Sailing: American skipper Steve Fosset announced yesterday that PlayStation, the biggest boat in The Race - which included Ireland's Damian Foxall from Kerry among its crew - was pulling out of the competition.

Fossett, the American multimillionaire adventurer who turned his attention to yachting after battling for round-the-world ballooning records, said that the decision was taken after consulation with his crew.

The catamaran had suffered numerous problems, including a fault in its largest sail and steering problems, and had been forced to make a stop over at Gibraltar for repairs.

"I told my crew of my reservations to continue The Race and asked their opinion. They've given everything to this project for months, some even years. Some would have liked just to finish." He added: "It was down to me to make the hard decision unless the crew gave me a decisive argument to continue. After talking it over the crew came to me to say that they agreed with me."

Cycling: Two and a half years after the Festina affair, the perception that little progress has been made in the fight against doping has led to major sponsors of the Tour de France threatening to withdraw from supporting the event. Both Credit Lyonnais and Fiat have indicated they may cease their involvement with the Tour if the current problems continue, while Coca-Cola has announced it will reduce its annual funding. Meanwhile, the International Cycling Union (UCI) has attempted to tackle the issue by imposing limitations on the professional racing calendar, with the three-week Tours most notably affected. Under the ruling, from 2002 the Tours of France, Italy and Spain must have a minimum of two rest days, are limited to 3,500 kilometres and only two stages above 225 kilometres.