Past to fuel Firebirds’ charge
TOUR de France director Christian Prudhomme has condemned protesters who forced stage 16 of the race to be temporarily stopped after riders suffered the effects of tear gas used by police to clear the road.
Race leader Geraint Thomas, his Sky team- mate Chris Froome, world champion Peter Sagan and Australia’s Simon Clarke were among those affected as the race was stopped for 15 minutes.
Farmers had blocked the road with hay bales 29km into the 218km stage from Carcassonne to Bagneres- de- Luchon, and police used tear gas when tackling the protesters in an effort to clear a path.
That gas was still in the air when the peloton arrived on the scene, with several riders requiring medical treatment to clear their eyes and throats.
Prudhomme says it was irresponsible to further endanger the riders as he pointed to dramatic crashes suffered during the stage by Philippe Gilbert and Adam Yates, who both went down on descents while leading the race in separate incidents.
“Do not add to danger for the cyclists,” Prudhomme said. AUSTRALIAN football superstar Sam Kerr has been shortlisted to win the FIFA award for best women’s player for a second consecutive year. And the world- class forward’s national team mentor, Matildas coach Alen Stajcic, is also in the running for the award for best coach in women’s football.
Kerr’s firepower and Stajcic’s guidance helped the Matildas reach an all time high ranking of world No. 4 at the end of 2017.
They enjoyed two victories against Brazil and also lost the final of the Asian Cup to Japan during the voting period from August 2017 to May 2018.
The Matildas are currently ranked eighth in the world.
Among Kerr’s 10 rivals for best women’s player award are six players from European and French champions Lyon, including captain Wendie Renard of France, plus Dzsenifer Marozsan and Saki Kumagai, the captains of Germany and Japan.
US international Megan Rapinoe and five- time award winner Marta of Brazil have also been nominated. FIREBIRDS captain Gabi Simpson says the best way the club can honour its past is by making sure finals netball is in Queensland’s immediate future.
The Firebirds will stage their annual ‘‘ retro’’ match on Sunday when they host the Adelaide Thunderbirds at Boondall.
The game day presentation will feature a 1980s music playlist with spectators encouraged to dress up in the fashions of the era.
Simpson got into the flashback spirit by donning a black and red Firebirds foundation dress complete with flames from the late 1990s in the build- up to the clash. But it will be back to the trademark purple uniform and down to business come Sunday when the Firebirds need to come away with the maximum eight competition points.
The Firebirds are in fourth spot on the ladder with two regular season rounds remaining. The fifth- placed Sunshine Coast are on the same number of competition points but fall out of the top four on percentage. “Retro round is great in terms of reflecting on where the Firebirds have come from and the people who have shaped the team that we are now and the culture that we have,’’ Simpson said.
“That gives you that extra fire in the belly to perform.
“But at the end of the day, we need to make sure we hit the court in our best form.’’