Geraint Thomas tightened Team Sky's grip on the Tour de France when he handed the British outfit their sixth title in seven years on Sunday and there is no sign that their domination will end anytime soon.
Geraint Thomas was in prime position to win his maiden Tour de France after he retained the overall leader's yellow jersey in a lively 19th stage won by Slovenian Primoz Roglic as defending champion Chris Froome slipped down to fourth on Friday.
Froome had been the favourite to retain his title but he paid the price for the efforts he made to win the Giro d'Italia in May as he just failed to become the first man in 20 years to achieve the Giro-Tour double.
Former England captain Cook, 34, who retired from international cricket this year, was his country's most-capped Test player and record test run scorer.
Reigning champion Chris Froome wasted no time flexing his muscles at the Tour de France as he powered to sixth place in a treacherous opening time trial won superbly by Team Sky colleague Geraint Thomas on Saturday.
The overall standings remained unchanged at the top with Thomas leading defending champion Froome by one minute 39 seconds and Dutchman Tom Dumoulin by 1:50.
Chris Froome was reminded just how quickly the Tour de France title could slip from his grip as his Sky team mate Geraint Thomas suffered a freak crash in Monday's 16th stage.
Welsh world and Olympic champion Geraint Thomas, Isle of Man rider Peter Kennaugh and the England pair of Ben Swift and Ian Stannard, said they were opting out of the Games as they feared for their health after reading reports about the dengue outbreak and the "filthy" conditions at the Games Village.
Spain's Gorka Izagirre took second place and Yates finished third, 15 seconds behind.
Hold your breath as Rediff.com brings to you some of the picturesque places that the cyclists race through at the Tour.
Copenhagen is known as the world's most bike-friendly city but the stage was anything but as rain led to slippery conditions -- especially on the cobblestones -- where a couple of riders crashed.
Vingegaard laid the foundations of his victory in the 10th stage
The World No 1 sustained the pace in the climbs up to the Col de Vars and the Col d'Izoard, both culminating at more than 2,000 metres, but then lost ground when his compatriot Thibaut Pinot accelerated to rein in defending champion Geraint Thomas.
Lewis Hamilton has apologised to residents of his boyhood home town Stevenage for suggesting he grew up in a slum.
Chris Froome showed again he will attack his rivals on every terrain as the Briton extended his overall lead in the Tour de France with a surprising move in Wednesday's 11th stage, which was won with panache by world champion Peter Sagan.
The seventh stage of the Tour de France burst into life at the finish on Friday as Marcel Kittel claimed his third victory in this year's edition, pipping Edvald Boasson Hagen to the line in the final sprint.
Team Ineos's Luke Rowe and Lotto Jumbo-Visma's Tony Martin were both kicked out of the race following an altercation, just under 14 kilometres from the finish.
Urge them to end 'avalanche of plastic'
Michal Kwiatkowski, the unsung hero of Team Sky/Ineos during their dominant years, claimed his maiden Tour de France victory
Slovenian Tadej Pogacar claimed a second successive Tour de France title after Sunday's 21st and final stage, which was won by Belgian Wout van Aert on the Champs Elysees.
Belgium's Greg van Avermaet snatched gold in a thrilling and incident-packed men's Olympic road race, out-sprinting Denmark's Jakob Fuglsang alongside the Copacabana beach after a spectacular day of racing along Rio's coastline on Saturday.
Chris Froome got a brutal reminder of the unpredictable nature of the Tour de France when he crashed to the ground in Sunday's second stage, recovering to finish with torn shorts as German Marcel Kittel powered to victory at the end of a huge sprint.
'Just the fact that people have mentioned it, it's already an honour, but it's not been something that I've been chasing in my life'
Is Lewis Hamilton sufficiently appreciated at home?
Overall leader Chris Froome put the hammer down on the Tour de France when the Briton humiliated his rivals in the first mountain test, winning the 10th stage in awe-inspiring fashion on Tuesday.
The 22-year-old Bernal, the youngest rider to win the race in 110 years, gave Team Ineos --formerly Team Sky -- their seventh title in the last eight editions.
Slovakian Peter Sagan elbowed Mark Cavendish off balance as the Briton was trying to force his way between him and the safety barrier, and Cavendish was sent crashing heavily.
Chris Froome has one more mountainous hurdle to overcome to claim a second Tour de France title after Friday's 19th stage in which had 30 seconds chopped off his lead as Vincenzo Nibali claimed a controversial victory.
Makes us wonder how these cyclists don't fall short of breath as they pedal to the finish line. Here's a glimpse of the tricky but beautiful terrain that outlines the Tour de France...
This year's Tour de France had been advertised as an exciting battle royale between four great riders yet it panned out as an underwhelming contest as Chris Froome's rivals failed to live up to expectations.
Froome in control as Contador drifts, Van Garderen out of Tour de France.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Serbian Djokovic, who 12 months ago had elbow surgery, won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2018, before lifting this year's Australian Open crown, to add to his tally of Grand Slam singles titles and reclaim top spot in the rankings.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday.
Scotland and the United Arab Emirates secured the final two positions in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 after victories on the last day of the Super Six stage of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier New Zealand 2014 (CWCQ), in Christchurch, on Thursday.
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