The Guardian

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 word…

Irishman’s UFC return v Holloway ended after 69 seconds McGregor tore ACL in fight and is out for lengthy spell Conor McGregor is seeking a rematch ⁠of his recent loss to Max Holloway in what would be the final bout of ⁠his UFC deal. In ⁠an ​Instagram post Monday that references the UFC’s International Fight Week next July, McGregor wrote, “What was ⁠to be a generational beating is now to be rese…

Toulouse defender expected to cost about £26m Newcastle still looking for defensive reinforcements Sunderland are poised to sign the long-time Newcastle target Dayann Methalie from Toulouse. The France Under-21s defender, who can play left-back or wingback and also operate in the centre, has attracted widespread interest this summer but Régis Le Bris now appears close to acquiring him for about £…

Viral video apparently shows a Saltburn 2nd XI fielder clicking his fingers to mimic a batter’s nick The ball is bowled, the batter plays a shot and it’s caught by the wicketkeeper to cheers all round. The batter is clearly bemused. Did he hit it? Or … did a fielder click his fingers to mimic a nick? A row has erupted in the normally friendly, if ultra-competitive, world of English club cricket a…

Mancini replaces Gattuso for second spell in charge Ranieri takes over from Paolo Maldini in overseeing role Roberto Mancini has agreed to be Italy head coach for a second time, the president of the Italian Football ​Federation (FIGC), Giovanni Malago said on Tuesday, also confirming Claudio Ranieri will take over as technical director. Mancini replaces Gennaro Gattuso, who ⁠left the post in Apri…

The competition lacks bombast, but fans still love seeing old pros battle with young thrusters in charming grounds By the 99.94 Cricket Blog This article is from The 99.94 Cricket Blog Continue reading...

As she heads to Royal Lytham as a guest of the R&A for Thursday’s start of the Women’s Open, the inaugural winner looks back Golf commitments in the United States meant Jenny Lee Smith was unable to accept the North East Sports Personality of the Year award for 1982 in person. She attended the following year’s event, this time to present the trophy to Kevin Keegan. His death last week shocked Smi…

Full-back on being reunited with former manager, the shock of Arne Slot’s sacking and being mistaken for a bridegroom It has been quite the summer for Milos Kerkez. There was time at home in Serbia, holidays in Montenegro and Spain, a frantic knock on his bedroom door one day to tell him that Arne Slot had been sacked, an unexpected reunion with Andoni Iraola shortly afterwards, and thousands of …

The Hundred has always been an experiment in manufactured identity – you can’t hurry history, but perhaps you can fake it The Lucknow Super Giants kit says a lot about their team. Specifically, it draws from the “cultural fabric” of the city and the surrounding state of Uttar Pradesh, “where colour, craft and ritual shape everyday life”. According to the team website, the shirt-and-trousers combo…

There are similarities between the tournaments – three co-hosts, England challenging and diaspora players – but tickets are cheaper and there are half as many matches Gianni Infantino said the World Cup was like 104 Super Bowls. The men’s event at the Rugby League World Cup will be more like 18 Super League games. Some matches will attract four-figure crowds while others will be played in front o…

Four-year deal agreed with successor to Deschamps ‘I have so many emotions, I am ready for the challenge’ Zinedine Zidane has been appointed as France’s new head coach, replacing Didier Deschamps at the helm of the team he led to glory as arguably its greatest ever player. The French Football Federation president Philippe Diallo announced Zidane’s appointment at the FFF headquarters in Paris on T…

Follow updates from Tuesday’s action around Glasgow Latest medal table | Sprinter slams no-shows | Mail Will Bowls: There was a tie-break required in the Para Mixed Pairs B2-B3 bowls final after drawing 9-9. It was dramatic stuff but Scotland took the honours thanks to an aggressive final ball from Robert Barr of the host nation, leaving England to accept silver. Welcome to today’s coverage of th…

Pete Goding has been photographing the Tour de France for 20 years – here he gives an insight into what it’s been like to document this year’s race Twenty Tours de France. It seems faintly ridiculous when I write it down. My first was the year Lance Armstrong’s carefully constructed empire was beginning to wobble. I photographed him circling the Champs-Élysées with a film SLR, blissfully unaware …

As the paddock disperses for its traditional mid-season three-week break, the race is on to catch Kimi Antonelli Mercedes came into the season as favourites and have lived up to the billing. Their car has been dominant with eight wins from 11 meetings, a strike rate greater perhaps even than the team had expected. Despite the rather skewed conclusions of the Aduo engine assessment, which declared…

In six months Iyiola Adebayo went from captaining West Ham youth teams to delivering pizzas but he has found a new direction “Within six months of being the captain at West Ham and playing in the Youth Cup, I was delivery driving at Domino’s,” says Iyiola Adebayo. Adebayo had joined at eight the academy that produced Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole and Declan Rice and the defensive midfielder from Tilbur…