British rider Simon Yates has cruised to overall victory in the Giro d’Italia, finally winning the race that had eluded him so often.

Pope Leo XIV blessed the 159 cyclists competing in the Giro d’Italia as the three-week race’s final stage began with an unprecedented ride through the Vatican gardens behind St. Peter’s Basilica.

Colombian rider Egan Bernal added the Giro d’Italia title to his Tour de France win after safely maintaining his advantage on the final day’s time trial to Milan.

___The Italian swim team’s preparations for the Tokyo Olympics are in crisis with 10 more athletes testing positive for the novel coronavirus. Olympic champion Federica Pellegrini was already at home in isolation after testing positive last week. The federation says all of the swimmers are asymptomatic and that no staff members have tested positive. ___The Mountain West football game between New Mexico and Colorado State has been canceled due to COVID-19. Overall contenders Simon Yates and Steven Kruijswijk had already been withdrawn from the race after testing positive.

The Champions Hockey League was due to begin next month in an already-shortened format with a knockout bracket and no round-robin. ___Senegal’s friendly soccer match against Mauritania has been canceled after eight members of the Mauritanian delegation tested positive for COVID-19. It says the results showed eight positive tests among the Mauritanian delegation. ___Slovakia coach Pavel Hapal has tested positive for the coronavirus and will miss the Nations League game against Israel on Wednesday. Two players, Milan Skriniar and Jaroslav Mihalik, and a staff member tested positive before Sunday’s Nations League against Scotland that Slovakia lost in Glasgow 1-0.