.

Jordan is set to host Iran and Egypt in upcoming friendlies after they held a training camp earlier and played Kuwait and Egypt as they prepare for the Asia Cup.

Jordan is now 76th on FIBA rankings, 13th among Asian teams and 3rd among Arab teams after Lebanon (44) and Syria (75).

In 2021, the Kingdom hosted the Asia Cup Divisions A & B finishing second after Lebanon in Division B, marking the first time the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2021 Division A was held in an Arab country. Lebanon was promoted to Division A for the 2023 tournament where it finished 7th with China taking top spot. 

Jordan had earlier taken part in the event 26 years ago in 1995 when the squad first took part in Shizuoka, Japan.

This week, the Kingdom’s U-16 women’s basketball team finished 5th at the FIBA U16 Women’s Asian Championship which concluded in Amman as Jordan hosted Divisions A & B.

The Philippines won Division B top spot and were promoted to Division A. They were followed by Iran, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Jordan, Singapore, Guam and the Maldives.

Australia retained the Division A title while Japan settled for second and New Zealand for third followed by Chinese Taipei, Korea, China, Samoa and Syria. 

The top four teams qualified for the FIBA U17 Women’s Basketball World Cup 2024 in Mexico.

It was Jordan’s third time at the event and host of the FIBA U16 Women’s Asian Championship for the second consecutive edition. Last year, Jordan settled for 8th place, while in 2013 they finished 11th. 

Jordan’s U-16 boys team will also play the FIBA U-16 Asian Championship after they last participated in 2009.

In the FIBA U18 Women’s Asian Championship, Jordan settled for 6th place in the event’s latest edition in India. 

The top team in the tournament, Australia, moved to Division A. Jordan finished 8th in 1996, hosted the event in 2014 finishing 11th and were 6th in 2022.

AUCKLAND — The first 32-team Women’s World Cup kicks off in Australia and New Zealand on Thursday, with the United States favourites to win an unprecedented third consecutive title in a landmark month for women’s football.

It has been a rapid expansion for a tournament that started in 1991 and featured only 16 teams as recently as 2011, then 24 in France four years ago when the USA retained the trophy.

That reflects a dramatic rise in interest in women’s football over the last decade beyond its traditional heartland of the United States, and a swarm of European sides will be aiming to snatch their title.

Australia, led by the prolific Chelsea forward Samantha Kerr, will hope to make the most of home advantage and go all the way to the final in Sydney on August 20.

This World Cup is not just bigger in terms of the number of competing nations.

FIFA has tripled the prize money compared with 2019 and the total pot, which also covers compensation for clubs releasing players, is up from $50 million four years ago to $152 million.

It is a vast hike on the $15 million offered in 2015, and confirmation that it is a boom time for women’s football.

Big crowds at club and international matches, particularly in Europe, are more evidence that the game is at an all-time high.

Nevertheless, the prize pot still pales in comparison with the $440 million dished out at the 2022 men’s World Cup in Qatar.

Meanwhile, a stand-off over the sale of broadcast rights in the biggest European countries — Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Spain — was only resolved last month.

The threat of a TV blackout was averted late in the day after FIFA President Gianni Infantino had openly criticised the amount of money being offered by broadcasters.

“FIFA is stepping up not just with words but with actions. Unfortunately, this is not the case of everyone across the industry. Broadcasters and sponsors have to do more in this respect,” Infantino said in March, adding that world football’s governing body was receiving offers amounting to just 1 per cent of what was being paid for the men’s tournament.

In Japan, a deal to avoid a blackout was only reached last week.

“It is actually terrible business if you are not tuning in,” said Megan Rapinoe, the veteran superstar of the United States team and a cultural icon who transcends the sport.

“You are missing out on a large cultural moment. This is the premier women’s sporting event in the world bar none and this is a paradigm shift globally, not just in the US.”

It will be the 38-year-old’s last World Cup after she announced she plans to retire at the end of this season.

Rapinoe was one of the USA stars who led their fight for equal pay, resulting in a landmark collective-bargaining deal last year, meaning the country’s men and women would evenly share World Cup prize money paid by FIFA.

The build-up to this tournament also saw Canada’s national team, the Olympic champions, threaten to strike in a row over pay, funding and contractual issues.

Meanwhile, France players rebelled over conditions in their national team set-up, and a change of coach followed.

That meant some of France’s top names would be at the tournament after all, having threatened to pull out, but the World Cup will still be marred by the absence of numerous leading players because of serious knee injuries.

England captain Leah Williamson and star striker Beth Mead have been ruled out, as have prolific Dutch forward Vivianne Miedema, French forwards Delphine Cascarino and Marie-Antoinette Katoto, and USA duo Catarina Macario and Mallory Swanson.

