CYCLING
Teams to be cut to eight
Teams are to be reduced from nine riders to eight for next year’s three Grand Tours, while the Tour de France is to start a week later to avoid clashing with the FIFA World Cup. The International Cycling Union on Thursday said in a statement that its Professional Cycling Council applied the changes that would come into effect next year. The Grand Tours consist of the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana. The move to reduce the size of teams has been on the agenda for some time to make races less predictable and too easy for leading teams to control, as well as for safety reasons. Next year’s Tour de France is to start on July 7, meaning it will only overlap with the World Cup in Russia by a week.
GOLF
Spieth takes Travelers lead
Jordan Spieth on Thursday hit a wedge to 4 feet for birdie on the final hole for a seven-under 63 and a one-stroke lead in the Travelers Championship. Making his first appearance at TPC at River Highlands, the 23-year-old Texan had eight birdies and a bogey in his afternoon round after tying for 35th last week in the US Open at Erin Hills. Johnson Wagner and Connecticut native Brett Stegmaier each shot 64 in the morning. Stegmaier had seven birdies in a nine-hole stretch in the middle of the round and closed with a bogey on No. 9. He grew up in Madison, about 40km from the course. Rory McIlroy, also playing for event for the first time, had a 67. Jason Day shot 72. Taiwan’s Pan Cheng-tsung carded an even-par 70 to tie for 76th.
GOLF
Garcia takes two-stroke lead
Sergio Garcia on Thursday opened his first event in Europe since his Masters win by shooting a bogey-free six-under 66 to lie two strokes off the lead at the BMW International Open. Wade Ormsby (64) took the overnight lead from Thomas Detry (65), while Joost Luiten and Thorbjorn Olesen (66) were tied for third with Garcia. “I felt like I played quite well, not spectacular, but very consistent,” Garcia said. Garcia opened with six birdies while Ormsby, who arrived at the Eichenried course on the back of three missed cuts, returned to fine form with eight. Detry had a bogey on the first hole, but recovered with six birdies and an eagle. Defending champion Henrik Stenson (67) was among 12 players tied for sixth.
SOCCER
Bastia relegated to third tier
SC Bastia were on Thursday condemned to the third division by French soccer’s financial watchdog, just more than a month after the club was relegated from Ligue 1 after finishing rock bottom. The National Directorate of Management Control gave no reason for the decision, but Bastia released a brief statement saying it was a “provisional relegation” and that they would look to offload players to balance the club’s accounts before the next hearing. Bastia have staggered from one crisis to another since their surprise 2015 run to the Coupe de la Ligue final. Paris Saint-Germain’s Lucas was hit on the head with a flag by a Bastia supporter in August last year, while OGC Nice’s Italian striker Mario Balotelli was racially abused by Bastia fans in another game last season. Club president Pierre-Marie Geronimi is also facing charges after being accused of settling betting debts with company funds.
HSIEH ADVANCES: In the women’s doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei was to play in the second round last night, but Taiwan’s Ray Ho exited in the men’s doubles It is more than 10 years since Grigor Dimitrov reached his sole Wimbledon semi-final and back then it still seemed a reasonable bet that the Bulgarian once dubbed “Baby Federer” would win a Grand Slam title. There were semi-final runs at the US Open and Australian Open after that, but it has never quite happened and despite him still being ranked No. 21, it most likely never will. Dimitrov, 34, remains one of the most stylish players on the circuit though, with his elegant single-handed backhand and smooth all-court game a rare reminder of how tennis was before the power merchants turned
Spain are the favorites to win the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, but star player Aitana Bonmati’s illness ahead of the tournament raises another question mark around a side which, despite their obvious quality, are not unstoppable. Having claimed the last two Ballon d’Or awards, Barcelona midfielder Bonmati is the game’s biggest star at present, so her absence in the final days before the start of Euro 2025 is a major setback. The 27-year-old came down with a fever in training last week, and was subsequently hospitalized and diagnosed with viral meningitis. Bonmati was discharged on Sunday and joined up with
Real Madrid’s FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund had taken three crazy turns during nine minutes of second-half stoppage time when Marcel Sabitzer chested the ball and sent a right-footed volley toward Thibaut Courtois’ post. Courtois leapt to his right, extended the long arm on his 2m frame and just managed to get his gloved fingertips on the ball, knocking it down. Courtois hit the ground as the ball bounded up. He looked skyward, planted his right hand to regain his balance, grabbed the ball with both hands on the second bounce and fell onto it with his chest. Sabitzer turned
INJURY TURMOIL: Despite stunning French Open champions Paolini and Errani to advance, Chan was forced to pull out after her partner’s tearful women’s singles defeat Last year’s mixed doubles champions Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and Poland’s Jan Zielinski on Monday crashed out of the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, leaving the Taiwanese star focused on pursuing a fifth women’s doubles title in London, while a partner injury forced compatriot Chan Hao-ching to give up on her doubles campaign. Hsieh and Zielinksi, who last year also won the Australia Open title, narrowly lost their opening set 7-6 (9/7), before Britain’s Joe Salisbury and Brazil’s Luisa Stefani stunned the former champions 6-3 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. The Taiwanese-Polish duo had been dominant in the first two
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