Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Although Belgian rider Yves Lampaert caused a surprise by winning the Tour de France opening stage, two-time defending champion Tadej Pogacar wouldn't have been bothered at finishing third on Friday.
His priority was testing his race legs and placing ahead of his Slovenian countryman and main rival Primoz Roglic, the 2020 runner-up, who was eighth in the time trial.
"I'm feeling confident, satisfied, even though it was tense and tight for me," Pogacar said. "It's still one of my best Tour starts."
Lampaert is a former world champion in team time trial but this was his first stage win at the three-week Tour. He clocked 15 minutes, 17 seconds on the 13-kilometre (eight-mile) route around Copenhagen.
The Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider was five seconds ahead of countryman Wout van Aert -- Roglic's Jumbo-Visma teammate -- and seven ahead of Pogacar, who leads UAE Team Emirates. Pogacar was a measly nine seconds clear of Roglic.
Lampaert could scarcely believe it when he realized he won, wiping away tears and putting his hands on his mouth.
He couldn't believe another thing, either, beating Van Aert -- a three-time cyclo-cross world champion, multiple one-day classics winner and two-time national time trial champ.
"I beat the great Van Aert! It's unbelievable for me, I never thought about wearing the yellow jersey. My head's exploding," Lampaert said. "I was expecting to finish in the top 10. That would have been very good, and now I've beaten all the best."
The rain was teeming when Roglic finished under grey skies shortly after 4:30 p.m., and still lashing when Pogacar set off around 40 minutes later. Even though he is a specialist in the wet, Pogacar looked cautious taking the first turn.
It might have cost him victory.
Riders set off to loud cheers.
"There was so much noise you could hardly hear anything in the earpiece," French rider David Gaudu said.
The noise level went up again when local rider Jonas Vingegaard -- Roglic's teammate and the Tour runner-up last year -- rolled down the start ramp. He placed seventh, one second ahead of Roglic.
Large parts of the Danish capital were shut down. The wet roads made the route treacherous -- especially the section across the square of Amalienborg Palace, the main residence of Denmark's royal family, which is paved with cobblestones.
Swiss rider Stefan Bissegger fell off twice, but continued.
The stage went past the city's other best known landmarks, including the Little Mermaid statue, sitting on her perch at the entrance of the harbour.
Among the thousands of fans, some waving the red-and-white Danish flag, was Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
"I grew up with my dad being glued to the television screen to watch Tour de France," Frederiksen said.
Earlier, Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik rode the route.
"It is great to see the great support for the Tour at home," said the 54-year-old Frederik, sporting a helmet, shorts and a T-shirt. The palace also published Instagram vintage photos of Danish royals riding bicycles, including Frederik's great grandfather, King Christian X and the current Queen Margrethe.
There are two more stages in Denmark this weekend, including crossing the Great Belt Bridge that links the Zealand island, where Copenhagen sits, and the central isle of Funen.
The first start in Denmark -- but the 24th time the race has started outside of France -- was supposed to be held in 2021 but postponed a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
After the Danish stages, the riders travel to France with a stage between Dunkerque and Calais.
The race ends in Paris on July 24.
Meanwhile, police have been closely investigating the Bahrain Victorious team and seized more than 450 capsules of unidentified substances at a house in Slovenia during raids across Europe, the European agency Eurojust said Friday.
Riders and staff had their homes raided and the team's hotel in Denmark was searched this week.
------
AP Sports Writer Jerome Pugmire in Paris and Associated Press writer Jan Olsen in Copenhagen contributed to this report.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.