Spain’s Alexia Putellas, the reigning Ballon d’Or winner, will be there though, fit again after spending nine months out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Together with Australia, European sides will be the chief threat to a US team bidding to become the first to win three Women’s World Cups in a row.

European champions England lead the charge, together with Spain, Germany, Sweden and 2019 runners-up The Netherlands.

“The expectations are really high and yes, we have a dream,” said England coach Sarina Wiegman.

England play their first game against Haiti — one of a raft of World Cup debutants — in Brisbane on July 22, while the USA begin their trophy defence the same day against another debutant in Vietnam. 

LYON — The prolific Ada Hegerberg wants to cap her return from the international wilderness by firing Norway back among the elite at the Women’s World Cup starting this week.

The former Ballon d’Or winner stepped away from the international scene in 2017 citing concerns over the inequality of treatment given to women’s teams by the Norwegian football federation.

The striker’s self-imposed exile lasted five years and meant she missed the 2019 World Cup, where Norway reached the quarterfinals, before she returned in time for Euro 2022.

That was a forgettable tournament however — Hegerberg failed to score as Norway lost 8-0 to host England on the way to a group-stage exit.

Now the 28-year-old, the all-time top scorer in the Women’s Champions League, is determined to make up for lost time when Norway kicks the World Cup off against co-hosts New Zealand on Thursday.

“There is always work to be done with the national team but it feels good to be with them again,” she told AFP ahead of the tournament from Lyon, where she plays for the French champions and record eight-time Champions League winners.

“It gives me more of a chance to make a contribution to women’s football, on and off the field.”

Injury nightmare

Aside from her international exile, Hegerberg — who helped her country reach the last 16 at the 2015 World Cup — has also spent much of the last few years out injured.

She did not return to action until October 2021, then missed a large chunk of the season just finished due to injury too.

“I finished the season well with Lyon. I was getting better as it went along,” she said, after helping her club retain the French title.

“It was a tiring season because I needed to put a lot of work in to get back to my best. I am proud. I never doubted I would.”

‘Caught napping’

And so what of Norway’s chances in New Zealand and Australia?

They will be expected to progress out of a Group A which also includes Switzerland and the Philippines, and will hope to get to the last eight at least.

Hegerberg is cautious.

“I don’t think we can say we are one of the favourites,” she said of a team also featuring the likes of Chelsea’s Maren Mjelde and Guro Reiten, and the Barcelona pair of Ingrid Syrstad Engen and Caroline Graham Hansen.

“We have lots of quality and desire. We need to be ambitious but also realistic — our most recent results have not been very good, so we want to give off a better image of Norway.”

They were powerhouses of the women’s international game a generation ago, reaching the first Women’s World Cup final in 1991 and winning the trophy four years later.

Twice European champions, they also won Olympic gold in 2000.

“We have quite a history, having won the World Cup and been Olympic champions, but things have become a bit harder in the last few years,” said Hegerberg.

“We got caught napping. That doesn’t mean we can’t achieve anything anymore because we have some quality players, but we need to get them all playing together to get the best out of the team.

“It’s really interesting. I can’t wait.”

LONDON — Carlos Alcaraz’s triumph over Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon on Sunday marked the latest chapter in a story predicted to end with “30 Grand Slam titles”.

The 20-year-old has become familiar with setting landmarks.

When he won his maiden Slam title at the US Open last year he become the youngest champion of a men’s major since storied compatriot Rafael Nadal at the 2005 French Open.

He also became the youngest man to ascend to the World No. 1 ranking.

The modest, muscular star from the small Murcian town of El Palmar in Spain’s south-east hit the giant-killing jackpot at Madrid in 2022 when he became the only man to defeat both Nadal and Djokovic at the same clay-court event.

For good measure, he achieved it on back-to-back days on his way to the title.

“Carlos’s intensity and speed is something you rarely see,” said Rafael Nadal’s uncle and former coach Toni Nadal.

‘Never gives up’

“His game follows the same path as Rafa; he never gives up until the last ball and has that characteristic intensity.”

Nadal was also 19 when he won the first of his 22 Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros in 2005.

However, Nadal has always pleaded with fans not to put pressure on Alcaraz by making bold comparisons.

“I forgot what I was like at 19,” said Nadal. “The only thing we can do is enjoy the career of an extraordinary player like Carlos.

“If he manages to win 25 Grand Slams, it will be fantastic for him and for our country. But let him enjoy his career.”

Despite Nadal’s reluctance, making comparisons is unavoidable.

Nadal won the first of his 92 titles at Sopot at the age of 18 in 2004.

Alcaraz, who learned the game at a tennis school run by his father, was also 18 when he captured his maiden ATP trophy at Umag in 2021.

Both men are fiercely protective of their private lives, enjoy passionate crowd support and build their games on steely defence and thrilling, flamboyant attack.

Nadal famously fought out a five-hour and 53-minute Australian Open final in 2012, only to lose to Djokovic.

