A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Muldoon back for Connacht
RUGBY: Connacht have received a massive boost with skipper John Muldoon set to return this weekend after being out since before Christmas after breaking his arm.
It was feared that the 28-year old might miss the remainder of the season but the Portumna native was given the all-clear yesterday by medics.
And coach Eric Elwood might not waste any time in drafting his skipper back into action with a series of injuries to other players likely to see Muldoon named on the bench for this Friday’s clash with Aironi.
“It’s a great boost, not only for the team but for John himself as he has had to endure more than his fair share of injuries this season so hopefully now he will enjoy a long run without any problems.”
Muldoon, who missed the start of the season after breaking his arm playing for Ireland against New Zealand in the summer, broke the same forearm in the closing stages an Amlin Challenge Cup clash with Harlequins in December.
Sprint finish win helps Goss claim the yellow jersey
CYCLING: Australia's Matt Goss yesterday won the third stage of Paris-Nice from Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire to Nuit-Saint Georges in Burgundy to claim the yellow jersey after a dramatic sprint finish.
The HTC-Highroad rider outmuscled Heinrich Haussler (Garmin-Cervelo) and Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha) to take the overall lead from Thomas de Gendt by two seconds.
The chaotic sprint into Nuits-Saint-Georges saw Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) crash at the final turn.
Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas and Greg Henderson were fifth and sixth respectively with Henderson, who won yesterday’s second stage, now fourth in the overall classification, six seconds behind Goss.
Team-mate Bradley Wiggins finished safely among the peloton today and is 77th overall, 16 seconds off the lead. Ireland’s Nicolas Roche (Ag 2r) finished 26th yesterday and is now 16 seconds down on the overall yellow jersey in 21st position.
Lucky punter claims rollover jackpot
RACING: A millionaire was created at Exeter yesterday when a single on-course punter, Steve Whiteley, who got in for free, landed a massive rollover jackpot courtesy of 12-1 chance Lupita in the final leg.
Over €2.32 million was in the pool, but Black Phantom (12 to 1), Ammunition (16 to 1) and Mr Bennett (16 to 1) had seen off the vast majority of the tickets after the first four races.
When Lundy Sky (5 to 1) got the better of odds-on favourite Glitzy D’Ocala in the penultimate race the whole bet was down to just £1.
Lupita, trained by Derrick Scott and ridden by Jessica Lodge, who had only ever had one point-to-point winner previously, ground down Only Hope after the last flight in the Upton lakes And Lodges Amateur Riders’ Handicap Hurdle to change punter Whiteley’s life forever.
Whiteley (61) a heating engineer from North Tawton in Devon, placed just £2 on the bet and only goes racing once or twice a year. The jackpot had not been won since February 27th at Fontwell.
May deadline for Bahrain
MOTOR SPORT:Bahrain has until May to decide whether the countrys postponed Formula One grand prix can be rescheduled this year, the sports governing body said yesterday. Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has said he wants to reschedule the Bahrain race, providing the political situation has calmed down, with a likely date towards the end of the season. "We'll have a look and see what we can do, how we can swap things round a bit," the Briton said.
Pellizotti found guilty of doping
CYCLING: Italian rider Franco Pellizotti has been found guilty of doping by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the International Cycling Union (UCI) said yesterday.
The UCI provisionally suspended Pellizotti, the 2009 Tour de France best climber, before the Giro dItalia in May last year after they ruled the then Liquigas riders blood values were ‘abnormal’.
Pellizotti was cleared by the Italian Olympic Committee in October, prompting the UCI to appeal to CAS.
“We won the appeal,” said UCI press officer Enrico Carpani.
“It shows the remarkable work of UCI and cycling, with the biological passport, is paying off.”
A UCI source suggested Pellizotti, 33, would have to serve a two-year ban – the usual sanction for first-time offenders in doping cases.
