Archive August 1, 2025

Maeva Squiban produced another stunning performance to make Tour de Femmes history with back-to-back stage wins as Kim le Court retained the yellow jersey.

A day after becoming only the second French rider to win a stage, 23-year-old Squiban powered away from the chasing group with about 20km remaining as she approached the summit of the Col du Granier.

She crossed the line 51 seconds clear of compatriot Cedrine Kerbaol, becoming the first French rider to win two stages on the tour.

Le Court, who became the first African rider to win a stage in the Tour on Wednesday, caught up to the chasing group on the final descent into Chambery to finish sixth and retain the yellow jersey.

“I wasn’t feeling so good since the start of the stage, the last few days I’ve been going through some stuff,” said the 29-year-old from Mauritius.

“On the last climb it was difficult, my body just shut off. Then I had to do the best downhill of my life.”

France’s Pauline Ferrand-Prevot remains second in the general classification, with defending champion Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney third and 2023 winner Demi Vollering just behind.

The top five in the general classification are separated by 35 seconds with two stages remaining.

1. Maeva Squiban (Fra/UAE Team ADQ) 3hrs 58mins 26secs

2. Cedrine Kerbaol (Fra/EF Education-Oatly) +51secs

3. Ruth Edwards (USA/Human Powered Health) same time

4. Shirin van Anrooij (Ned/Lidl-Trek) +53secs

5. Dominika Wlodarczyk (Pol/UAE Team ADQ) +1min

6. Kim le Court (Mau/AG Insurance-Soudal) same time

7. Anna van der Breggen (Ned/SD Worx-Protime)

8. Demi Vollering (Ned/FDJ-Suez)

9. Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney (Pol/Canyon-Sram-ZondaCrypto)

1. Kim le Court (Mau/AG Insurance-Soudal) 22hrs 28mins 31secs

2. Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Fra/Visma-Lease a Bike) +26secs

3. Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney (Pol/Canyon-Sram-ZondaCrypto) +30secs

4. Demi Vollering (Ned/FDJ-Suez) +31secs

5. Anna van der Breggen (Ned/SD Worx-Protime +35secs

6. Pauliena Rooijakkers (Ned/Fenix-Deceuninck) +1min 4secs

7. Cedrine Kerbaol (Fra/EF Education-Oatly) +1min 9secs

8. Sarah Gigante (Aus/AG Insurance-Soudal) +1min 14secs

9. Evita Muzic (Fra/FDJ-Suez) +1min 35secs

Location: Musgrave Park, Cork Date: Saturday, August 2 Kick-off: 2:00 BST

Sam Monaghan, Ireland’s skipper, declares that after 13 months out with injuries, she will “savour every moment.”

In June of this year, the lock’s ACL was damaged while playing for her club in Gloucester Hartpury, but she then experienced further delays from calf and hamstring issues.

The 32-year-old will start in the second row for Ireland’s warm-up match against Scotland in Cork on Saturday and will now see “light at the end of the tunnel.”

“Seeing my name again on the team sheet was really emotional for me, not just for myself but also for my family, team-mates, everyone who has traveled with me, physios, S&amp, Cs,” said Monaghan.

You engender hunger, . You’ve been starving for 13 months, sort of like when you finally get the chance.

Eimear Corri-Fallon, Monaghan’s second row partner on Saturday, has also experienced injuries in the past year.

Me and Eimear have previously played together in Dubai [at the WXV tournament in 2023] and at the Six Nations, according to Monaghan.

We’re on the same path right now, so sadly, we both had a rough year. It’s nice to get back together on the pitch.

For Ireland’s first of two warm-up games before the World Cup, which kicks off in England later this month, Monaghan and Corri-Fallon are not the only players to return to the panel.

As Scott Bemand’s side prepares for the tournament, where they will compete alongside Japan, Spain, and New Zealand, Wing Beibhinn Parsons, who broke her leg in December, will also start at Musgrave Park.

However, Ireland have already experienced a number of injury issues, with 2025 Six Nations Player of the Championship Aoife Wafer a doubt and Dorothy Wall and Erin King having been ruled out of the World Cup.

“Injuries are always very difficult.” Because of how close we are as a group, “we really feel” someone when they pass away, according to Monaghan.

They are such big characters, both on and off the pitch, and I am aware of how challenging it can be.

Joshua Buatsi and Queensberry Promotions have a promotional agreement.

The 32-year-old last fought in February when Callum Smith gave him his first professional defeat.

Buatsi signed for Boxxer, a production company run by Ben Shalom, but he has since decided to switch to Frank Warren’s promotional team.

“Queensberry has a plan I’m comfortable with,” said Buatsi, “after speaking with a number of promoters.”

