Cycling

Italy’s Davide Bais secured a surprise victory on stage seven of the Giro d’Italia, the first of his professional career. The Eolo-Kometa rider, 25, won the race’s first summit finish in six hours eight minutes 40 seconds. The Czech Republic’s Karel Vacek came second and Italy’s Simone Petilli finished third, with all three chasing a

Defending champion Demi Vollering won stage one of the Itzulia Women with a dominant attack on the final climb. The 26-year-old Dutchwoman, who rides for SD Worx, broke clear 12km from the finish of the 122km stage from Etxebarria to Markina-Xemein in Spain. Swiss team-mate Marlen Reusser was second, 47 seconds behind, with Poland’s Kasia

Denmark’s Mads Pedersen won the sixth stage of the Giro d’Italia after the peloton caught a two-man breakaway with the finishing line in sight. Pedersen claimed victory following a sprint after Australia’s Simon Clarke and Italian Alessandro de Marchi were passed with about 250m to go. Italy’s Jonathan Milan was second, with Pascal Ackermann of

Cynisca Cycling has parted ways with its director Inga Thompson, saying her views on transgender inclusion have “affected its brand and reputation”. The professional women’s team launched in 2022, with the ex-cyclist invited to serve on its board earlier this year. The American has opposed transgender women competing in elite female sport and on Sunday

Para-cyclist William Bjergfelt said it was “fantastic” to see his sacrifices pay off after winning his first World Cup road race in Belgium. The 44-year-old from Portishead, Somerset, recently took a two-year sabbatical from his engineering job to focus fully on selection for the Paris Paralympics in 2024. Bjergfelt took gold in the World Cup

Britain’s Lizzie Deignan will race in this month’s Ford Ride London Classique, amid further concerns about the loss of cycle races in the UK. Ride London is the only World Tour race to take place in Britain following the cancellation of June’s Women’s Tour for financial reasons. “I hope to be able to open the

Australia’s Kaden Groves won a chaotic raid-sodden stage five of the Giro d’Italia featuring numerous crashes, including one caused by a dog. Britain’s Mark Cavendish finished fourth after skidding across the line on his backside following a collision metres from the finish. World champion Remco Evenepoel crashed twice, the first after a dog wandered on

Norway’s Andreas Leknessund moved into the overall lead at the Giro d’Italia despite being beaten to the line by France’s Aurelien Paret-Peintre in stage four. Paret-Peintre made a late attack with 150m remaining to win the 175km ride from Venosa to Lago Laceno in four hours 16 minutes four seconds. Leknessund, 23, is just the

Australian Michael Matthews beat Denmark’s Mads Pedersen to win stage three of the Giro d’Italia. Matthews made a sprint for the line after the final corner and held on to take the 216km stage, which ran from Vasto to Melfi, in five hours one minute 41 seconds. Pedersen finished second, with Kadem Groves, of Australia,

Great Britain won 14 medals at the second Para-cycling Road World Cup of the season in Ostend, Belgium. Of those, seven were gold, including two apiece for Fin Graham (MC3) and Fran Brown (WC1) who won both the road race and time trial in their classes. In his road race, Graham topped an all-British podium,

Jonathan Milan took his first Grand Tour stage victory with a sprint finish on day two of the Giro d’Italia. The Bahrain Victorious rider, competing in his home country, crossed the line in San Salvo in four hours, 55 minutes and 11 seconds. He edged ahead of a tightly packed bunch, with David Dekker of

Dutch rider Annamiek van Vleuten won a third consecutive La Vuelta title, taking victory by just nine seconds from compatriot Demi Vollering. Movistar’s Van Vleuten, 40, started the seventh and final stage with a one minute 11 second lead. But Team SD Worx’s Vollering almost snatched overall victory by taking the final stage – a

Two-time champion Annemiek van Vleuten took the overall La Vuelta Femenina lead with one stage remaining after finishing second in Larado. Italy’s Gaia Realini, 21, beat the 40-year-old Netherlands rider in a sprint finish for her maiden tour-stage win. But Van Vleuten opened a lead of one minute 11 seconds in the general standings. Demi

Remco Evenepoel underlined his status as a favourite for the Giro d’Italia by winning the opening time trial on stage one. The Soudal-Quick Step rider took the leader’s maglia rosa jersey with a time of 21 minutes 18 seconds, 22 seconds quicker than Filippo Ganna. Primoz Roglic, seen as Belgian Evenepoel’s main challenger for overall

Britain’s former world track champion Tony Doyle has died from pancreatic cancer at the age of 64. Doyle won individual pursuit world gold in 1980 and 1986, in addition to winning four European pursuit titles and 23 six-day races. After retiring in 1995 because of injury, he later served as president of British Cycling and

Demi Vollering held off two-time world road race champion Annemiek van Vleuten on an uphill finish to win stage five of La Vuelta Femenina. The SD Worx rider, 26, beat her Dutch compatriot to the finish line by three seconds and now leads the overall standings by five seconds. Overnight leader Marianne Vos slipped back

Eddy Merckx, the great Belgian rider, once said to be a champion cyclist was not just about ability but possessing a “talent for suffering”. Geraint Thomas has certainly had his fair share of pain and misfortune, especially at the Giro d’Italia. There is unfinished business for the Welshman in this particular Grand Tour after freak

Tao Geoghegan Hart knows more than most how unpredictable the Giro d’Italia can be. When this year’s race begins on Saturday, it will be the first time Geoghegan Hart has been on the Giro start line since. Once again, the 28-year-old Londoner might not be the out-and-out favourite – but he has every reason to