Cycling: Fabian Cancellara wiped out last year’s bad memories when he powered his way to his second victory in the Tour of Flanders cycle race yesterday. A year ago, on the same 256 kms of exhausting hills and cobbled sections, the Swiss former Olympic and world time-trial champion hit the tarmac as he rode over a bottle 60 kms from the finish line in Oudenaarde. He fractured his collarbone. Twelve months later, Cancellara timed his move to perfection, striking 14 kms from the finish line to shake off his only rival on the day, Slovakia’s Peter Sagan.

Basket, NBA: Kobe Bryant overcame a foot injury to go fourth on the NBA scoring list as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings 103-98. Bryant, who played despite a bone spur in his foot, scored 19 points to pass Wilt Chamberlain’s total of 31,419 and also added 14 assists and nine rebounds. Dwight Howard added 24 points and 15 rebounds, but the Los Angeles Lakers lost Steve Nash to a hamstring injury.

Doping: Rider Stefan Schumacher’s admission that he had used banned substances was welcomed by the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) and national cycling federation (BDR). Schumacher, who failed two drug tests in 2008, said in an interview that doping was part of his training just like eating a “plate of pasta”. “The admission comes too late. He could have spared himself and his sport some things if he had told the truth earlier,” DOSB general director Michael Vesper and BDR chief Rudolf Scharping said in a joint statement. “But his admission comes early enough to draw consequences for the fight against doping. This is why we welcome that Schumacher is ready to process the past.”