Author: Reuters

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Unstoppable Tadej Pogacar defends men’s road race world title in Rwanda

  • Pogacar reclaims rainbow jersey he won last year

  • Remco Evenepoel second, Ireland’s Ben Healy third

Tadej Pogacar lit up Kigali’s climbs with a trademark long-range attack to claim a second consecutive men’s road race world title on Sunday.

There was an air of inevitability surrounding the event in Rwanda as the Slovenian cemented his legacy among cycling’s all-time greats. Pogacar triumphed as the world championships were staged in Africa for the first time, with hundreds of thousands cheering from the roadside.

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Marc Márquez beats brother Álex to emotional MotoGP world championship

  • Francesco Bagnaia wins Japanese Grand Prix

  • Márquez takes unassailable lead with five races to go

Ducati’s Marc Márquez clinched his seventh MotoGP world championship at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday and his first since 2019 after he took an unassailable lead with five rounds to spare.

Márquez needed to outscore his brother, Álex, of Gresini Racing by three or more points by the end of the weekend, and finished second behind his teammate Francesco Bagnaia in Sunday’s race to clinch the title.

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Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu leads South Africa to nine-try rout of Argentina

  • South Africa 67-30 Argentina

  • Feinberg-Mngomezulu bags record 37 points

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu scored 37 points in a stunning individual fly-half display as South Africa moved to the top of the Rugby Championship table with a 67-30 bonus-point victory over Argentina at Kings Park.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu scored a hat-trick of tries as he beat Percy Montgomery’s Springboks record for most points in a single Test, to go with scores for the hooker Malcolm Marx, the wing Cheslin Kolbe, the scrum-half Morné van den Berg, the flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit (two) and the replacement back Manie Libbok.

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Magdeleine Vallieres hits heights to win Canada’s first world road race title

  • Unfancied Vallieres breaks clear on final climb

  • Fisher-Black and García complete podium

Canada’s Magdeleine Vallieres took a surprise gold in the women’s road race at the Road World Championships after a decisive attack on the final climb on Saturday in Kigali. The 24-year-old was in a lead group with New Zealand’s Niamh Fisher-Black and Spain’s Mavi García near the end of the 164km slog on a hilly circuit in the Rwandan capital when she burst clear.

Powering up the ascent towards the finish line, Vallieres stayed clear of Fisher-Black, who came home second with García third. Vallieres won by 23sec to become Canada’s first road champion. Fisher-Black was second with Garcia, trying to become the oldest road world champion at 41, third, 26sec back. Switzerland’s Elise Chabbey was fourth at 41sec. The favourites trailed home in the chasing group after being caught out and leaving their response too late.

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James O’Connor starts for Wallabies after dash back from England for Bledisloe Cup Test

  • Australia’s No 1o named in starting XV after globetrotting week

  • James Slipper to become first Wallabies player to reach 150 Tests

Australia flyhalf James O’Connor has been rewarded with the No 10 jersey following his globe-trotting journey while prop James Slipper will become the first Wallaby to play 150 Tests in the Rugby Championship clash against New Zealand on Saturday.

O’Connor flew to England last week to join his new club Leicester Tigers only to head back to the Antipodes days later after being named in Joe Schmidt’s Australia squad for the final two Tests against the All Blacks at Eden Park and Perth.

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European football: Marseille spoil PSG’s party, Napoli wobble in win over Pisa

  • Nayef Aguerd’s early header settles delayed Ligue 1 tie

  • Antonio Conte’s side stay perfect in Serie A with 3-2 win

Paris Saint-Germain suffered a 1-0 defeat at Marseille in Monday’s rearranged “Le Classique”, with Nayef Aguerd’s early header proving decisive in his side’s first home league win over their bitter rivals since 2011.

After Sunday’s weather-enforced postponement of the match amid heavy rain and storms, PSG fell to their first league defeat of the season on a night where Ousmane Dembélé was presented with the 2025 Ballon d’Or men’s award in Paris.

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Marlen Reusser and Remco Evenepoel take world time trial titles in Rwanda

  • Swiss Reusser beats Kigali field by 51.89sec to take gold

  • Belgium’s Evenepoel passes Pogacar on way to victory

Switzerland’s Marlen Reusser overcame illness this year to win the women’s individual time trial at the cycling Road World Championships in Kigali on Sunday, while Remco Evenepoel of Belgium won a third successive men’s individual time trial title.

Reusser finished 51.89sec quicker than the rest of the field for a dominant victory, taking the rainbow jersey in a time of 43min 09.34sec around the 31.2km course in Rwanda’s capital on the opening day of the week-long championships, being hosted in Africa for the first time.

