Justine Ghekiere claimed victory in the seventh stage of the women’s Tour de France on Saturday, the first mountain challenge in the French Alps in Le Grand-Bornand.

The 166-kilometer (103-mile) stage, the tour’s longest, saw the Belgian rider leverage her climbing strength to break away during the final ascent to Le Grand-Bornand.

Wearing the red polka dot jersey, Ghekiere launched a decisive attack on the steep slopes of the Col de Saint-Jean-de-Sixt, distancing her rivals, including Marianne Vos, to cross the finish line solo.

“I really have no words,” Ghekiere said after winning her first Tour de France stage. “I think I’m dreaming. I really want to thank my team who did an incredible job helping me today.”

Kasia Niewiadoma, who had taken the yellow jersey after Demi Vollering’s crash earlier in the tour, struggled on the mountain stage but kept the jersey after finishing fourth. She leads Puck Pieterse overall by 27 seconds ahead of Sunday’s final stage to Alpe d’Huez.

Vollering, unable to match Ghekiere’s pace on the final climb, finished third in the stage and is 1:15 behind Niewiadoma overall.

Capan on verge of earning PGA Tour card

Frankie Capan III is inching toward his PGA Tour card, and he could secure it on Sunday.

The North Oaks native is currently in third place through three rounds of the Magnit Championship at Metedeconk National Golf Club in New Jersey. Capan carded a 4-under round of 68 on Saturday, moving him to 13-under for the tournament, just two shots back of leaders Will Chandler and Max McGreevy.

A win on Sunday would certainly, officially lock up Capan’s PGA Tour card for next season, but a top-two finish would also likely do it. The top 30 on the Korn Ferry Tour season-long standings at season’s end earn the promotion to the top pro tour. There are just four events remaining after this week. The PGA Tour has already began designating players as “Tour Bound” who -- via their point totals -- are statistical certainties to finish in the top 30.

Capan entered the week at No. 19 in the standings. His current third-place position would bump him up to No. 13 for the season.

But Capan’s goals have long been higher than to finish in the top 30. He wants to finish the season atop the season-long standings. That would require at least two wins down the stretch. Capan has yet to accrue one of those -- he’s logged a pair of top fives --but Sunday marks his third time this season playing in a final group. He’ll tee off at 9:18 a.m. CDT on Sunday.

-- Jace Frederick

Newgarden wins Indycar race in Illinois

Josef Newgarden won for the fifth time at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill., taking the lead during a late pit stop and holding off teammate Scott McLaughlin on two restarts.

Newgarden survived a partial spin-out on Lap 196 in the 260-lap race, keeping his No. 2 Chevrolet out of the wall as he turned sideways coming out of Turn 2.

Newgarden has been dominant on the track just outside St. Louis, winning for the fourth time in the past five years. His winning streak ended last year, when he crashed with 49 laps to go.

It was a sweep for Team Penske’s No. 2 cars at the track, after Austin Cindric won the NASCAR Cup race this year. The crowd was much smaller for the IndyCar race, with empty swaths of seats in the main grandstand.

Allgaier wins Xfinity race in Michigan overtime

Justin Allgaier raced to his second Xfinity Series victory of the year and 25th overall, pulling away from the pack in an overtime finish on Saturday at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich.

Allgaier broke a 10th-place tie with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tommy Houston for victories in NASCAR’s second-tier series.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would hit that number,” the 36-year-old Allgaier said.

Michigan’s two-mile oval became the 18th track where he has won a race.

Sheldon Creed was second for an 11th time, setting an Xfinity Series record for runner-up finishes without a win. He’s the only Xfinity Series driver to finish in the top five in 10 races this year.

John Hunter Nemechek, the Xfinity winner last year at Michigan, was third.

Creed and Sam Mayer were signed to multiyear contracts earlier in the day to drive in the second-tier series next season for Haas Factory Team, an offshoot of Stewart-Haas Racing.

The wet weather that washed out qualifying for the Cup Series, stopped the Xfinity event for nearly 10 minutes early and again toward the end of the race.

College football >> Louisville senior wide receiver Caullin Lacy will miss six to eight weeks after breaking his collarbone during a scrimmage. The South Alabama transfer was expected to have a prominent role in the Cardinals’ offense after leading the Sun Belt Conference with 1,316 yards receiving last season.

Tennis >> Carlos Alcaraz has apologized for his behavior during Friday afternoon’s loss to Gael Monfils at the Cincinnati Open. During the third set, Alcaraz destroyed his racket by repeatedly smashing it on the court in a rare show of frustration for the four-time Grand Slam winner. The No. 3 player in the ATP rankings lost 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 to the 37-year-old Monfils.

Soccer >> Cristiano Ronaldo is still waiting for his first domestic trophy in Saudi Arabia after Al-Nassr lost 4-1 to Al-Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup in Abha, Saudi Arabia. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner scored the opening goal just before halftime in the season’s curtain-raiser between Saudi Pro League champion Al-Hilal and runner-up Al-Nassr.

Auto racing >> Haas Factory Team, an offshoot of Stewart-Haas Racing, has completed its roster for next season. Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer were signed to multiyear contracts on Saturday to drive for the team in NASCAR’s second-tier Xfinity Series in 2025.

— From news services