WOMEN’S CYCLING: Switzerland’s Marlene Reusser followed up her world championship time-trial gold medal by picking up the European title for the fourth time in the last five years.

She finished 50 seconds ahead of Norway’s Mie Bjorndal Ottestad on the 24kms course in south-eastern France on Wednesday afternoon, with Dutch rider Mischa Bredewold in third.

Briton Anna Henderson was 65 seconds behind Reusser in seventh place.  

MEN’S FOOTBALL: League of Ireland bottom club Cork City face 2023’s winners St Patrick’s in the first semi-final of the Irish Cup tomorrow evening.

Twenty-five time cup-holders Shamrock Rovers face Tralee-based Kerry, who sit second-bottom of the second tier of Irish football, tomorrow afternoon.

Kerry needed extra time to knock out Sligo in the quarter-finals, while Shamrock Rovers edged out last season’s winners Drogheda on penalties.

MEN’S RUGBY UNION: Steve Diamond became the first head coach to be sacked in the new English Premiership campaign when Newcastle ended his contract on Wednesday, after their first game of the season.

The former Sale and Worcester boss had been at Newcastle for 21 months, but only managed two wins from 25 league games.

Ex-Leicester attack coach Alan Dickens will replace Diamond, with Neil McIlroy becoming the club’s new sporting general manager.

MEN’S CYCLING: Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel raced to a 43 second win in Wednesday’s European time-trial championship ahead of Italy’s Filippo Ganna in second and Dane Niklas Larsen third.

Britons Ethan Hayter and Josh Tarling narrowly missed out on medals after finishing fourth and fifth.

Evenepoel is the first rider to hold world, Olympic, European and national time-trial titles at the same time.