The International Cycling Union blasted the World Anti-Doping Agency on Wednesday for leaking a confidential Tour de France report and vowed to exclude the agency from upcoming races. \nThe UCI was furious it didn't get the chance to study and amend "certain inaccurate points" in the report before it was leaked to the press and published in Monday's edition of the French sports daily L'Equipe. \n"The UCI observes once more that these information leaks are absolutely unacceptable, often originate from France, and always take cycling as a privileged target," the body said in a statement. \n"The UCI is not willing to tolerate similar situations anymore.'' \nIt demanded WADA open an official investigation into the origin of the leak. \n"You don't publish a confidential document," UCI spokesman Enrico Carpani said. \n"We want to know the reasons documents are continually being leaked and most regularly in France." \nA WADA statement issued Wednesday denied the agency leaked the report, saying it was provided to stakeholders as a courtesy before the official release expected today. \nWADA said its director general, David Howman, condemned the leaking of the report and had spoken to UCI president Hein Verbruggen. \n"We share UCI's concerns over the leaks to the media and we will work with them and our other partners, such as the French Ministry for Sport, to make sure that those responsible are identified," Howman said. \nUCI noted that WADA apologized but said its confidence in the agency had been dented. \n"Until this is resolved WADA will not be invited to any UCI cycling races," Carpani said. "For now there will be no more WADA observers." \nWADA president Dick Pound, who also is a senior IOC member, said future cooperation was crucial to combatting drug use in cycling. \n"We want to continue to work with UCI to reduce the impact of performance-enhancing drugs in that sport," Pound said. \n"I am confident we can work together again at future Tours." \nUCI was angered by observations in the report that riders have time to cheat when they are notified of being tested.
As professional soccer returned to Denmark, fans used Zoom to be part of the action. Thousands of Danish soccer fans on Thursday logged on to the conferencing software and were transported to Ceres Park for a league match between AGF and Randers that heralded the resumption of the nation’s pandemic-affected soccer season. While the stadium itself was without fans, the faces of thousands of supporters who joined the Zoom call were shown on giant screens that ran along one side of the pitch. Families wearing club shirts and scarves cheered inside their living rooms. Some were seen clenching their fists in joy after
DRIVING AMBITION: ‘I was excited by playing at the Olympics ... Who knows what’s going to happen? Hopefully, I could have a chance to win a medal,’ Tiffany Chan said After just three tournaments this year, a chance of Olympic glory postponed and two weeks alone in quarantine, golfer Tiffany Chan could be forgiven for feeling sorry for herself. Instead, Hong Kong’s first LPGA Tour player is sporting a broad grin and taking the positives from the game’s COVID-19 shutdown, determined to establish herself in the fiercely competitive world of women’s golf. The talented 26-year-old kept herself fit physically and mentally during the lockdown, and is happy to be back on the fairways since the easing of coronavirus restrictions last month. “When I came back to Hong Kong [in March], I actually did
Eleven-year-old skateboarder Sky Brown, who is hoping to become Britain’s youngest Olympian next year, fractured her skull and broke bones in her left hand after falling from a ramp during a training session in California. Brown posted a video of the accident on Instagram, but reassured supporters that she was fine. “I don’t usually post my falls or talk about them ... but this was my worst fall. I just want everyone to know that it’s OK — don’t worry, I’m OK,” she said. “I’m going to push boundaries for girls with my skating and surfing. I’m going for gold in 2021
It is the land of the world champions, but is it really a soccer country? That is the question that some in France have been asking this week while its European neighbors work to bring the sport back after the COVID-19 shutdown. Debate has raged ever since Ligue 1 decided in late April to bring a premature end to the season with 10 rounds of matches unplayed. By contrast, two weeks have passed since the Bundesliga restarted, while Italian Minister for Sport Vincenzo Spadafora on Thursday confirmed that Serie A would return on June 20, and La Liga and the English Premier
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