A round-up of today's other sports news in brief
Roche holds solid form as Armstrong tests himself
CYCLING: Nicolas Roche continued his solid showing in the Tour Down Under when he placed 19th on yesterday's second stage, leading home a group some eight seconds after Allan Davis (Quick Step) outsprinted Graeme Brown (Rabobank) for the victory, writes Shane Stokes.
The 145km road race took the riders from Hahndorf to Stirling and saw a lot of aggressive racing throughout.
Roche was requested by his Ag2r La Mondiale squad to ride for team-mate Martin Elmiger in the finale, thus missing out on a chance of a higher placing. Elmiger was third on the stage.
Davis now leads overall from Tuesday's stage winner Andre Greipel (Columbia High Road), who is the defending Tour Down Under champion. The German is three seconds back, while Roche is 18 seconds down in 19th place.
Multiple Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong was briefly on the attack yesterday and finished in the main bunch.
Although he led the race for only a few seconds and eventually finished 45th, Armstrong said he had wanted to launch the attack to test himself.
He is 68th overall heading into today's lumpy, 136km race from Unley to Victor Harbor.
Armstrong said. "It was maybe not the smartest thing I could have done but I just followed a couple of wheels and found myself in a little group."
Manaudou to take a break
SWIMMING: France’s Laure Manaudou, the 2004 Olympic 400 metres freestyle champion, has decided to end her season and will miss this year’s world championships.
The 22-year-old, also the 200 metres and 400 metres world champion, failed to win a medal at the Beijing Olympics after a turbulent year in which she had her private life splashed all over the French media.
A shoulder problem is believed to be behind her move.
Tattersalls horse trials get go-ahead
EQUESTRIAN SPORTS: Tattersalls Ireland have decided to proceed with their 2009 international horse trials although, as yet, no overall sponsor has been secured for the May three-day event. The horse trials, which are due to stage the only Irish qualifier for the HSBC eventing world cup, was in doubt following an announcement from the Co Meath sales company early last month, writes Margie McLoone.
At that point, following their December board meeting, the company stated: “Due to the economic downturn in the Irish bloodstock industry, Tattersalls Ireland is no longer in a position to underwrite the shortfall in funding of the international horse trials. Tattersalls Ireland has therefore taken the regrettable decision that if alternative funding and/or sponsors cannot be found by January 14th, the horse trials will be cancelled.”
Last Friday, the organisers asked for a week’s extension from the FEI to seek further funding, and yesterday managing director George Mernagh confirmed that a full programme of classes will be held at the Ratoath venue in May.
“Following our announcement last month, a number of sponsors have committed their support and we are delighted to be able to confirm that the 2009 event will take place. We are extremely grateful for the positive response we have received, particularly from Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) and Eventing Ireland, without whose help it would have been impossible to stage the international event.
“We have invested substantial funds in the development of our three international courses and our commitment to the non-thoroughbred sector of the industry remains as strong as ever. While we are delighted to be able to confirm that the 2009 event will now proceed, the industry in Ireland is still going to have to decide on strategic priorities in these difficult times.”
Tattersalls Ireland, which are reducing their permanent workforce by five, also confirmed they would be setting up a taskforce with HSI to look at ways of enhancing the profile of the event with a view to finding additional sponsors for 2009 and to ensure it is sustainable in the future.
“This is an extremely important event for Irish-based riders,” continued Mernagh, “as it provides them with a chance to gain qualification for top international competition without having to travel abroad.”
Joe Walsh, the chairman of HSI which have worked closely with the organisers to ensure the horse trials went ahead, said: “Tattersalls have shown tremendous commitment to the sport of eventing in recent years and Horse Sport Ireland is delighted to support the event again in 2009. This is a genuinely world-class event and the fact that it is going ahead is a real boost to equestrian sport.”
Captain Geoff Curran, who thrilled spectators when winning the World Cup qualifier last May on the Minister for Defence’s Kilkishen, was delighted to receive news of yesterday’s announcement.
“That’s brilliant and congratulations to all those who worked so hard to ensure that the competition goes ahead. I hope that they get the event they deserve.”
Spinners square series for Sri Lanka
CRICKET: Spinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis took six wickets to help Sri Lanka to a 129-run victory over Pakistan in the second one-day international in Karachi to square the three-match series.
Pakistan were bowled out for 161 in 34.5 overs, with just three batsmen reaching double figures, after Sri Lanka had posted a challenging 290 for eight thanks to half centuries from Tillakaratne Dilshan and Thilana Kandamby.
The home side never recovered from a terrible start when they lost three wickets for 17 runs.
Opener Salman Butt (62) and captain Shoaib Malik (54) featured in a 108-run stand from 121 balls for the fourth wicket but once they were separated the spinners ran through the batting.
