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SBS Australia
4 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Think you could race the Tour de France? Explore the 2025 map and key stats
Cycling's most prestigious race is back for its 112th edition and likely to be as hot, brutal, long and challenging a contest as ever, with riders tackling 3,339 kilometres on roads across France over three weeks. The Tour de France begins on 5 July, with 184 riders representing 23 teams taking part. This year the race will be held entirely in France, the first time it hasn't held stages in other countries since 2020. It will culminate in a spectacular finish along Paris' Champs-Élysées, marking 50 years of the iconic finish line in the city's heart. Breaking down the Tour de France route This year's race is made up of seven flat stages, six mountain stages, six hilly stages, two time trials, and two rest days. The pack speeds downhill in last year's Tour de France. This year, riders will cover 3,339 kilometres in 21 days. Source: AP / Daniel Cole The route includes: 52,500m of total ascent. 2,304m — biggest climb, Col de la Loze. Eight towns that haven't had the tour visit before. What are the important jerseys for the Tour de France? The yellow jersey, or maillot jaune, is one of the most iconic pieces of apparel in global sport and is worn by the race's overall leader, changing depending on who that is. Belgian Remco Evenepoel of Soudal Quick-Step, Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz of EF Education-EasyPost, Eritrean Biniam Girmay Hailu of Intermarche-Wanty and Slovenian Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates pictured on the podium after the 2024 Tour de France cycling race. Source: AAP / Belga/David Pintens/Sipa USA Here's a breakdown of the important jerseys: Yellow: Race leader. The rider with the lowest accumulated time since the tour's beginning. Green: Leader of the points. Usually, a sprinter who has collected points for finishing stages first. Polka Dot: 'King of the Mountain'. The rider with the most points from winning designated climbs. White: Best young rider (under 26) with the lowest overall time. The tour's overall winner is the competitor with the lowest combined time across all 21 stages. Usually, they are an all-rounder — good at sprinting, climbing and time trials. Who are the favourites While some teams acknowledge they cannot win the overall title and will instead aim to win specific stages, elite teams are chasing the general classification (GC) win, which means achieving the shortest overall time. Tour de France winner Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey (right), and second place Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard talk after last year's tour. Source: AP / Jerome Delay Top GC rider Jonas Vingegaard will be determined to reclaim his overall title against rival Tadej Pogacar, and last year's best young rider Remco Evenepoel is also considered a threat, as are Primoz Roglic, Felix Gall and Carlos Rodriguez. After three weeks of incredible performances, Pogacar won the final stage time trial in Nice and won the race by a hefty margin of six minutes and 17 seconds last year and taking six stage wins. Cadel Evans became the first and only Australian to win the race in 2011, converting a new wave of Tour fans. This year, 10 Australians will be in the peloton, including Luke Durbridge, Ben O'Connor and Luke Plapp of Team Jayco AlUla. What do riders eat? Cyclists expend between 17,000 and 29,000 kilojoules (KJ) per stage of the race, up to 3.5 times the average recommended male adult intake of 8,700 kJ on hard days. An estimated 37,000 water bottles will be consumed, filled with water and/or highly sugary carbohydrate mixes to maintain riders' glycogen levels. Belgium's Remco Evenepoel, wearing the best young rider's white jersey, Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard and Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, climb during the twentieth stage of the Tour de France in last year's competition. The three are among the race favourites. Source: AP / Daniel Cole They'll also eat gels, energy bars and rice cakes while in the saddle, usually passed to each other by a 'domestique' rider during the race, and consume high-protein meals shortly after the race finishes and then again for breakfast and dinner. How can Australians watch the 2025 Tour de France? All 21 stages of the 2025 Tour de France will be live-streamed in full on SBS On Demand, with live television coverage beginning on SBS at a slightly later time on most nights. With catch-up replays as well as extended highlights and analysis available throughout the three weeks, SBS and SBS On Demand are the places to keep up to date. Eritrea's Biniam Girmay, wearing the best sprinter's green jersey, celebrated as he crossed the finish line first in stage 12 of last year's Tour de France. Source: AP / Jerome Delay Fans will also have access to a new mobile-optimised Race Centre on the SBS Sport website . The Race Centre will provide key statistical features, including live tracking of riders to help follow the race.
