Cycling: Complaints from many riders that the Vuelta a Espana has included too many punishing climbs in recent years fell on deaf ears as organisers unveiled another demanding route featuring nine mountain finishes. While the opening stage will take place outside Spain for only the third time, with riders setting off in Nimes, France, on August 19, other aspects of the three-week race will concern those taking part. British sprint specialist Mark Cavendish was among those who felt recent Vuelta routes have become far too challenging and labelled them “stupid”.
American football: Los Angeles Rams made Sean McVay the youngest head coach in NFL history this week by announcing the former Washington Redskins offensive coordinator as Jeff Fisher’s replacement. The decision to go with McVay, who turns 31 on January 24 and takes over a team that finished with a 4-12 record this season, came hours after San Diego Chargers announced they would be relocating to Los Angeles. The Rams averaged an NFL-low 14 points per game during the 2016 season and will counting on McVay to rebuild the attack around quarterback Jared Goff, last year’s top draft pick.
Weightlifting: China faces a one-year ban from international weightlifting competitions after three of its athletes were stripped of their 2008 Olympic gold medals following re-tests of samples from the Beijing Games. On Thursday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it had disqualified weightlifting gold medallists Cao Lei (75kg), Chen Xiexia (48 kg) and Liu Chunhong (69kg) from the Beijing Games after they tested positive for prohibited substances. Lifters from Taiwan, Russia and Kazakhstan could be upgraded to the gold medals, although it is unclear if they too failed doping tests in the re-analysis.
Golf: Justin Thomas (picture) became only the seventh player to break 60 on the PGA Tour, and the youngest in that elite club, with an 11-under-par display in the opening round of the Sony Open in Hawaii. Just four days after clinching his third PGA Tour title, the 23-year-old American sank a 15-foot eagle putt on his final hole, the par-five ninth, to card a 59. Thomas also carded eight birdies and a bogey to become the youngest member of the 59 club.
Basket, NBA: Kawhi Leonard poured in 31 points in just three quarters of play, and four of San Antonio’s starters scored in double figures as the Spurs demolished the Los Angeles Lakers 134-94 at the AT&T Center. San Antonio’s total was a season-high, as were the 72 points scored by the Spurs in the first half and the 40-point margin of victory. Pau Gasol added 22 points for San Antonio, while LaMarcus Aldridge and Tony Parker added 13 each.
Tennis: Belgium’s David Goffin retained his Kooyong Classic title in almost farcical circumstances yesterday when he beat Ivo Karlovic 7-2 in a tiebreaker after the final of the Australian warm-up was reduced to a one-set shootout. Goffin, who will be the 11th seed at Melbourne Park next week, wrapped up the title when his tall Croatian opponent went long with a service return after 32 minutes of a contest curtailed by wet weather. Both players and the umpire appeared confused as to what to do next when the set reached 6-6 but after a brief negotiation, they proceeded to play the tiebreak with the Belgian quickly taking a 5-0 lead.