CYCLING

On a day of mixed feelings for the home nation, rookie Nans Peters won the eighth stage of the Tour de France following a long breakaway in the Pyrenees, while fellow Frenchman Thibaut Pinot’s love-hate relationship with cycling’s marquee event continued.

Peters was part of a group of 13 riders who broke away in the early stages of the 87.5-mile stage featuring three punishing ascents to the town of Loudenvielle, where he soloed to the biggest win of his career.

Pinot, hoping to become the first French overall winner since 1985, lost contact with the main contenders 41 kilometers from the finish. He dropped to 30th overall, 18 minutes and 56 seconds behind race leader Adam Yates.

Yates and other overall contenders, including defending champion Egan Bernal and favorite Primoz Roglic, crossed the finish line 6 minutes, 40 seconds after Peters. Yates has a three-second lead over Roglic.

AUTO RACING

XFINITY: Brandon Jones swept past leaders Ross Chastain and Denny Hamlin two laps from the end to win an Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway.

Chastain’s runner-up finish locked him into the playoffs with three races remaining before the postseason starts.

FORMULA ONE: Lewis Hamilton set the fastest Formula One lap ever to grab pole position at the Italian Grand Prix, nudging Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas into second place by just 0.069 seconds.

Hamilton raced around the 3.54 miles at the so-called Temple of Speed in Monza with an average speed of 164.267 mph. That eclipsed Kimi Raikkonen’s one-lap record of 163.785 mph at Monza two years ago.

GOLF

EUROPEAN TOUR: American golfer John Catlin shot a 1-over 72 and will take a two-shot lead into the final round of the Andalucia Masters in Sotogrande, Spain.

Two-time major champion Martin Kaymer (69) is in second place, and Jamie Donaldson (73) and Lorenzo Gagli (71) are both three strokes behind at Valderrama, the notoriously tough 1997 Ryder Cup venue.

SOCCER

MLS: The New York Red Bulls promoted Bradley Carnell to interim head coach, a day after firing Chris Armas.

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