Daily Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Daily Telegraph
NSW Swifts: Verity Simmons, Sharni Lambden, Helen Housby discuss the future of netball
Don't miss out on the headlines from Stellar. Followed categories will be added to My News. The NSW Swifts know how to produce stars. It's the former club of netball greats Liz Ellis and Catherine Cox. Now, 30-year-old shooter Helen Housby, who originally hails from the UK before calling Sydney home and helping them win two premierships, is their latest star. She's gone viral for both her goals and also TikTok dances during matches. 'I get recognised a lot more than I used to,' she says. 'But I think it's good for the game. If you look at the best sports in the world, they have people that fans want to engage with and want to look up to, and I think netball, because it's such a great team sport, has sometimes shied away from promoting individuals. 'But I feel a responsibility to promote the game because I love it.' Wing defence Sharni Lambden joined the Swifts this season and pinches herself daily that she's part of a team that has played in more grand finals, and won more titles, than any other in the game. Verity Simmons, Sharni Lambden, Helen Housby of the NSW Swifts Netball. Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar Especially considering it took her 10 years in the pathways program to even get her start. 'What motivates me is that little girl that absolutely fell in love with netball when she first started playing at eight,' she says. 'It's been a big journey and she never would have thought she'll be here. She was such a shy, young little girl and now I'm here. I'm trying to really soak it all in.' While Netball is currently the only team sport to compete at the reduced Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next year. And there is a huge push for it to be included in the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane because if breakdancing can make it to Paris, why can't a sport which is played in 120 countries around the world be included. For Housby, it's something she wants to be part of. 'I will be 37 then so I'm not sure if I will have the legs in me. I might have to retire for a good couple of years and then get to CrossFit or something to try and stay fit,' she laughs. 'But if it did come to Brisbane in 2032, that would definitely be something that I would look towards.' 'I would love to see netball get in there and I think that would be what blows the sport up.' Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar Housby's new teammate Verity Simmons adds that for the sport to be taken seriously as an Olympic sport, America needs to get involved; 'You look at how they work in the States and how they blow up their athletes'. 'I would love to see netball get in there and I think that would be what blows the sport up. 'You know everything's bigger in America, right?' The game isn't far off that. In June, the Women's Sport Network founded by Whoopi Goldberg, signed a three-year deal with Suncorp Super Netball which will see the competition beamed into 65 countries around the world with a reach of 900 million. Testament to growing support for the game, this year the Grand Final will be played at Rod Laver Arena for the first time ever. She's red-y! Helen Housby, of the Swifts, in action on the court. Picture: Getty Images Simmons, a 34-year-old centre and wing attack has a unique view on the game. The Diamonds player hung up her bib in 2023 and picked up a pair of footy boots, joining the AFLW and the West Coast Eagles for a season, before returning to the Swifts this year. When it comes to 'professionalism and how clean and tidy we keep the sport,' Simmons believes netballers are the best. 'I love being back around the netball environment. I love the community. I love the fans that we have. 'We have incredibly loyal fans that literally love this sport and are so happy to give so much time and love and energy to it and volunteer. I feel very fortunate to be back involved in a club like this.' There is no doubt the sport has come a long way in the past five years when it comes to sponsorship opportunities, pay increases for players (in 2023, after a civil war between administration and players, both parties agreed to an 11 per cent pay increase) and engagement for fans (Swifts games now regularly sell out.) However for Simmons, it was her time away from the sport that highlighted just how far they'd come. Verity Simmons during the round one Super Netball match between West Coast Fever and NSW Swifts in April. Picture: Getty Images Courting attention! Sharni Lambden of the NSW Swifts: 'I've never done anything like it!' Picture: Getty Images 'I used to think why has it taken so long? We're the most highly participated sport in Australia for women. 