CYCLING: Irish professional cyclist David McCann yesterday recorded his best ride yet in this year's Herald Sun Tour in Australia when he placed sixth on the stage from Yarrawonga to Echuca.
The Belfast rider broke clear with several others during the 180-kilometre seventh leg of the race and finished sixth in the dash for the line behind stage winner Henk Vogels of Australia.
Tommy Evans was second in the bunch sprint 37 seconds later, taking ninth on the stage, while Paul Griffin was 13th. Mark Scanlon and Aidan Duff finished in the same time.
Evans remains 10 minutes and 20 seconds behind overall leader Peter Wrolich, but drops one place to 10th in this pro-am race. The Sun Tour continues today with a 28-kilometre criterium.
The national 10-mile time-trial record of 19 minutes and 38 seconds set by McCann on August 30th has been ratified by the ICF. McCann's 30.6 m.p.h. standard was 20 seconds faster than the old mark set by Tommy Evans in 1993.
HURLING: The Loughmore-Castleiney club were thrown out of the Tipperary hurling championship last night after a meeting of the county board. The club had refused to play extra-time after their county quarter-final with defending champions Toomevara ended in a draw in Templemore last Sunday week.
Toomevara will now meet Clonoulty in one semi-final while Thurles Sarsfields play Cappawhite in the other. The games are scheduled for next Sunday.
Loughmore were last night believed to be considering making an appeal to the Munster Council.
CRICKET: England's cricketers will be told today that it is safe for their upcoming tour of India to go ahead.
Nasser Hussain's team are due to meet Rob Young, the British high commissioner from New Delhi, at Lord's following their concerns over the trip.
RALLYING: Co-driver Risto Mannisenmaki underwent an operation on his back yesterday after being injured when world championship leader Tommi Makinen crashed in Corsica at the weekend.
Four times champion Makinen rolled his Mitsubishi dramatically on the opening day of the Corsica Rally and the car came to rest upside down on the edge of a mountain road.
HURLING: St Peter's College set up a final meeting with arch rivals St Kieran's College as a result of their impressive 1-12 to 0-8 victory over Good Counsel College in their Leinster Colleges Junior "A" hurling championship semi-final at Monamolin yesterday.
RUGBY: The Ulster Schools were defeated 23 -14 yesterday by Kent Schools in the first game of their short tour to England.
