Cycling

'Nobody needs to cry

for me,' Armstrong says

Lance Armstrong seemingly was feeling fine, even after being beaten by a teenager in a 36-mile mountain-bike race Saturday.

In his first interview since the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency disciplined Armstrong with a lifetime ban from pro cycling and vacated his seven Tour de France titles, he said, "Nobody needs to cry for me. I'm going to be great."

Armstrong, 40, couldn't catch Keegan Swirbul at the Power of Four race in Aspen, Colo.

"It's cool to get your butt kicked by a 16-year-old when you know he has a bright future," said Armstrong, smiling.

Armstrong had his mind on food. He chatted for a few minutes before saying, "OK, I'm going to go eat a cheeseburger."

Before leaving, though, he posed for pictures with the throng of fans. Several spectators wore Livestrong hats and shirts.

"I'm focused on the future," Armstrong said. "I've got five great kids, a great lady (girlfriend Anna Hansen) in my life, a wonderful foundation that's completely unaffected by any noise out there, and we're going to continue to do our job.

"The people like the people who are standing around here or on the course, they voiced their opinion in the last 48 hours and are going to support us."

Armstrong retired from top-level cycling last year but enjoys competing in weekend events.

"It's not so much about racing anymore for me," he said. "For me, it's more about staying fit and coming out here and enjoying one of the most beautiful parts of the world, on a beautiful day, on a very hard course."

Leipheimer leads

Defending champion Levi Leipheimer, an American who rides for the Omega Pharma-Quickstep team, opened a nine-second lead in the USA Pro Challenge.

Australian Rory Sutherland of the UnitedHealthcare team won the 102.8-mile sixth stage from Golden to Boulder in Colorado in 4 hours, 6 minutes, 12 seconds. The event ends with a time trial Sunday in Denver.

Garmin-Sharp rider Tejay van Garderen, who was born in Tacoma, faded to 11th in the stage and is third in the standings, 21 seconds behind Leipheimer.

Valverde wins stage

Alejandro Valverde overtook overall leader Joaquin Rodriguez and Alberto Contador on the final climb to win the eighth stage of the Spanish Vuelta — a 1-2-3 finish for riders from Spain.

Movistar rider Valverde covered 109 miles from Lleida to Collada de la Gallina in 4:06:39.

Katusha rider Rodriguez leads Christopher Froome, a Team Sky rider from Britain, by 33 seconds.

Tennis

Isner repeats as champ

Defending champion John Isner of the United States outlasted Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (11-9) in the Winston-Salem Open final in North Carolina — perhaps building momentum for the U.S. Open, which starts Monday in New York.

Kvitova triumphs

Former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic beat Maria Kirilenko of Russia 7-6 (11-9), 7-5 to win the New Haven Open in Connecticut.

Kvitova won the Rogers Cup final Aug. 13 in Montreal.

Elsewhere

• Seimone Augustus scored 23 points, Rebekkah Brunson added 21 and the visiting Minnesota Lynx beat the Atlanta Dream 84-74 in a rematch of last year's WNBA Finals, won by Minnesota in a 3-0 sweep.

Minnesota has won six games in a row and improved to a league-best 19-4.

• San Antonio beat the Tulsa Shock 91-71 for its ninth consecutive WNBA home victory. The Silver Stars have won 13 of their last 14 games.

Tulsa has lost to San Antonio nine times in a row.

• Briann January of Spokane scored 22 points to help the visiting Indiana Fever beat Phoenix 85-72.

Diana Taurasi scored 19 for the Mercury, which has lost 10 in a row.

• Kristi Toliver scored 26 points as the host Los Angeles Sparks extended their WNBA winning streak to nine by beating New York 87-62.

• Auburn football coach Gene Chizik has suspended center Reese Dismukes after the sophomore's arrest on a charge of public intoxication.

The Lee County's sheriff's office said the starter was released on a $300 bond.

Seattle Times news services