Tour de France marks 100th edition with 'Fête du Tour'

Fans will have the opportunity to commemorate the 100th edition of the Tour de France this weekend by taking to the course of cycling's most famous stage race, two weeks ahead of the Grand Depart.

The Tour will celebrate the milestone on Saturday with a host of events organised throughout most of France as part of the "Fete du Tour".

The celebrations are scheduled to take place in all cities through which the race, which gets underway in Corsica on June 29, will pass with numerous activities and rides, ranging from the length of an entire stage to shorter formats of 10 to 50km, planned by tour organisers.

Even the 242.5km ride Givors to Mont Ventoux, which will serve as the Tour's 15th stage, will be open for cycling enthusiasts to tackle, although it will be staggered over two...

Continue reading

One of the most famous bicycle races is celebrating its 100th year. Racers have traveled over the same roads, through the same landscapes since the early 1900s. Hard to imagine.

The Pope who loved soccer

Pope Francis roots for the Saints, not the Devils.

The Saints of San Lorenzo de Almagro, that is — one of Argentina’s top five soccer teams.

The first Latin American pontiff grew up near the team’s stadium in Flores, a middle class neighborhood in Buenos Aires.

This screen shot image released by the San Lorenzo de Almagro soccer team shows a copy of the club's identification card belonging to Argentina's Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio. ​​The new pope is a card-carrying member of the team’s  club and has his own Saints jersey, presented to him in 2011 after he said Mass at the team’s own chapel.

Continue reading

It appears that the new Pope, Pope Francis I, is a soccer fan. He is a member of the Saints of San Lorenzo de Almagro fan club, a team he grew up watching and cheering.

Cambodians get lessons in skateboarding, life

Everything is possible... if you practice.

Let the Alternative Games begin

The events at the London Olympic Games might have kept millions of viewers glued to their screens, but to the inhabitants of Llanwrtyd Wells in Wales they seemed a little mundane.

The town is hosting its own version of the Games, which challenge competitors just that little bit extra. The sprinters have to race in three-inch high heels, the long distance runners have to go backwards and the hockey teams have to play underwater. Thousands of competitors from around the world will participate in 35 events over a two-week period.

The town has been organising quirky sporting events for...

Continue reading (+audio)

Belly button key to success in sport

Scientists have found the reason why some people dominate on the running track and other in the swimming pool: It's all to do with their belly-buttons.

What's important is not whether an athlete has an innie or an outie, but where his or her navel is in relation to the rest of the body, says the study published in the International Journal of Design and Nature and Ecodynamics.

The navel is the centre of gravity of the body, and given two runners or swimmers of the same height, one African origin and one European origin, "what matters is not total height but the position of the belly-button, or centre of gravity," says study lead author Professor Andre Bejan of Duke University.

"It so happens that in the architecture of the...

Continue reading

Australian kids can't run, jump, throw: study

Australia may pride itself on its sporting prowess, but a new study has revealed that most of its children struggle to run, jump, kick and catch a ball.

Research led by the University of Sydney has uncovered an overall decline in children's ability to perform the skills at the appropriate age - with most seven year olds yet to have mastered leaping, running and jumping.

"The majority of our children don't have these skills," Louise Hardy from the university's School of Public Health told AFP on Sunday.

"It's a total myth that kids will naturally acquire these particular skills. They do need some tuition."

The study, which analysed data gathered in 2010 from...

Continue reading

Walking on water

One of many stunning visual effects in synchronized swimming.

Daredevil freefalls from 29,455m above ground

An Austrian skydiver has successfully completed a freefall attempt by jumping out of a stratospheric balloon from 29,455 metres above the ground.

Felix Baumgartner was completing a final test jump in Roswell, New Mexico before he attempts to be the first person to break the speed of sound in a freefall from a balloon on the edge of space.

According to preliminary data, his test jump from the 150,079 cubic-metre balloon was completed in three minutes and 48 seconds at speeds of up to 862 km/h.
RELATED STORIES

Baumgartner landed in a desert area about...

Continue reading (+video)

The science games

Behind every elite athlete is an army of scientists helping them shave seconds off world records. Stephen Pincock looks at how science helps athletes get faster, higher and stronger.

Kenneth Graham is feeling optimistic about the 2012 Olympic Games.

As the principal scientist at the NSW Institute of Sport, he's been working with Australian swimming star James Magnussen for a couple of years now. When the 100-metre freestyle final comes around, he reckons 'The Missile' has a good chance of taking gold.

More than that, says Graham, he'll challenge the...

Continue reading

Hamilton hits top form for McLaren in practice

Lewis Hamilton topped the times for McLaren in Friday's opening practice for this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix and brushed off comments made by former McLaren team chief Ron Dennis.

The 27-year-old Briton drove with all his familiar courage, finesse and speed in both the morning and rain-hit afternoon sessions to demonstrate he and his McLaren car are back on form and will be difficult to beat this Sunday.

His hungry performance suggested he was determined to prove that he remains one of F1's hottest prospects after Dennis, the man who discovered and signed him as a 12-year-old karting sensation, hinted that McLaren might choose to walk away and sign someone else to replace him.

Dennis, who is now chairman of the McLaren Group, told BBC Radio, that he...

Continue reading