Le Court claims Tour de France Femmes stage five win and yellow jersey amid team row

Kim Le Court made the classic error of raising her arms just before the finish line, but survived a late lunge from a resurgent Demi Vollering to win stage five of the Tour de France Femmes in Guéret.The Mauritian rider is enjoying a stellar 2025, having already worn the yellow jersey after stage two, and also led the Tour of Britain and won the Belgian classic, Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Her stage win and bonus seconds took her back into the race lead, at the expense of Marianne Vos.“The big goal was to take the bonus sprint,” Le Court said of her success in the Tour Femmes’ longest stage “which I managed to do. It was a bit tricky at the end

Star attractions absent as scheduling stymies blockbuster Test finale

Much like the Dude in the Big Lebowski during his various moments of confusion, it was impossible not to repeatedly blink upon seeing England’s XI for the fifth and final Test against India that starts on Thursday. Four changes, including the loss of Ben Stokes and Ollie Pope’s return to the captaincy, took a few moments to process.“I don’t want to eat my words but the likelihood I won’t play is very unlikely,” said Stokes after the stalemate at Old Trafford. While that quote needed scanning a few times, so did the gnarly right shoulder he was seen prodding and poking during what was a chastening failure to claim an unassailable 3-1 series lead. A grade-three tear to “a muscle I can’t pronounce” was the upshot, Stokes confirmed on Wednesday, and his summer is now frustratingly over

Dan Sheehan, Lions’ canny Superman, focuses on a Wallabies whitewash

Dan Sheehan freely admits that his Superman dive for the British & Irish Lions’ first try in Melbourne last week was not out of the playbook. It was an instinctive finish to avoid getting “melted”, putting the Lions on the board in Melbourne and taking the hooker’s remarkable season tally to 17 in 19 games.It has been eclipsed by the furore over Jac Morgan’s late clearout, but there is debate over whether Sheehan’s try was legal. He acknowledges the controversy but sees no problem with his crucial score all the while admitting some sympathy with Wallaby defenders.The debate centres on the lawbook’s insistence that players cannot jump to avoid a tackle

Golf’s elite hail Lottie Woad as ‘breath of fresh air’ before Open challenge

History suggests caution is advisable when assessing female golf phenoms. Michelle Wie won just a single major. Charley Hull has reached the age of 29 while scaling golfing heights, but it is fair to say wild excitement about her career when a teenage amateur has not been borne out by subsequent results. For a multitude of reasons, promise can outweigh reality.If it were at all her style – and it is not – Lottie Woad could claim to have already justified the hype

Deals for six Hundred franchises completed with £520m windfall expected

The ECB has announced that deals for six of the eight Hundred franchises have been completed, with a total windfall of £520m expected once paperwork for the final two teams is finalised later this year.The sales process was completed in February, when eight parties entered into an exclusivity period having agreed deals which valued the teams at a combined £975m. Work has been ongoing to formalise the sales over the last five months, with the process described as being “in the final straight” as long ago as April, with signatures at that point expected “very, very soon”.But the complexity of the legal arrangements – one county executive said 73 different contracts had to be agreed and signed off before the sale of a minority stake in their one franchise could be completed – and the new investors’ desire to have as much control as possible over the competition’s future combined to delay the announcement.The completed deals involve the purchase of 49% stakes in Birmingham Phoenix, Southern Brave and the Lord’s-based London Spirit, a 50% stake in Welsh Fire, 70% in Manchester Originals and the complete takeover of Northern Superchargers by India’s Sun TV network

German Olympic champion Laura Dahlmeier dies after mountaineering accident in Pakistan

The German double Olympic biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier has died after a mountaineering accident in Pakistan, her management confirmed on Wednesday.The accident occurred at around noon on Monday, at an altitude of approximately 5,700 metres at Laila Peak, the Alpine Club of Pakistan said. Dahlmeier was climbing with her mountaineering partner when she was struck by a sudden rockfall in the Hushe Valley, part of the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region.“Laura Dahlmeier died on 28 July in a mountain accident on Laila Peak (6,069 metres) in Pakistan’s Karakoram range,” her representatives told Germany’s Die Welt newspaper. “A recovery operation was launched but ultimately called off on the evening of 29 July