Geraint Thomas shrugged off his third crash of the Tour de France as Caleb Ewan won stage 16 in soaring temperatures in Nimes.

Back from holidays. I’m grand. Yourself?

Peter Sagan delivered his 12th career Tour de France stage victory in Colmar as Julian Alaphilippe retained the yellow jersey for a third day.

In the absence of Chris Froome or Dutchman Tom Domoulin, this is the first Tour in recent memory without a clear favourite.

Summertime and the living is easy. Chance would be a fine thing.

Cycling shorts are the latest fashion trend for men. But are men really going to wear them away from their bikes, asks Paul McLauchlan

Luke Maguire Cycling

After a breakthrough performance at the Tour of Yorkshire, Eddie Dunbar has said he’ll be added to Sky’s successor Team Ineos’ roster for the Giro d’Italia, which starts in Bologna next Saturday.

Having challenged in recent years, Ireland’s Dan Martin is now looking to emulate his uncle, Stephen Roche and win the Tour de France.

Peter Jackson gets over the gain line, behind the headline

Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) claimed his first victory of the season on the final stage of the Vuelta San Juan race in Argentina.

Stephen Barrett will join the coaching staff of World Tour cycling team AG2R-La Mondiale for 2019. The Fermoy native will assume the role of Performance Scientist with the French squad while also continuing in his role as Strength and Conditioning coach for the Waterford senior hurling team.

Just weeks after the folding of the Aqua Blue Sport team, Ireland’s Eddie Dunbar has signed for Team Sky with immediate effect.

Simon Yates lost his overall lead in the Vuelta a Espana, as Alexandre Geniez claimed victory in a chaotic finish to stage 12 at Manon.

Irish cycling team Aqua Blue Sport will not race in 2019.

Geraint Thomas won his first Tour de France title yesterday, concluding his transformation from a support rider into a champion of cycling’s biggest race.

Team Sky's Geraint Thomas extended his lead in the Tour de France as Chris Froome slipped out of second place on 17th stage won by Nairo Quintana.

Geraint Thomas will wear the yellow jersey after winning stage 11 of the Tour de France in La Rosiere to take the overall lead.

Greg Van Avermaet extended his lead in the yellow jersey with a superb ride as Julian Alaphilippe won stage 10 of the Tour de France.

Dan Martin has got his Tour de France campaign off to the best possible start with a Stage 6 victory on the first hilly test of the race to Mur de Bretagne ahead of Pierre Latour (Ag2r) and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar).

“I really hope my wife hasn’t gone into labour!”

Dan Martin has narrowly missed out on victory in stage five of the Tour de France.

"While this decision is obviously a big deal for me and the team, it's also an important moment for cycling," said Froome.

Corkman Robert-Jon McCarthy claimed a popular victory on stage 2 of the Rás Tailteann into Tipperary as he sprinted home first in a fast finish.

Stage one of the 2018 Rás Tailteann began under dry skies yesterday in Drogheda with the ceremonial start taking place from St Peter’s Church.

Participating in sport is generally seen as a good thing for society. It has health benefits, both physical and mental. It can be a sociable activity promoting a sense of belonging, identity and inclusion, says Jack Anderson.

Chris Froome's Team Sky squad for the Giro d'Italia has been named as the Briton seeks a third successive Grand Tour win.

For some, the very fact that Irish professional players may need dedicated programmes on respectful relationships, the meaning of consent, etc, will be seen to reflect badly on Irish sport, writes Jack Anderson

Belgian cyclist Michael Goolaerts, who died aged 23 after suffering cardiac arrest during Paris-Roubaix, is a “great loss to cycling”, says former team-mate James Shaw.

Bradley Wiggins' former coach Shane Sutton has urged the five-time Olympic champion and former Team Sky doctor Richard Freeman to explain their use of therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) for banned medication.

Floyd Landis has called for Bradley Wiggins to be stripped of his 2012 Tour de France title in the wake of allegations made in a parliamentary report.

‘Everybody knew Gaybo the length and breadth of the country and beyond’ - Gabriel Howard, a legendary figure in Irish cycling, passed away earlier this month following a farm accident, writes Paul Fitzpatrick

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) first began to conduct doping tests on athletes at the 1968 Mexico Olympics.

Chris Froome insists he has “done nothing wrong” and has defended his decision to return to racing at the Ruta del Sol.

Now that elite pathway has been closed off, there are fears the women described by F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo as ‘fast girls’ will be condemned to the slow lane, writes Larry Ryan

It's a move which mirrors the Professional Darts Corporation's decision.

Michelle de Bruin would get considerably less  than a four-year ban today, writes Jack Anderson.

It’s the time of year when a no-longer-young man’s heart turns to writing a column about trying to take up running again, writes Colm O’Regan.

The prevalence of doping in sport has been once again to the fore in recent weeks, writes Jack Anderson.

Nearly 450,000 steroids were seized in the first eight months of the year, despite warnings over their ingredients and health side-effects. Why are so many young people using them, asks Pádraig Hoare.

Reading the game: Our writers select 29 sports books from 2017...

Four-time world time trial champion Tony Martin has called the decision not to suspend Team Sky leader Chris Froome immediately for his adverse drugs test a "scandal".

British cyclist Chris Froome has admitted his adverse test for asthma drug salbutamol is "damaging" but is hopeful he will be cleared of any wrongdoing.