Category: Cycling

Kim Le Court staged a remarkable comeback to take a sprint win while Marlen Reusser stayed in yellow

138km to go: Nelson is caught. But two of her teammates – Eleonora Ciabocco and Lene Robyn Clay – have been dropped. Mia Griffin, also of Picnic-PostNL, has been dropped too! Did they neglect to have their Weetabix this morning, or did Nelson steal it all at the Picnic-PostNL team hotel?

139km to go: Josie Nelson (Picnic-PostNL) – who hails from Lichfield in Staffordshire – has attacked solo approaching the first climb.

Updates from 12:45 BST/13:45 CET
Riders face checks for aerodynamic chest padding
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“We don’t have the team to ride all day and control everything … we’re just going to try to take Marlen safely to finish,” says Kelvin Dekker, Movistar Team assistant sports director. He agrees that today will be a very difficult one to control [© Sean Kelly].

What was the mood like on the bus this morning, with Reusser in yellow?

The Swiss rider aced the time trial, with the Dutch pair Lieke Nooijen and Demi Vollering now behind her on GC

Over half the field has taken to the course, with 70 riders having started, and 41 of those arrived, with Tas still leading the pack. It may take something to beat her.

Sandrine Tas of Lotto Intermarché has set a new benchmark in Dijon: 28’49'’39, just 0.96 second faster than Le Mouël. The Belgian is the one to beat.

• Fears that action could smooth airflow around the body

• Warning came before time-trial stage to Dijon

Riders at the Tour de France Femmes were subject to extra clothing checks before Tuesday’s stage following claims some could be using extra padding in their bras to seek an aerodynamic advantage.

A communique from race organisers confirmed the checks after Dutch outlet Wielerflits reported some teams had raised concerns that padded bras could smooth the airflow around the body for the stage four time trial.

Cycling legend on living with a stage 4 diagnosis, fundraising with Miguel Induráin and why Andy Burnham could be key to his ambition of helping others

Sir Chris Hoy arrives a couple of minutes late and the apologies roll from him. I don’t have a chance to tell the six‑time Olympic sprint cycling champion that waiting an hour for a star interviewee is more common. Hoy is already deep into a story about how he and his wife, Sarra, were walking here when an unknown man stopped him on the street in Glasgow.

The stranger had recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer and he wanted to share what had happened to him and, I suspect, find new strength by talking to a compassionate public figure. Hoy has lived a full life with stage 4 cancer for nearly three years. He has also worked tirelessly to highlight the fact that prostate cancer kills more people in this country than any other disease while, at the same time, to offer a tangible sense of hope when there is horror for men, and their families, after a terminal diagnosis.

A ludicrous, historic solo breakaway stage win from Sigrid Haugset saw the Norwegian end the day in the yellow jersey

129km to go: Puck Pieterse was first over the Col de la Faucille, bagging 10 points, ahead of Nikola Noskova. The peloton is nearly 1km ahead of the group containing the current race leader, Lorena Wiebes.

132km remaining: Dina Boels has abandoned. The Belgian was 139th and last after yesterday’s second stage, and only just crossed the finish line inside the time limit.

• Slovene great last rode in Vuelta during the 2019 edition

• ‘The time is right to go back,’ says five-time Tour winner

Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar has confirmed that he will race in this year’s Vuelta a España, which starts in Monaco on 22 August.

The five-time Tour winner will be seeking to match the rare achievement of long-term rival, Jonas Vingegaard, who earlier this year completed a grand slam of all three Grand Tours, by winning the Giro d’Italia.

• Australia end Games with 171 medals all up, including 70 gold

• Cycling squad contributes 10 gold medals and 28 in total

Australia’s track cyclists have transformed pure pain, near-retirement and woefully-timed ill health into a dominating Commonwealth Games campaign.

Georgia Baker’s history-equalling exploits earned her the honour of carrying the flag at the closing ceremony. She was stunned when team chef de mission Petria Thomas broke the news to her in the middle of the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, moments after finishing runner-up to teammate Alyssa Polites in the women’s elimination race.

Lorena Wiebes sprints to victory on the opening stage of the Tour de France Femmes

We’ve got 500m to the end of the neutralised sector. There will be a large amount of nervous energy in that peloton.

Lotte Kopecky, of SD Worx-ProTime, is asked on TNT Sports: What’s the vibe like in the team?

• Views on Matt Richardson aired after gold in team sprint

• One of three Australian cycling gold medals won on day seven

Leigh Hoffman has bid Matt Richardson good riddance after Australia’s gold medal in the team sprint on day one of the Commonwealth Games track cycling program.

Teammate Ryan Elliott also joked they had cleared Hoffman as their leader, checking his passport to make sure he will stay in the Australian program. While expressing sympathy for Richardson after a recent nasty race crash in Japan, his former teammates finally spoke freely about the shock defection.

• Matt Richardson won Olympic medals for Australia

• Showdown with former teammates had been anticipated

Former Australian track cyclist Matt Richardson has pulled out of the Commonwealth Games because of an injury he suffered while racing in Japan.

In a major blow to the Glasgow games, the English team announced on Wednesday night (AEST) that their sprint ace would no longer compete.

Oscar Onley’s pre-race injury presaged three bleak weeks and new director of racing knows he has his work cut out

Crashes, punctures and injuries ensured that the 2026 Tour de France campaign was one of the worst ever for the beleaguered Netcompany Ineos team. From the first stage on, when Dave Brailsford’s team came close to winning the team time trial in Montjuic, the 2026 Tour was, in the words of their director of racing, Geraint Thomas, “tough going”.

“I’m happy to not be racing any more, because I suffered way too much,” said Thomas, who has taken Brailsford’s place as the team’s frontman. “But it’s good to still be involved in the nitty-gritty of it.”