MEN’S CYCLING: 2025 Giro D’Italia winner Simon Yates has announced his retirement on the eve of the new season.

The 33-year-old, Bury-born racer also won 2018’s La Vuelta and bagged eleven individual stages across the three Grand Tours, his final success coming at this year’s Tour de France finish on the Massif Central’s highest mountain, Puy de Sancy.

Yates began his career on the track and was points race World Champion in 2013.

MEN’S CRICKET: Sri Lanka are 1-0 down when they face Pakistan for the second leg of their three-match Twenty20 series in Dambulla tomorrow.

Salman Mirza and Abrar Ahmed both took three wickets as the Sri Lankans were restricted to a below-par 128 all out on Wednesday.

The tourists then eased to a six-wicket win with 20 balls to spare after opener Sahibzada Farhan hit two sixes and four fours in a rapid 51.

MEN’S FOOTBALL: Mali meet Senegal in tomorrow afternoon’s first Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final. Both teams were unbeaten in the group stages, although Mali drew all their games and needed penalties to beat Tunisia in the last round.

Cameroon face hosts Morocco in tomorrow evening’s second last eight game in Rabat.

Algeria are up against Nigeria before seven-time winners Egypt take on defending champions Ivory Coast on Saturday.

ICE HOCKEY: Fife Flyers forward Garet Hunt has received a six-game Elite League ban for a “dangerous/sucker punch” during their 5-4 shoot-out defeat against Manchester on Sunday night.

Hunt received the biggest suspension of this season for punching an unprepared opponent to the ice and then landing another undefended punch on the prone player.

Fife are currently bottom of the table with little chance of making the play-offs.