Sports Round-upCYCLING: Irish rider Tommy Evans took another top 20 placing on yesterday's fifth stage of the Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia, sprinting home 17th out of the 127-man bunch which reached the finish in Kuala Terengganu, writes Shane Stokes.
Evans is 11th in the points standings and his Telekom Malaysia squad remain second in the Asian team classification.
Yesterday's stage was won by Australian fast man Graeme Brown. Overall leader Nathan O'Neill retained his 20-second advantage over his closest rival.
The tour continues today with a 136.3 kilometre leg from Marang to Cukai.
ATHLETICS: Ireland's Gary Ryan will be pushed hard by 60m champion Brian Doyle when he defends his 200m title at the DM Hall Scottish Indoor Athletics Championships in Glasgow's Kelvin Hall, unless he betters the 21.30 time he ran last weekend in Birmingham.
Ciara Sheehy is favourite to take the women's 200m title following her 23.76 win in Birmingham but defending champion Susan Burnside ran a 23.83 personal best recently.
FORMULA ONE: Rookie Ralph Firman insisted last night he would be able to cope with the demands of Formula One.
The 27-year-old has been handed a three-year deal by Jordan. Firman fills the last place on the grid for the new campaign and is confident the experience he gained racing in Japan for the last six seasons will prove vital when he makes his debut in the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 7th-9th.
"I've been out there for a long time racing high-powered cars and that should help me mentally and physically in the next year," said Firman, who won the Formula Nippon series last year.
It is unclear how much money Firman will bring to the team although Benson & Hedges, one of the team's sponsors, and Ford of Ireland are reported to have contributed. Firman holds dual nationality as his mother comes from Ireland, while his father, Ralph senior, is a former Lotus mechanic who founded the Norfolk-based chassis manufacturer Van Diemen.
BASKETBALL: Superleague coach Martin Hehir yesterday guided Presentation, Thurles to their second successive under-19 A schoolgirls' title at the National Arena, Tallaght, yesterday, when they beat Mercy, Waterford 97-62.
St Gerald's, Castlebar claimed the boys' under-19 A cup, after beating Coláiste Éanna 66-50, with junior international Herman Heyl collecting the MVP award with a 24-point tally.