Four years earlier, he won his first Wimbledon crown in a four-hour 48-minute epic against Roger Federer in a match widely hailed as the greatest Slam final of all time.

“I know that I am a very competitive kid. I compete whenever I play anything — golf, petanca,” said Alcaraz. “I don’t like to lose.”

At his side is coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, the 2003 French Open winner who also took the No. 1 ranking at the US Open later that year.

“I would love for Carlos to win 30 Grand Slams. There will be a lot of chances,” said Ferrero, who began working with Alcaraz when he was just 15.

Alcaraz was already winning junior European and Spanish titles in lower categories under the guidance of Albert Molina, an agent with IMG. 

Molina established the Alcaraz-Ferrero partnership.

Ferrero then brought Alcaraz into his academy in Valencia, 120km from El Palmar.

His raw potential soon attracted sponsors, with marquee brands such as Nike and Rolex rushing to sign up Nadal’s heir apparent.

The tennis team around the prodigy was also expanding and soon included a physical trainer, a physiotherapist and the support of psychologists and doctors. 

An indication of his potential was obvious at the Rio clay-court event in 2020 when he was just 16, and ranked 406 in the world, he shocked Albert Ramos Vinolas to register his first ATP win.

Alcaraz and Ferrero have developed a deep professional and personal bond.

That relationship was sealed when Ferrero, having returned home following the death of his father, quickly crossed the Atlantic again just in time to see Alcaraz win his first Masters title at Miami in March last year.

“Let him flow, let him play,” said Ferrero when asked to plot his pupil’s future trajectory.

For Alcaraz, the sky is the limit after he dethroned Djokovic to confirm his emergence as the sport’s new king.

SAINT-GERVAIS, France — Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard kept the overall lead of the Tour de France on Sunday crossing the finish line in the second of four Alpine tests wheel to wheel with Tadej Pogacar.

Dutch climber Wout Poels won the 15th stage, raced in the shadow of Mont Blanc and dedicated his win to the memory of recently deceased teammate Gino Maeder.

In the long-term duel for the overall title between the two top riders, Vingegaard remains 10 seconds ahead of Pogacar. 

In the Alps, Vingegaard appears to have stemmed the tide. After three days of Pogacar clawing back time, the last two stages been even, with Vingegaard gaining second over the weekend.

The 179km run from Les Gets to Saint Gervais Mont Blanc was again dominated by both their duel between, and also by a series of falls.

Pogacar twice attempted characteristic blistering late attacks. Vingegaard caught up both times and then sped past approaching the line, only to slow and look his Slovenian rival in the eye as they crossed together.

Monday is a rest day ahead of a potentially decisive individual time-trial on Tuesday which is followed by another Alpine stage on Wednesday.

Pogacar said he was looking forward to the next two stages.

“Tuesday’s time trial will provide a shake up, and Wednesday’s stage has some of the hardest climbs in cycling,” said the 2020 and 2021 Tour winner.

“Tuesday and Wednesday will decide the winner of the Tour. I have tested the course for the time-trial and I like it,” said the UAE rider.

His Danish rival also likes the look of Tuesday’s test, and suggested he was saving his powder.

“I felt good today, I don’t know if I was thinking about attacking, but it didn’t make sense,” said Vingegaard.

“I like short, hard time-trials like [Tuesday’s], there will be lots of change of pace and I like that.”

Young gun consolidates third place

Carlos Rodriguez is more than five minutes behind in third, but the 22-year-old Spaniard, on his first Tour, tightened his grip on a podium place as Australian Jai Hindley dropped to fifth with Briton Adam Yates rising to fourth.

Sunday’s winding route through wild Alpine meadows and valleys featured five mountains but the expected fireworks were doused by an early mass fall.

Rowdy roadside fans have caused continual havoc on this Tour and on Sunday a clumsy spectator brought down half the peloton after stepping out into the road about 60km in.

An escape group built an eight-minutes advantage that the chief pretenders showed no appetite to close in sizzling summer temperatures.

Italian Lidl-Trek rider Giulio Ciccone was part of the day’s big break and took over the polka dot jersey for climbing points.

“For a climber to pull on this jersey at the Tour de France you have to know how much that means,” said Ciccone, who took the yellow jersey briefly early in the 2019 Tour de France.

Raced within view of massive Mont Blanc, with its snow-capped peak, French hopes were again battered a day after Romain Bardet crashed out, with David Gaudu dropped on the last climb.

Riders again tangled with motorbikes. On Saturday one had blocked a Pogacar attack and on Sunday Krists Neilands was knocked over by a motorbike delivering water.

Colombian EF rider Rigoberto Uran ran off a mountain road only to get back up and carry on and there were incidents of riders taking wrong turns.

Bryan Coquard, the French sprinter, broke his handlebars but, with the team car unable to reach him with a replacement, still negotiated a mountain descent.