Author: Reuters

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Tour de France 2027 routes revealed with British stages, time-trials and a volcano

  • Wales test labelled by director as ‘Liège-Bastogne-Liège’

  • Tour de France Femmes will conclude on Puy de Dôme

Edinburgh will host the most northerly Tour de France start in 2027 and the Pyrenees will provide the competitive finale of next year’s route, which was announced in Paris on Thursday, while the Tour de France Femmes will conclude on a volcano, ⁠the Puy de Dôme.

A year after the race’s most southerly start in Barcelona, the Scottish capital will surpass the 2022 Grand Départ in Copenhagen in the opposite direction as, for the fifth time in six years, the Tour sets off from abroad.

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Injuries force Wallabies into No 10 change for second Bledisloe Test against All Blacks

  • Declan Meredith plays with Carter Gordon and Ben Donaldson out

  • New Zealand make three changes to starting XV for Sydney clash

Australia coach Les Kiss has named Declan Meredith as starting flyhalf and uncapped playmaker Harry McLaughlin-Phillips ⁠as back-up for Saturday’s second Bledisloe Cup Test against New Zealand in Sydney.

Kiss suffered the first defeat of his reign ⁠as coach in the ⁠thumping 50-19 ​loss last week in Auckland that ensured the All Blacks would retain the Bledisloe Cup for the 24th straight year.

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Shubman Gill hits record-breaking double hundred as India chase 406 in second ODI

  • India captain hits 200 off 117 balls to power record chase

  • West Indies stunned after hitting three centuries to post 405

Shubman Gill struck the fastest double century in one-day international history as India completed the format’s second-highest successful chase with an eight-wicket victory against West Indies in a run-filled second match of the three-game series in Guwahati on Wednesday.

Gill, the world’s top-ranked ODI batter and India’s captain, remained unbeaten on 223 off 133 deliveries, bringing up the quickest ODI century of his career (62 balls) before converting it into the fastest ODI double hundred (117 balls) of anyone’s career. This was the 27-year-old’s second double century in ODIs, the first coming against New Zealand in Hyderabad in 2023 – he is only the second player after his opening partner Rohit Sharma to make 200 more than once.

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South Africa power to ODI series win as Australia’s middle order struggles again

  • Bavuma and Miller smash centuries in second ODI

  • Australia batters fall 32 runs short despite strong start

Temba Bavuma and David Miller both struck centuries as South Africa defeated Australia by 32 runs in the ⁠second one-day international in Johannesburg, securing victory in the three-match series with a game to spare.

Australia sent their hosts in to bat and South ⁠Africa amassed 365 for ⁠nine in their ​50 overs, before bowling the visitors out for 333 in 49.5 overs to win a high-scoring encounter. The Proteas continued their recent dominance over their rivals with a 19th ODI ⁠win in their last 25 meetings.

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Australia deny Zimbabwe a consolation win after Ellis pulls off last-over heist

Josh Inglis scored his second one-day international century and Nathan Ellis his highest score in ⁠the format with an unbeaten 36 from 44 balls as Australia claimed a dramatic one-wicket victory over hosts ⁠Zimbabwe with a ball ⁠to spare in Harare on Sunday.

When Ellis was joined at the crease by Australia’s No 11, Spencer Johnson, ⁠the tourists needed 27 runs for victory, something the pair managed at a run-a-ball to take their side to the win.

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Maiden Matt Renshaw ODI century sets up Australia win in Zimbabwe

  • Australia 294-8; Zimbabwe 235 | Australia win by 59 runs

  • Batter scores 109; Nathan Ellis has figures of 5-31 ​in 9.1 overs

Australia’s Matt Renshaw scored a maiden one-day international century while Nathan Ellis took five ⁠wickets to guide their side to a 59-run win over hosts Zimbabwe in the first clash of ⁠their three-match series.

Australia ⁠chose to ​bat first, and the surprise decision from captain Mitchell Marsh was vindicated as they scored 294-8 in their ⁠50 overs, setting Zimbabwe an imposing target at Harare Sports Club.

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Enric Mas heads for Vuelta glory after protecting lead on penultimate stage

  • Movistar rider refuses to crack in brutal mountain test

  • Would be first home winner since Contador ​12 ​years ago

Enric Mas all but secured overall victory in the Vuelta a España when he survived a brutal penultimate ⁠stage on the sun-baked slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The 31-year-old Movistar rider spent most of the 186km stage in a group ⁠alongside Primoz Roglic, Felix ⁠Gall and ​Richard Carapaz – the only men who could deny him the red jersey – and simply refused to crack.

Looking perfectly in control up the steep ⁠and winding final 9km climb to Collado del Alguacil, Mallorcan rider Mas comfortably protected the 1min 37 sec advantage he had held over the Slovenian Roglic after ⁠19 stages and even stretched his lead at the climax.

