CYCLING: Irish riders yesterday took their second stage win in the M Donnelly Junior Tour when Páidí O'Brien of the Stena Ireland national team outsprinted the rest of the field into Waterford, writes Shane Stokes.
The national road race champion proved faster than Dutch cyclist Joost van Leijen (Tempo BMV Veldhoven A - Netherlands), race leader Nicolas Roche (Team Stephen Roche - France) and the rest of the field in the final seconds of the undulating 57-mile leg, crossing the line arms aloft with a comfortable winning margin.
While Roche rode well to retain the yellow jersey, the most impressive performance of the day was undoubtedly that of van Leijen, who was clear with team-mate Rudi van Hout for much of the stage.
The two had attacked with four others after 20 miles and then forged ahead themselves to open up a gap of a minute and a half, putting Roche under real danger of losing the race lead.
Their advantage was eventually overcome with just three miles remaining, but despite the fatigue of being out front for nearly 40 miles van Leijen still managed to net second place.
Next home was Roche, who rode strongly during the stage and held onto a jersey he was prepared to give away. "I would have preferred if another rider had managed to take it by a few seconds," he admitted afterwards. "It was very hard to defend the lead today as everyone was expecting me to do all the riding. The ideal situation would be for another team to have the responsibility for a few days and for me to take it back before the race finish on Sunday. Still, it is great to be in yellow."
The race continues today with an undulating 57-mile stage which loops from Waterford to Thomastown and Mullinvat before finishing once again in Waterford.
CRICKET: England did not appear a good bet to win the first Test against India and, by the same criteria, look even less likely to win the second.
Missing their top two fast bowlers and their leading batsman at Lord's, the patched-up home team contrived to win that initial contest by a thumping 170 runs. If India have not yet recovered from the disappointment, England have probably not got over their surprise either.
Captain Nasser Hussain, a man with both feet always planted firmly on the ground, had to concede: "I think that's about as well as this side can play."
His opposite number Saurav Ganguly might have been tempted to suggest his team could not have played much worse.
A second English success at Trent Bridge in the four-match series, though, would be more impressive still. Darren Gough, Andrew Caddick and Marcus Trescothick remain on the sidelines, waving sick notes. Graham Thorpe, the mainstay of the middle order, joins them after opting to take time out to sort out his personal life while pace bowler Simon Jones, so refreshing on his Lord's debut, is also crocked.
CYCLING: Tour de France sensation Raimundas Rumsas yesterday insisted he was still waiting to be summoned by French investigators to respond to doping allegations.
The 30-year-old Lithuanian, who finished a stunning third in the Tour, has been exiled in Italy for the past week.
While his wife has been remanded in custody on drugs charges, he has refused to travel to the south of France to answer police questions, fearing he might be jailed too.
His wife, Edita, was charged with possession and intention to supply doping substances on July 30th and is still held in custody at the Bonneville prison, near Lyon.
She was arrested while crossing the Italian border near Chamonix with a car boot full of doping substances, just two days after her husband climbed the Tour de France podium on the Champs Elysees.
Custom officers allegedly discovered in a routine control that she was carrying corticoids, EPO, testosterone as well as growth hormones and anabolic steroids.
Rumsas, who was making his debut in this year's Tour, was suspended the next day by his team and has protested his innocence since. He is currently in Lunata, Tuscany, with his three children.
