ONTARIO, Calif. (AP) — UAE Team Emirates began its week at the Tour of California by sending home one of its riders upon learning that his name had surfaced in a European investigation into doping in cycling.

The team appears set to end it with the overall race lead.

Tadej Pogacar reeled in several top contenders on Friday’s final climb to Mt. Baldy, then matched every attack thrown down by Sergio Higuita. That allowed him to reach the finish line first and take not only the sixth stage but also the lead in the general classification with just a day of racing to go.

In the women’s race, American climber Katie Hall surged in the final couple kilometers up Mt. Baldy before holding off teammate Anna van der Breggen for the stage win. Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio was third.

Van der Breggen retained the overall lead by 29 seconds over Hall, the defending race winner.

UAE Team Emirates has ridden this week without Kristijan Durasek, who was caught up in the Austrian doping probe. But it hardly mattered for Pogacar, who stayed out of trouble during the earlier stages and was in fourth place and 16 seconds adrift of Tejay van Garderen entering Friday’s stage.

Van Garderen’s team tried to pace him to the top, but the 2013 race winner cracked before some of his EF-Education First teammates. Gianni Mascon of Team Ineos, who had been third, also dropped off the brutal pace up the steep Mt. Baldy climb, throwing the race wide open.

Conti keeps pink jersey

in Giro d’Italia

L’AQUILA, Italy (AP) — Pello Bilbao won the seventh stage of the Giro d’Italia with a late attack while Valero Conti held onto the overall leader’s pink jersey Friday.

Bilbao was part of an early breakaway and accelerated uphill from a group of five riders with little more than one kilometer remaining in the undulating 185-kilometer stage from Vasto to L’Aquila.

Bilbao, who rides for Astana, had time to celebrate and punch the air as he crossed the line.

Tony Gallopin was second and Davide Formolo was third, both five seconds behind.

Jose Rojas, who was also part of the breakaway, moved up to second overall, 1:32 behind Conti, who took the lead a day earlier. Giovanni Carboni is third, 1:41 back, with Bilbao 11th.

Fernando Gaviria, Conti’s teammate on UAE Emirates and winner of the third stage, abandoned the race with pain in his left knee. That leaves Conti with only five riders to help him protect the lead.

“It’s been very difficult to retain the pink jersey because it looked like the whole peloton wanted to break away today,” Conti said. “There were strong GC riders like Rojas and Bilbao at the front. Luckily, the UAE Team Emirates is very strong and dedicated, too. I’m very happy to keep the lead.”

The stage paid homage to L’Aquila a decade after an earthquake devastated the town in the Abruzzo region.

Stage 8 on Saturday is the three-week race’s longest, a 239-kilometer leg from Tortoreto Lido to Pesaro. The opening 140 kilometers of the stage are flat but the second half is hilly.

The Giro ends June 2 in Verona.

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