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South African airline behind low-level flyby stunt cancels repeat display

  • Forecast of unfavourable weather cited as reason

  • Aircraft passed less than ‌50 feet above stadium

The South African airline Airlink has cancelled a planned flypast before Saturday’s Springboks-All ⁠Blacks rugby Test as the country’s aviation regulator reviews a similar display conducted by the airline last ⁠week.

Airlink said on ⁠Wednesday ​it had withdrawn its application for a formation flyby ahead of the Rugby Championship clash at Johannesburg’s ⁠FNB Stadium, citing forecasts of unfavourable weather. The South African civil aviation authority (SACAA) is conducting a compliance verification of ⁠the airline’s 29 August flypast over Cape Town’s DHL Stadium.

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‘Special for Norway’: Leknessund breaks clear to win stage seven of Vuelta

  • Norway in mourning after death of King Harald

  • ‘It’s only a small thing in the bigger picture’

The Norwegian Andreas Leknessund launched a successful solo attack on ⁠the final climb to the summit finish of Aramón Valdelinares to win stage ⁠seven of the ⁠Vuelta ​a España, ahead of his Uno-X Mobility teammate and compatriot Tobias Johannessen on a day ⁠when their country mourned the death of King Harald.

Leknessund made his move from ⁠a five-rider breakaway 7.5km from the finish at ​the end of the ‌149.8km ride from ‌Vall d’Alba, and pulled away to win his first ‌Grand Tour stage on his Vuelta debut.

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LIV Golf to lay off majority of staff amid ‘compressed timeline’ for new investors

  • Saudi Arabia’s PIF have ended financial support

  • Chief executive working on deal but needs players’ buy-in

LIV Golf informed the majority of its workforce on Wednesday that they will be laid off in the first week of September.

The news ⁠comes three days after the 2026 season concluded in Indianapolis and four months after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced it was ending its financial support ⁠of the league after ⁠spending more than $5bn over the past five years.

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Vuelta a España: Tadej Pogacar punishes peloton with mighty solo win on stage four

  • Slovenian powers to victory by more than three minutes

  • Leader breaks rivals on brutal climb at halfway point

Tadej Pogacar arrived in red, lit the fuse on the climbs and turned stage four of the Vuelta a España ⁠into a private exhibition on Tuesday, powering away with almost 50 kilometres remaining to win alone in Andorra la Vella.

The Slovenian, bidding to ⁠complete his Grand ⁠Tour collection by ​claiming the Vuelta for the first time, attacked on the road to the second climb and quickly reduced a high-altitude battle into ⁠a one-man procession.

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Vuelta a España: giant hail forces stage three abandonment in Pyrenees

  • Huge hailstones prompt organisers to act 15km from end

  • Riders seen heading into hotel on route to take cover

A torrential hailstorm in the French Pyrenees forced the abandonment of the ⁠third stage of the Vuelta a España on Monday.

With 15 kilometres (9.32 miles) remaining of the 174km route ⁠from Gruissan to Font-Romeu, the ​skies darkened as the peloton neared the top of the Col de Mont-Louis and huge hailstones began ⁠bouncing off the tarmac and pelting the riders.

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Lani Pallister pips Summer McIntosh to gold before adding silver on Pan Pacs opening night

  • Australian finishes strongly to win 200m freestyle title in California

  • Pallister comes in second behind Katie Ledecky in 1,500m freestyle

Australia’s freestyle star Lani Pallister has collected gold and silver medals in her arduous opening to the Pan Pacific championships in the United States.

Pallister triumphed in the women’s 200m freestyle and then set a personal best when finishing behind American legend Katie Ledecky in the 1,500m freestyle in Irvine, California on Wednesday (Thursday AEST).

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Doubts grow over Carlos Alcaraz’s US Open defence after latest withdrawal

  • World No 2 pulls out of ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati

  • Spaniard has been sidelined since April with ongoing wrist injury

Carlos Alcaraz has pulled out of the Cincinnati Open due to an ⁠ongoing wrist injury, casting fresh doubts over the Spaniard’s fitness ahead of his ⁠US Open title ⁠defence this ​month.

The seven-times Grand Slam champion has been sidelined since withdrawing from the Barcelona Open second round in April ⁠but had been set to return at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati, which he won last ⁠year.

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Cam Smith wants LIV Golf to live on but ‘100%’ would return to PGA Tour

  • Former world No 2 would like golf to ‘go back to old times’ if LIV folds

  • ‘I’d hate to see it go away,’ Australian says of rebel tour

Cameron Smith wants LIV Golf to survive but if it doesn’t, he would “100%” return to the PGA Tour.

“I mean, if it was the only option, I think that’s where everyone would want to ⁠be for sure, 100%,” the Australian former world No 2 said ahead of this week’s LIV Golf New York event. “It would go back to old times.”

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