“I’m a British fighter, and the support I receive from UK fans is invaluable.”

There is nothing like fighting in front of a family audience because it motivates me. I have a team that understands that and supports me well here in the UK with Queensberry.

It’s believed that Boxxer will end its relationship with broadcasting giant Sky Sports, and it’s unclear which platform the promotional company will use.

Warren claims Buatsi is still in the running for a world title after winning the bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Anthony Yarde, who Buatsi has been feutrating since making his professional debut in 2017, is another subject that Warren promotes.

On November 22 in Saudi Arabia, Yarde will face David Benavidez for the WBC world title.

According to Warren, “Josh will be a good choice to face the winner.”

Grand Prix of Hungary

Hungaroring Dates: 1-3 August Race start time: 15:00 BST on Sunday

Lando Norris’ willingness to acknowledge his shortcomings is “used against him,” according to his former team-mate Carlos Sainz.

Sainz, who worked with Norris at McLaren from 2019-20 and has remained close friends with the Briton, told BBC 5 live Sport: “He opens up] to the media and to people more than any other driver on the grid, and people use that against him.”

Sainz, who is currently driving for Williams, said: “What you see on TV is what he is as a person.” He excels at exposing himself.

It’s occasionally a little ironic and frustrating to me. He is probably the only person who is completely honest about his thoughts and feelings, but then people turn their heads to him.

Norris ended Friday practice at the Grand Prix of Hungary fastest by 0.291 seconds from team-mate Oscar Piastri.

Before this race, which marks the end of Formula 1’s summer break, Norris is 16 points adrift of the Australian.

Sainz said Norris’ criticism of his openness was “a little sad” because probably the other 19 drivers share the same level of doubt and self-criticism with each other; they simply don’t explain it loud because we prefer to keep it inside and avoid the media.”

Norris has acknowledged that this season he made errors that have cost him points.

Prior to this year, Norris was having trouble anticipating the car’s behavior when he was pushing to the limit due to a lack of feel from the front axle.

Norris has been more at ease since the Canadian Grand Prix in June, and McLaren have changed the front suspension to make this aspect of the car better for him.

Norris, who had a misjudged start to the race, crashed into Piastri after making errors on his qualifying laps in Canada, which put him sixth on the grid.

When Piastri was fined for driving behind a safety car, he inherited victory at the British Grand Prix, which he won in Austria.

The following weekend, Norris claimed pole position in Belgium, but Piastri won the race and won the race.

When asked about Norris’ chances of winning the World Championship this year, Sainz responded, “If I base my decision on my speed and talent, I’m 100% certain he has that to win a World Championship.

“F1 also requires a little luck, mental toughness, and driving at the right time at the right time.”

He’ll have a second chance, according to the saying, “It doesn’t really matter if he doesn’t win this year.” He has 10-15 years in F1. He has talent, speed, and potential.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc came third each time in Friday practice at the Hungaroring, Norris topping both of their previous victories.

Although the gap between the two was larger in the later hour, neither driver had a perfect run, Norris had a 0.019sec advantage in the first session. At Turn Two, Norris had to cancel his first flying lap, and Piastri had to deal with the heavy traffic at his fastest.

When Norris got his outside front wheel turned in toward the finish line, he made a quick evasion and ran wide into the finish line.

“The car has felt pretty good since the first lap,” Norris continued. My laps were all respectable. The practice and attempting to find the limit in various areas included a few more mistakes in the second session, which was a little more messy.

I have the car’s requirements, but it might be more challenging to fulfill them.

Piastri stated, “The performance was excellent. Some things to arrange. Although it wasn’t the smoothest P2s, the rest of the weekend was filled with excitement.

Even though the Spaniard missed the first session to allow himself more time to recover from a muscle problem in his back, the Aston Martins of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso came in fourth and fifth place.

Lewis Hamilton appeared to struggle with rear-end stability based on several oversteer snaps that sent him into the chicane, making sixth place 0.306 seconds slower than team-mate Leclerc.

George Russell, a Mercedes driver, came in seventh place ahead of Isack Hadjar, Yuki Tsunoda from Red Bull, and Kimi Antonelli from Mercedes.

Max Verstappen of Red Bull was in 14th place, saying: “Today was really tough, just a low-grip feeling and not really a balance in the car.” Nothing really worked, so it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact cause.

Verstappen threw a towel out of the car once during the session, forcing him to see the stewards afterwards. Red Bull received a warning from the stewards.

Verstappen once remarked, “Your face will just be wiped clean when you come back in. Since it was still in the car when I left, I drove off line and removed it in the safest possible manner to avoid it from possibly getting in between my feet, which is the dangerous part. The stewards should be aware of that, I believe.