GOLF
Taiwan’s Chien finishes 5th
Taiwan Chien Pei-yun on Sunday ended her admirable run at the LPGA Kroger Queen City Championship with a fifth-place finish in Cincinnati, Ohio. After taking a four-stroke lead in the second round on Friday with an eight-under round of 64, Chien, who was making her 140th start on the LPGA tour and chasing her first title, lost her 36-hole lead on Saturday to finish second. She started the third round with a double bogey, answered with two straight birdies, but then lost ground with three bogeys over four holes to close out the front nine. That included a three-putt bogey on No. 9 that put her one shot behind for the first time all day. On Sunday, she recorded three bogeys and a birdie in the front nine to finish tied at fifth with an 11-under-par 277.
CYCLING
Van Aert wins 2nd UK title
Wout van Aert on Sunday won the Tour of Britain for the second time in three years as the Belgian took the title by three seconds. The Team Jumbo-Visma rider held onto his overnight advantage on the eighth and final stage to secure the title in an event he last won in 2021. Ineos Grenadiers’ Carlos Rodriguez won the eighth stage from Margam County Park to Caerphilly. The Spaniard would have needed to recover a 39-second deficit to pip Van Aert to the title, but could only finish 11 seconds ahead of his rival. Uno-X’s Tobias Halland Johannessen finished second overall, with Australian Damien Howsen of Q36.5 third in the general classification.
MOTORSPORTS
Dixon wins season finale
New Zealand’s Scott Dixon rallied to win the IndyCar season finale at central California’s Laguna Seca, but despite the victory and a season turnaround, he was unable to beat teammate Alex Palou on points for the championship. It was still good enough to affirm Dixon’s legacy as the greatest driver of his generation. Sunday’s win was the six-time IndyCar champion’s first at the permanent California road course, 56th of his career and third in the final four races of the season. His turnaround last month ensured that Dixon’s streak of 19 consecutive seasons with at least one win remaining intact. Palou became the first driver in nearly 20 years to clinch the IndyCar title before the season finale with his victory in Portland the previous week. “It’s just a shame that Palou decided to lead the championship by too many points, and it became a bit boring on the championship side,” Dixon said.
SAILING
Ainslie wins France SailGP
British star Ben Ainslie on Sunday sent his foiling catamaran flying past three-time defending champion Tom Slingsby and Team Australia halfway down the final full leg to win the France Sail Grand Prix in Saint-Tropez and end a two-and-a-half-year victory drought. Ainslie, the most decorated Olympic sailor of all time and a former America’s Cup champion, skippered Emirates Great Britain to its first win since the opening regatta of Season 2 in Bermuda in April 2021. “It’s been a long time coming, but it was great to be in one of those all-classic finals with the Aussies, who are the great champion team, and look, a huge amount of respect to them,” Ainslie said. “But for us to come out, get through them and overtake them, we’ll take that.”
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
VALUABLE POINT: Relegation-threatened Valencia snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw at CA Osasuna thanks to a remarkable backheel volley by Umar Sadiq Barcelona on Sunday secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Real Sociedad to move back top of La Liga. Aritz Elustondo’s early red card gave Hansi Flick’s side a comfortable afternoon, with Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski on the score sheet. Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to temporarily knock the Catalans from their perch, while Real Madrid, third, lost at Real Betis Balompie. Flick was able to rotate his side a little ahead of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 visit to face SL Benfica tomorrow and still move one point above Atletico. “There were a lot of things that
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
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