The Guardian

Stage leaves from Voiron at 12.35pm CEST/1.35pm BST Anti-doping chiefs reject Seixas favouritism | Mail Tom This Tour’s most prestigious mountain stage finish; with a stage this short, it will be touch and go for the day’s escape to make it to the finish. That said, the opening 25km over the Cols Bayard and du Noyer are tough enough to allow a decent move to get established and then there are 60k…

Spain’s World Cup-winning captain may require surgery Latest injury setback for midfielder in recent seasons Rodri could face an extended period of time out with a back injury, which may require surgery. The 30-year-old Manchester City midfielder returned to his finest form at the World Cup following two injury-plagued seasons. Having captained Spain to Sunday’s 1-0 final win over Argentina at Ne…

The 17-year-old dreamed of playing for the Dallas Cowboys. Now he is America’s next big track star, with another chance for gold at this week’s US championships George Lutkenhaus and his family were rushing to the airport. There was a plane to catch and traffic was bad. Inside the car was a tense silence. In the back, a teenager, minding his own business, AirPods in, seemingly oblivious. Wife Tri…

A 162-game season guarantees failure as much as success. Inside a losing clubhouse, staying together and believing can become the hardest part of the job If you ask professional athletes, they’ll tell you. Losing is no fun. But in Major League Baseball, losing big can be especially tedious. An MLB seasons boasts a whopping 162 games (twice as many as the NBA and NHL) and even the best hitters fai…

R&A can quietly exhale as American’s challenge fizzles out in front of the occasional barb from Royal Birkdale crowd Deep into the final round of the Open, and Bryson DeChambeau is almost legless in the last chance saloon. He has slipped to minus five, four off the clubhouse lead, with eight holes to play. Worse still, he has not made birdie all day. But there is a sliver of hope. After all, in 2…

With the Games about to get under way, here are 10 of the most intriguing subplots to the event Twelve years after winning his first major international title in the 100m breaststroke at Glasgow 2014, Adam Peaty, now 31, heads back to Scotland hoping to remind everyone why he is one of Britain’s greatest swimmers . Peaty has won three Olympic gold medals and dominated the event for much of the pa…

From the wrong headset in an F2 garage to Fifa overturning a red card, we are in a landscape where fairness is the enemy A funny and very small thing happened at the Formula Two race at Spa on Sunday. Noel León, of Campos Racing, carved his way through the field to finish seventh, earning himself six points in the drivers’ championship, and promptly left the circuit to go and do whatever it is No…

The joy, love, hope and fun provided by fans outweighed the commercialism, extortionate prices and ugly politics This summer has been so vibrant and full of life. I had my doubts but, as the World Cup approached and Boston got ready to host its first game, I started feeling the excitement and enthusiasm in the air. That mainly had to do with the huge numbers of Scottish fans who arrived for their…

Ukrainian club were in fourth tier in 2021 but, despite war with Russia, will contest European qualifiers for first time It is time for set-piece training at LNZ Cherkasy’s smart, shiny training facility. “Arsenal!” one player says with a laugh as the grappling at a corner begins, the joke spreading among others clustered in the six-yard box. That is a level everyone here must aspire to but they …

Reds lock returns after being named in Super Rugby Pacific team of year Isaac Henry earns first Australia call-up for two-Test series against Japan Lukhan Salakaia-Loto has earned an immediate Wallabies recall in Les Kiss’s first big statement as newly-installed coach. The crash-and-bash lock was named in the Super Rugby Pacific team of the year after providing supreme service for Kiss at the Que…

Many Black Americans were not cheering Spain’s complicated history. They were rooting against the racism, politics and silence associated with Argentina There are moments in sports when you realize people aren’t just watching the score any more. They’re watching values. They’re watching who speaks. They’re watching who stays silent. And they’re watching what those silences say. I found myself thi…

Fenway Sports Group looks to be locked in talks with a consortium led by the son-in-law of Lakshmi Mittal while the Amazon founder has now been linked Continue reading...

Too engrossed with the World Cup drama to keep up with goings-on in the transfer market? We’ve got you covered Announced just before England’s soul-sucking semi-final defeat against Argentina , it would have been easy to miss Trossard’s £15.3m move to Istanbul. While, after three and a half seasons and at the age of 31, it feels like his time at Arsenal has come to a natural conclusion, he will b…

Richard Boardman was criticised by the managing judge Players say process of appointing new solicitors is under way Hundreds of former rugby league and rugby union players taking legal action against the game’s governing bodies are now “staring into the precipice”, according to the barrister representing the claimants, Susan Rodway KC. The solicitor who has been the organising force behind the li…

With just over 1,400 days to go until 2030 kicks off, the co-hosts are facing a series of challenges familiar to their South African predecessors Morocco’s World Cup adventure came to a halt with their quarter-final defeat by France . But taking a break, even for a brief post-season summer, is no option for officials of the FRMF, the country’s football federation. The Women’s Africa Cup of Nation…