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India-Pakistan feud continues at Asia Cup as captain Yadav refuses handshake

  • India skipper snubs Salman Ali Agha in preliminaries

  • India beat Pakistan by six wickets in Dubai

India’s captain, Suryakumar Yadav, once again chose not to shake hands with Pakistan’s Salman Ali Agha at the toss for their Asia Cup match on Sunday, as animosity between the bitter rivals rumbled on at the eight-team tournament.

The Asia Cup has been dominated by headlines about India and Pakistan’s first meetings on the pitch since the military conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May this year. India have won both matches, winning the second by six wickets on Sunday.

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Cocciaretto and Paolini help Italy beat United States to retain Billie Jean King Cup

  • Italy claim 2-0 victory against 18-time champions

  • Win takes Italy’s tally to six titles in women’s competition

An inspired Italy successfully defended their Billie Jean King Cup with a 2-0 victory over record 18-time champions the United States on Sunday, taking their own tally in the premier women’s team competition to six titles.

Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Jasmine Paolini both won their singles matches to help their country triumph in Shenzhen and prolonged the American wait for another title after their previous success in 2017.

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European football: Kane fires hat-trick as Bayern Munich thrash Hoffenheim

  • England captain hits ninth treble for Bundesliga leaders

  • Real Madrid sink Espanyol to keep up perfect start

Bayern Munich maintained their flawless start in the Bundesliga by beating Hoffenheim 4-1 away on Saturday after Harry Kane netted two penalties and bagged his ninth hat-trick for the German league leaders.

It was Kane’s second hat-trick of the campaign, after a second-half treble in their season opener against RB Leipzig, and he moved five clear at the top of the scoring charts with eight league goals in four matches.

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Champions League roundup: Kairat Almaty’s long journey goes unrewarded

  • Kazakhstani side beaten 4-1 at Sporting

  • Frankfurt and Brugge enjoy victories

Kairat Almaty’s debut in the league phase of the Champions League was ruined by conceding three goals in four second-half minutes as Sporting ran out 4-1 winners at the Estádio José Alvalade.

The visitors from the city of Almaty in south-eastern Kazakhstan undertook the longest journey ever recorded between two clubs in Champions League history, and they struggled to find their rhythm in the first half. Sporting were handed a penalty after 21 minutes when Aleksandr Mrynskiy brought down Luis Suárez, but Morten Hjulmand’s spot kick was kept out by 18-year-old Kairat goalkeeper Sherhan Kalmurza.

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James O’Connor retained for Wallabies’ crunch Tests against All Blacks

  • Flyhalf included despite flying to England to join new club Leicester

  • Coach Joe Schmidt’s preferred scrumhalf Jake Gordon returns

James O’Connor has been retained in Australia’s squad for back-to-back Rugby Championship Tests against New Zealand despite flying to England on Monday to join his new club Leicester.

O’Connor’s inclusion denies Western Force playmaker Ben Donaldson a recall following his recovery from a thigh injury, with coach Joe Schmidt opting for Tom Lynagh and Tane Edmed as his other flyhalf options in the 34-man squad named on Thursday.

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Champions League roundup: PSG rout Atalanta, Thuram leads Inter past Ajax

  • Finalists of last season make winning starts to campaigns

  • Pafos and Bodø/Glimt both earn draws away from home

Paris Saint-Germain picked up where they left off following the club’s triumph last season as they opened their new Champions League campaign with an impressive 4-0 win against Atalanta at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday.

Marquinhos opened the scoring inside the first three minutes, and PSG followed that up with goals from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Nuno Mendes and Gonçalo Ramos, demonstrating the high pressing and fluid play that have become hallmarks of their game.

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Champions League roundup: Juventus stun Dortmund with late double in 4-4 epic

  • Qarabag fight back from 2-0 down to beat Benfica

  • Union Saint-Gilloise win at PSV on league phase debut

It was a dramatic opening night in the Champions League, with Juventus and Borussia Dortmund sharing eight second-half goals while Qarabag shocked Benfica.

Dusan Vlahovic and Lloyd Kelly scored in stoppage time to inspire a dramatic Juventus escape, as they secured a 4-4 draw in a game where all eight goals came after the break.

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Kylian Mbappé wins it for Real Madrid after Alexander-Arnold injury and Carvajal head-butt

Kylian Mbappé converted two penalties to secure Real Madrid a 2-1 victory against Marseille in their Champions League group-stage opener despite playing the final stages with 10 men after their captain, Dani Carvajal, was sent off.

Carvajal had not started the match, coming on after five minutes when Trent Alexander-Arnold pulled up with an apparent hamstring injury.

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