Chris Froome and Alberto Contador both had near misses on the descent into Gap but the Briton retained his overall lead on stage 16 of the 100th Tour de France.

So, there it is: Lance Armstrong has admitted to Oprah Winfrey that his dominance of cycling from the late 1990s to the mid-2000s was tainted — to put it mildly — by performance-enhancing drugs.

Take a bow UCI, to quote Laurel and Hardy: Here’s another fine mess you’ve gotten us into.

Mark Scanlon will become the first Irish rider to take part in the cycling’s holy grail the Tour de France next month since 1987 winner Stephen Roche bowed out 11 years ago.

Irish trio, Graeme McDowell, Gary Murphy and Peter Lawrie are hoping Bangkok will kickstart their year.