IN BRIEF (Page 24)
Motor racing
Gronholm hangs on to win Acropolis Rally
ATHENS: Marcus Gronholm held on in first first place in the Acropolis Rally on Sunday to win in Greece and extend his lead in the drivers' standings.
The Finn, driving a Ford Focus, was chased hard by world champion Sebastian Loeb on the final day of the rally but finished 38.6 seconds ahead of the Frenchman
"I feel very good," said Gronholm who won five stages over the three days of rallying, one fewer than Loeb.
"We didn't have any problems this weekend," said the Finn, who won in Greece in 2006. "The rally was much better than last year. Now we have expanded our lead in the championship but there is still a long way to go."
Norwegian Petter Solberg, driving for Subaru, finished in third place, one minute 34 seconds behind Gronholm.
Cycling
Dominant Di Luca claims Giro d'Italia title
MILAN: Italy's Danilo Di Luca won the Giro d'Italia in Milan on Sunday after leading the race for 13 of the 21 stages.
Sprinter Alessandro Petacchi of the Milram team won the final stage to claim his fifth victory of the race after fracturing his kneecap during last year's Giro.
Di Luca beat 21 year-old Andy Schleck of Luxembourg by one minute and 55 seconds, with Italy's Eddy Mazzoleni third at 2:25.
"Winning the Giro d'Italia is the biggest possible achievement for any Italian rider and I'm especially proud to be the first rider from central Italy to have won it," Di Luca said.
However, the Liquigas rider's overall victory was marked by the resurrection of a doping probe from 2004 which led to Di Luca and three other Giro competitors being given surprise drug tests on Wednesday.
Soccer
Genoa and Napoli set up promotion showdown
MILAN: Genoa and Napoli will face each other in a virtual promotion play-off next weekend after their waits to return to Serie A were prolonged on Sunday.
Genoa conceded in stoppage time to lose 1-0 at Mantova while Napoli leapfrogged them into second with a 1-0 win over Lecce in the penultimate matches in Serie B.
The two sides meet in Genoa in next Sunday's final round of matches with the winner joining champions Juventus in Serie A next season, although a draw is enough for Napoli.
However, both clubs could still go up automatically under Italy's complicated promotion rules.
If the third-placed side finishes 10 points or more above the team in fourth then they go up automatically without the need for a play-off between third, fourth, fifth and sixth.
Napoli have 78 points, Genoa have 77 and fourth-placed Piacenza have 67. Piacenza host Triestina next Sunday.
In-form Palmeiras upset by Cruzeiro
RIO DE JANEIRO: Palmeiras's bright start to the Brazilian championship came to an abrupt end when Cruzeiro stole a 3-1 victory at the Parque Antarctica stadium on Sunday.
Palmeiras, without in-form midfielder Jorge Valdivia who was on international duty with Chile, fell behind in the sixth minute when Araujo rounded off a flowing counter-attack.
Martinez equalised for Palmeiras by diverting a cross into the goal, but Cruzeiro regained the lead with a Ramires effort.
Palmeiras failed to capitalise on a number of chances, the best of which fell to Edmundo, the former Brazil striker who is facing a six-match ban for alleged violent conduct in a recent clash with Sao Paulo.
Marcelo scored a second-half equaliser to secure under-strength Santos a 1-1 home draw with Corinthians.
(China Daily 06/05/2007 page24)