'It's been frustrating at times, but, I think stepping away from it and being in the football environment and still watching the sport grow and develop I was like, Wow, this really is something special,' she says. Ultimately, all three enjoyed their exclusive shoot for Stellar. 'I've never done anything like it. It was a really cool experience and I didn't know what I was in for but I'm always up for anything,' says Lambden. Adds Housby, 'when I first joined the Swifts or even when I debuted for England it was much, much harder to be seen on TV or to be in magazines. 'The coverage was just completely different. The payment was completely different but because I've benefited from the rise in netball, I do feel a responsibility to continue that and to champion it. 'I'll probably still be talking about netball into my 90s.' The Suncorp Super Netball Finals series is live on Kayo Sports, Foxtel and Binge. See the full shoot with the NSW Swifts in tomorrow's Stellar, inside The Sunday Telepgrah (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (Victoria), The Sunday Mail (Queensland) and Sunday Mail (SA). For more from Stellar, click here.
ABC News
9 hours ago
- ABC News
Ben Shelton beats Rinky Hijikata in 69 seconds at Wimbledon after final game was delayed overnight
Australian Rinky Hijikata has not managed a single shot as American 10th seed Ben Shelton wrapped up their paused second-round Wimbledon match with four unreturnable serves. Two-time grand slam semifinalist Shelton needed all of about a minute and exactly four points — three of which were aces — to wrap up a 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 victory over Hijikata after their match was suspended the night before because of darkness at 5-4 in the third set. "Very different playing over two days and coming out for whatever that was — 55 seconds? — today," the 10th-seeded Shelton said. "I was hoping to maybe hit a few groundstrokes today. I might have to go to the practice courts." The American, who reached the final four at the 2023 US Open and this year's Australian Open, was about to try to serve out the match on Thursday at 9:30pm local time when action was halted on court two, which does not have a roof or artificial lights. They came back out to the same stadium a little less than 16 hours later and, after a warm-up period that was quite a bit longer than the actual play on Friday, Shelton began with a 227 kph ace. The 22-year-old left-hander then hit a second serve that resulted in a framed return by Hijikata, followed by an ace at 225 kph and one more at 190 kph to end things quickly. "You come out here, serving for the match, the nerves are there a little bit. To hit three aces and take the pressure off of myself, I couldn't have been happier with what I came out here and did," said Shelton, who will face 105th-ranked Márton Fucsovics of Hungary for a chance to reach the fourth round at the All England Club for the second consecutive year. Gold-medal-winning footballer and Shelton's girlfriend Trinity Rodman joked on social media: "Nothing like a 2-minute-long match. Congrats Benny." Shelton told the crowd: "I'm sorry that you guys didn't really get to see much tennis." Right before things were halted Thursday, Shelton held three match points while leading 5-3 and at 0-40 on Hijikata's serve, but the 87th-ranked Hijikata grabbed the next five points to extend the contest into what turned out to be a second day. "It was difficult. At that point we kind of knew we were playing in conditions that weren't ideal for tennis so for me it was like 'what's one more game?'," Shelton told ESPN. "I understand the tournament's got to make whatever decisions they make and players have got to live with it. For me, I lived with it, I came out today and did what I do." Shelton said he had had matches split over two days on three or four previous occasions at Wimbledon, which does not prize night-time sessions like the Australian and US Opens do. "This seems to be the tournament I usually split over two days," he said. "Whether it's rain or it gets dark out here, it's one of those tournaments that you've got to be able to adjust on the fly, get used to stopping, starting, re-warming up. It's part of what makes tennis fun." Shelton faced only three break points against Hijikata, saving all of them. "A great match," he said. "A clean match." AP/ABC
