CYCLING: Tommy Evans yesterday finished 24th on the toughest stage of the Herald Sun Tour in Australia, a gruelling 181-kilometre race featuring 10 climbs, writes Shane Stokes.
Evans had finished ninth in Saturday's 131-kilometres stage, moving up one place to sixth overall, but yesterday slipped to ninth.
Best placed of the Irish riders on this sixth stage was national road-race champion David McCann, who finished three minutes and 37 seconds behind the day's winner, Scott Sunderland, in 18th place. The Irish team are now fourth in the teams classification, while they are second in the standings in the Don Porter regional challenge. The 2.4 world-ranked race continues today.
GOLF: Willie Hunt-Tyrrell was bitterly disappointed at a final placing of 25th in the World Long-driving Championship at the Palms GC, Mesquite, Nevada on Saturday, writes Dermot Gilleece.
The former five-handicapper from Arklow GC could do no better than 347 yards, which failed to get him into the last 16.
"They all hit the ball high out here and I worked hard on Thursday and Friday at trying to change my technique," he said yesterday. "That was a big mistake."
From an original entry of 15,000, a field of 96 assembled last Wednesday when the 30-year-old Wicklow man had a best drive of 373 yards to become the only challenger from outside North America to get through to the last 32. The winner was Sean Fister of the US with a drive of 376 yards two inches.
