8 h. ago The Leopard in My House by Mark Steel review – finding the funny side of living with cancer

The comedian reflects on mortality and the new course his life has now taken in this warm account of his cancer diagnosis and treatment There are enough cancer memoirs to fill a small bookshop, with bookcases for all the affected body parts. It can feel churlish to apply critical faculties to this of all subjects, but if there is a high bar for the genre, then it’s one Mark Steel clears like Dick Fosbury on a good day.Sporting metaphors are a feature of The Leopard in My House, a new entry in the “throat” section by the comedian, broadcaster and campaigner. While waiting for a radiotherapy appointment in the basement of a London hospital, Steel meets Jules, an army general. As the treatment weakens them, they resolve to take the stairs rather than lift back up to ground level. “We’d describe the previous day’s climb as ‘set off at a good pace but only the first stage of the Tour de France. By the third week it was ‘two sets and a break down with a heavily bandaged ankle, but determi...

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9 h. ago Inside the Unibet Tietema Rockets and three YouTube friends who dream of the Tour de France

EXCLUSIVE The cycling season starts proper on Saturday as the peloton takes to the cobbled roads of Belgium in the Omloop Nieuwsblad - and the Unibet Tietema Rockets will be part of the pack

Events

27 h. ago ‘I feel like I’ve been let off the lead’: Tom Pidcock on his Ineos exit, Netflix editing and not riding Le Tour

Olympic gold medallist on his strained departure from Ineos Grenadiers, moving to Q36.5 and feeling revitalisedIt’s July 2022 and Tom Pidcock is flying down the towering Col du Galibier at 100km an hour, pushing the boundaries of what is achievable on a road bike, his rear wheel sliding through each snaking vertiginous bend, leaving his peers far behind and French TV commentators aghast.A couple of hours later, he raises his arms at the top of Alpe d’Huez, one of the Tour’s most feared climbs, taking an exhilarating stage win in his debut Tour de France. A new star is born. Few doubt that it’s only a matter of time until he wears the yellow jersey. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas to retire from cycling at end of season

The Welshman will step away from the sport after September’s Tour of Britain.

Politics

1 week ago How Geraint Thomas became the loveable face of Britain’s tainted cycling boom

Thomas will retire at the end of the season and is targeting one final Tour de France

Politics

1 week ago Geraint Thomas' retirement plan marks the end of Great Britain's golden age of cycling

British cycling icon Geraint Thomas will retire later this year, bringing the curtain down on a legendary career which includes triumphs in the Olympics and the Tour de France

Politics

1 week ago Tour de France winner and Olympic champion Geraint Thomas to retire from cycling

The Welshman will step away from the sport after this season.

Sport

1 week ago Olympic champion and Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas to retire from cycling

September’s Tour of Britain set to be 38-year-old’s final race

Sport

1 week ago Geraint Thomas to retire from cycling at end of season: ‘It’s not been a bad run, eh?’

2018 Tour de France winner also won two Olympic goldsTour of Britain in September will be Welshman’s last raceThe double Olympic champion and Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas will retire from cycling this year. The 38-year-old announced on Monday morning he will be bringing the curtain down on a successful 19-year professional career, with British Cycling saying September’s Tour of Britain will be his final race.Thomas claimed Olympic team pursuit gold on the track at both Beijing 2008 and London 2012 before going on to win the Tour de France in 2018, becoming the third Briton and only Welshman to win road cycling’s biggest race. Continue reading...

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