Cavendish’s crash ends shot at record

Mark Cavendish will have to share the record for most career stage wins at the Tour de France. Competing in his final season, the ace sprinter crashed out of the race during the eighth stage on Saturday with a suspected collarbone fracture. Cavendish equaled Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 stage wins during the 2021 Tour, 13 years after his first success, but was not selected last year. This edition was his last chance to become the outright record-holder after he announced in May during the Giro d’Italia that he will retire from cycling at the end of this season. Cavendish ended the Giro in style, winning the final stage in the historic center of Rome to post his 17th stage win at the Italian Grand Tour. Known as “The Manx Missile” as he’s from the Isle of Man, Cavendish was second in Friday’s seventh stage. The 38-year-old former world champion crashed with 64 kilometers left while riding at the back of the peloton at about 45 kph (28 mph). TV images showed the veteran rider lying on the ground and holding his right shoulder in pain.

Verstappen takes pole at British GP

Lando Norris nearly delighted the British Grand Prix crowd with pole position. There was just one problem: Max Verstappen. “It’s always Max. He always ruins everything for everyone,” Norris joked after the Dutch driver beat his time for his fifth pole position in a row on Saturday. The British crowd roared when Norris briefly took over the top spot late, before Verstappen went yet faster to take it back by .241 seconds. The result may be routine in Formula One — Red Bull has taken pole in nine out of 10 races — but it followed a session of tension, another failure for Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Pérez, and a moment of jeopardy for the Dutch driver himself. Verstappen made contact with the pit wall and broke his front wing while leaving his garage during a red-flag stoppage in the first part of qualifying. Red Bull replaced the wing and checked there was no other damage before Verstappen continued, but he was at the back of a line of cars and worked his way through the field to set up for a fast lap, going side-by-side with old rival Lewis Hamilton on the way. Pérez qualified 16th.

Richardson captures title after ban

Moments after she was introduced on the starting line, Sha’Carri Richardson reached to her head, pulled her trademark orange wig off and flung it onto the ground behind her. Then, she took the next step on the long road to proving she’s the real deal. America’s most colorful sprint star won the 100-meter title in 10.82 seconds at the U.S. championships on Friday night, marking a high point that comes two years after her national title was stripped because of a doping violation. After her victory, she conceded in a TV interview that she wasn’t ready for the moment at the 2021 Olympic Trials, where, shortly after her victory, she tested positive for using marijuana. “Now, I stand here with you again and I’m ready, mentally, physically and emotionally,” said the 23-year-old, who ran in her natural black braids with a star shaved into the right side of her hairdo. “I’m here to say, ‘I’m not back, I’m better ... .’” She’ll have a chance to put a stamp on that next month at world championships, which will mark her first major international meet. —Associated Press