20 h. ago Quel triomphe! Tour de France celebrates 50 years of finishes on Champs

From LeMond’s astonishing comeback to Cavendish’s four victories, the final dash up the great avenue is now part of race folkloreIt is impossible now to conceive of the Tour de France without two things: the race leader’s yellow jersey and the finale on the Champs-Élysées, a spectacle that is half a century old this summer. The finish has moved away from the great avenue once in the last 50 years, during the Olympic buildup in 2024, and the Tour cannot really be imagined without that final dash up the great avenue with its high-end shops and cafes, its gardens and plane trees.The Tour had always finished in Paris, postwar on the velodromes at the Parc des Princes and the Cipale velodrome in the Bois de Vincennes, and it had frequently used the Champs for a ceremonial start; the idea for an “apotheosis” on the great avenue seems to have been inspired by the 1974 Giro d’Italia, which included a circuit race within Milan. The suggestion came from a television presenter, Yves Mourosi, w...

Politics

3 d. ago Richard Carapaz ruled out of Tour de France with stomach bug

Reigning king of the mountains out of 2025 raceEcuadorian will turn attention to Vuelta a EspañaRichard Carapaz, the reigning Tour de France king of the mountains, will miss this year’s race after developing a gastrointestinal infection training at home in Ecuador.“Last week, he began experiencing abdominal pain and a high fever,” his EF team said on their website. “[Doctors] have advised against long-haul travel and competition at this time. As a result, Richard will not take part in this year’s Tour de France.” Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Sir Mark Cavendish ‘proud’ to have Douglas cycle track named in his honour

The track at the National Sports Centre where he first started racing as a child has been renamed the Sir Mark Cavendish Raceway.

Politics

4 d. ago Sir Mark Cavendish Raceway renamed in honour of Manx sprinter

The 35-time Tour de France stage winner returned to where he began racing competitively to unveil the new name

Sport

8 d. ago Lions warn Joe Schmidt over Wallabies player release for tour matches

Ben Calveley expects competitive Force side to face LionsTour could open up to other countries such as FranceEvery big tour is a hectic learning curve as the 2025 British & Irish Lions are already finding. The squad had to call off their post-arrival recovery dip in the Pacific Ocean – a letdown both for local news crews and the lurking sharks off Cottesloe beach – because of inclement weather and the first media squall of the trip has also blown in.The Lions chief executive, Ben Calveley, has made clear the touring side expect the Wallabies head coach, Joe Schmidt, to make his national players available for their Super Rugby teams before the Test series commencing next month and the host nation has been gently reminded of that contractual detail following the Lions’ arrival in Australia. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Watch summer sports events on DAZN, Sky Sports and TNT with TV deals

The summer is packed full of unmissable sporting events, including the FIFA Club World Cup, British Grand Prix, Tour de France and Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois 2

Economics

8 d. ago Jay Z takes a subtle swipe at Kanye West after his 'vulgar and offensive' tweets about their family

The husband and wife duo sent fans wild as they performed at Stade de France during Beyonce's third Cowboy Carter Tour show in the city.

Politics

9 d. ago Scottish golfer shoots 'unbelievable 60' to boost DP World Tour card bid

Daniel Young enjoys ‘one of those days’ to finish third in Hotel Planner Tour event in France

Events

9 d. ago Tour de France: Edinburgh councillors told 'take back control' over £1.7m reserves spend on cycling event

Edinburgh council officials have recommended a £1.7 million spend on the Tour de France.

Economics

1 week ago Miley Cyrus stuns fans by making a surprise appearance at Beyonce's Cowboy Carter show in Paris as they perform a duet of their Grammy

The star, 32, took to the stage at Stade de France as part of Beyonce's Cowboy Carter Tour, with the stars performing a duet of her hit II Most Wanted.

Politics

1 week ago Government pledges £900m of sport investment in boost to Euro 2028 and Tour de France plans

Investment will also be made to upgrade grassroots facilities

Economics

1 week ago DCMS announces £900m funding for grassroots sport and major events including Euros and Tour de France

The government has promised to make significant investment in hosting global sporting competitions over the next four years

Economics

2 w. ago George Ford reveals future plans as he approaches 100 England caps

Ford is in England camp ahead of their game against a France XV this weekend and the tour of Argentina and USA this summer

Politics

2 w. ago ‘When I stopped racing I thought, who am I?’: Pippa York on leaving her old life behind

The Tour de France stage winner talks in detail for the first time about transitioning when her cycling career ended, growing up in the Gorbals and alienation in the pelotonPippa York used to be Robert Millar, a stage winner and king of the mountains in the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia. Millar was also a podium finisher, in both the Vuelta a España and the Giro, a British national champion, and Tour of Britain winner. But Millar had also wanted to be a girl since the age of five, a secret that remained buried throughout childhood in Glasgow, the subsequent racing career, and beyond, into mid-life.In her new book, The Escape, written in collaboration with David Walsh, the 66-year-old unflinchingly documents the long and painful process towards transition and the isolation, fear and loneliness that went with it. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Tadej Pogacar completes Critérium du Dauphiné victory with podium finish

Slovenian beats rival Jonas Vingegaard into second placeFrance’s Lenny Martinez wins eighth and final stageTadej Pogacar wrapped up the Critérium du Dauphiné on Sunday with a podium finish in the eighth and final stage, which was won by France’s Lenny Martinez.A winner of three stages in total, the Slovene dominated the 77th edition of the Dauphine to top the overall classification by 59sec ahead of the Dane Jonas Vingegaard – three weeks before the start of his Tour de France title defence. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Bodybuilder teenager, 15, who jumped off pier in celebration of finishing exams may not have drowned if a lifeguard was present, coroner rules

David Ejimofor, 15, died after getting into trouble during a 'coming of age ceremony' in the water off Aberavon Beach, Port Talbot.

Events

3 w. ago Intrepid Geoff Thomas geared up for another crack at Tour de France route

Former Crystal Palace captain aims to complete the entire course for seventh time to raise funds for Cure LeukaemiaWhen Geoff Thomas was forced to abandon his seventh attempt to complete Tour 21 at the age of 58 after an unforgiving day on the cobblestones, the former Crystal Palace captain thought his days in the saddle were over. “My bike sort of disintegrated underneath me,” remembers Thomas. “That’s when the issues with my knees started so I’d not really been on the bike since then.”But, two years on and having celebrated his 60th birthday earlier this year, he will join the group of amateur riders in tackling the entire Tour de France route a week before the pros, a ride of nearly 3,500km to raise money for Cure Leukaemia. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Bradley Wiggins brands Lance Armstrong a ‘great inspiration’ in drug addiction battle

The 2012 Tour de France winner paid tribute to Armstrong, who was stripped of his cycling titles for using performance-enhancing drugs

Events

3 w. ago Sir Bradley Wiggins calls cycling drugs cheat Lance Armstrong an 'inspiration'

Lance Armstrong became a disgraced figure in cycling after admitting that he used performance-enhancing drugs during all seven of his famous Tour de France victories

Events

4 w. ago Top French players could feature against All Blacks as agreement with Top 14 reached

The Six Nations champions had been due to take on the All Blacks without most of their best players

Sport