Wrong Turn Can't Keep Cyclist From Holding Lead

Tour DuPont champion Lance Armstrong won yesterday's stage of the Kmart Classic, finishing the 110-mile race in 4:42:45 despite being misdirected off course by a race worker.

Armstrong, riding for team Motorola, was penalized 1:40 after finishing the fourth-stage race, which extended from Beckley to Hinton, W. Va.

"It was not his fault. He just went where they told him to go," race spokesman Al Abrams said.

At Sheridan Street in Beckley, Armstrong was misdirected by a race worker, who later realized the error, Abrams said. Since Armstrong was out front, the worker was able to properly direct the rest of the cyclists, he said.

Race officials determined Armstrong saved 1:40 by taking the improper route, so they added that to his time, Abrams said.

Frankie Andreu of Dearborn, Mich., was in second place overall, 4:31 behind Armstrong. Brian Walton of team Saturn was third overall, 5:17 behind Armstrong.

-- Pascal Richard of Switzerland edged Colombian Oliverio Rincon to win the mountainous 135-mile stage of the Tour of Italy in Rovereto, Italy.

Tony Rominger of Switzerland retained the overall lead, arriving in a small group 1:22 behind the winners.

Italy's Mario Cipollini, who was disqualified from Thursday's stage victory after a jury ruled he made an illegal move during the final sprint, withdrew from the tour. He blamed a knee problem.

MOTOR SPORTS

Jean Alesi won the provisional pole for the Monaco Grand Prix in the rain-shortened opening session of trials for tomorrow's race. He was timed in 1:23.754 in a Ferrari on the twisting 2-mile circuit circuit through the streets of Monte Carlo.

World champion Michael Schumacher was next with 1:24.146 in his Benetton-Renault. Gerhard Berger was third in the other Ferrari, 1:24.509.

COLLEGES

Cheryl Longeway completed a no-hitter that she started the night before in the rain-plagued Women's College World Series, leading Southwest Louisiana to a 5-0 victory over Michigan at the tournament in Oklahoma City.

Longeway had pitched one inning Thursday night before rain suspended the game. She faced 24 batters over the seven innings, striking out eight and walking three. The no-hitter was the third of the season for Longeway (28-4).

In other games, Arizona won for the second time on the eight-run mercy rule with an 11-0 win over Cal State-Fullerton and UCLA defeated Iowa 2-1.

-- Notre Dame and Jimmy Black officially parted over the assistant basketball coach's troubles with a domestic violence charge.

Black's resignation came less than three weeks after his arrest for failing to appear in court to answer a charge he struck his fiancee.

The Notre Dame sports administration did its best to skirt the circumstances surrounding Black and his departure. His resignation, which took effect yesterday, was reduced to a single line in a six-paragraph news release announcing the hiring of his replacement, Parker Laketa, a restricted-earnings assistant for the Fighting Irish the past three seasons.

-- T.C. White, Duke running back who was vying for a starting job in the 1995 season, has been declared academically ineligible and will not play football for the Blue Devils in the fall, Coach Fred Goldsmith announced.

FOOTBALL

Former Florida quarterback Terry Dean signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, becoming the fifth quarterback under contract with the CFL team.

The other quarterbacks who have signed are Sam Garza, Warren Jones, Joe Pica and Virgil Gardner. Veteran NFL backup Steve Pelluer has also asked to take a shot at the job that became available with Matt Dunigan's opting for a big-money deal with the Birmingham Barracudas.

TRACK AND FIELD

Mike Gravelle, national discus champion, who was suspended in January after failing a test for steroids, has been denied permission to compete in today's Bruce Jenner track meet in San Jose, Calif.

A Superior Court judge in San Francisco issued the ruling yesterday in Gravelle's lawsuit against USA Track and Field.

SAILING

Minoru Saito of Japan sailed into Charleston, S.C., harbor under starlit skies early yesterday, the final finisher in the BOC Challenge 27,000-mile around the world solo yacht race. The winner, Frenchman Christophe Auguin, finished April 27.