London to host historic first team time trial for Tour de France Femmes in 2027

London will provide the backdrop for a landmark moment in cycling history as it hosts the first team time trial in the women’s Tour de France next year.The best riders in the women’s peloton will race against the clock, as teams, on a central London circuit of approximately 18km, pass the Houses of Parliament, London Eye and Tower Bridge, and culminating in a finish on the Mall.“The team time trial has always been one of the most exciting and spectacular formats in cycling, and we are very proud that the first one will take place in London,” the race ­director Marion Rousse said. “It’s a huge moment in the history of the race.”Although the men’s race visited London in 2007 and 2014, 2027 is the inaugural visit of the Tour de France Femmes to the capital, with the team time trial providing a showcase finale to three days of UK-based racing

Floods, baskets and Billie Jean King: how the rough and tumble WBL set the stage for the WNBA

It was the night before the 1980 Women’s Professional Basketball League draft in New York City and the Dallas Diamonds had the No 1 pick. But the team’s top brass was split. Coach Greg Williams wanted to take the 6ft 5in Danish star Inge Nissen, and the team’s GM Nancy Nichols prized Nancy Lieberman, the American point guard people called “Lady Magic”.“We argued for days about Nissen versus Lieberman,” Nichols tells the Guardian.Nichols remembers the hours after dinner that night; everyone had retired to their rooms

Jack Draper faces French Open fitness race as knee injury worries deepen

Jack Draper has been ruled out for at least another month as injuries continue to disrupt his hopes of establishing himself as one of the top players in the world.Draper has withdrawn from the Madrid Open this week and the subsequent Italian Open due to the aggravated knee tendon injury that forced him to retire from his opening match at the Barcelona Open last week. Although he will miss most of the clay-court season, Draper is still aiming to compete at Roland Garros, which begins in five weeks on 24 May. He is considering entering one of the tournaments scheduled a week before the French Open.“An aggravated tendon in my knee means I am not able to play in Madrid and Rome,” Draper said in a statement

LeBron James is 41. And he’s somehow still carrying his team in the playoffs

The Lakers star would have been expecting to play a supporting role as he burrows into his 40s. But injuries means he has assumed a familiar roleLeBron James must be so sick of this. If he wanted to experience being the best player on an otherwise thin team, he could simply remember the Cleveland Cavaliers’ run to the NBA finals in 2007. Or the 2015 NBA finals when his best teammates, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, suffered injuries. Or the 2018 season, which convinced SNL to make a spoof of James’ support staff

State of Origin coaches back Australian NRL takeover of England’s Super League

State of Origin coaches Billy Slater and Laurie Daley have backed the NRL’s pursuit of a stake in the Super League, arguing a strong northern hemisphere game is key to the future of rugby league.The NRL’s chief executive, Andrew Abdo, was in England last week exploring the investment opportunity that would involve governance reform in the UK and a potential shift back to a winter season to allow broadcasters to screen elite rugby league year-round.Slater, who coached the Maroons to an Origin series win in 2025, said the sport needed to improve its pathways across the globe to ensure standards remain high.“There’s definitely something over there in the English Super League, and I think [the NRL] can make that work,” he said.While Abdo has said opportunities with the Super League could help grow the value of the NRL’s next broadcast deal, Slater believed the main benefit was to help improve playing standards in Europe and in the NRL, which is expected to grow to 20 teams in coming years

Castleford’s shock win over Wigan shows NRL that Super League still has a lot to offer

The talks have started and the jockeying for position in the boardrooms has begun. In the coming weeks, we will find just how strong an offer Australia’s National Rugby League is prepared to make to invest in Super League and potentially transform the fortunes of the competition.There is a school of thought, perhaps perpetuated more by those in Australia than in Europe, that Super League is flailing and in desperate need of help. In terms of the financials there may be some merit in that, with wealthy club owners losing tens of millions between them each year. As business models go, it is hardly sustainable