WORLD OF SPORT

CHRIS FROOME and Simon Yates finished in the bunch as Belgian Thomas De Gendt won the opening stage of the Criterium du Dauphine. Lotto-Soudal’s De Gendt came home on his own to win the 170.5km stage, which started and finished in Saint Etienne. Froome, who won the race ahead of his three Tour victories in 2013, 2015, and 2016 finished 15th, while Yates was further back in 44th place.

ANDREA DOVIZIOSO overcame prerace sickness to win the Italian Grand Prix for Ducati as Spain’s Maverick Vinales finished second on a Yamaha to increase his MotoGP lead to 26 points. Dovizioso became the fourth different winner in six races and moved up to second place overall, ahead of 38-yearold compatriot Valentino Rossi who finished fourth for Yamaha. Danilo Petrucci came third, to make it two Italians on the Mugello podium.

CASTLEFORD underlined their Super League title credentials with a seventh straight win, a thrilling 16-12 comeback against St Helens. Tigers coach Daryl Powell gave four key players a weekend off, and his side trailed 12-4 at half-time, with Kieran Gill scoring a debut try. Mike McMeeken narrowed the gap before Tom Holmes’ matchwinning score gave Cas a four-point lead at the top of the table.