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Le Tour left you with incurable insomnia? Well, the 65th edition of La Vuelta a Espana (Aug 29-Sept 20) should fill the dark hours. This year’s route is particularly nasty – eight days in the mountains with six mountain-top finishes. It begins in Seville with an evening team time trial, then runs a counter-clockwise loop of the country, rolling up the Mediterranean coast, working its way through the northern mountains (including two stages in Andorra) before winding back into the heart of the country for the traditional Madrid finale. All up that’s 3338km containing 40 categorised climbs. Keep an eye out for the following stages on SBS. Stage 2 (Aug 30): a 173km line from Alcala de Guadaira to Marbella, where the peloton will be fractured by two categorised climbs. Stage 9 (Sept 6): a 187km route from Calpe to Alcoy studded with six categorised climbs. And Stage 15 (Sept 13): a 170km grind that finishes atop the 1110m Lagos de Covadonga. For weekly updates check Cycling Central on Sundays at 5pm on SBS.
September approaches and as is the norm it’s nigh on impossible to pick the NRL top eight. Nonetheless, the following games could well decide who plays and who starts mapping out their Mad Monday pub crawls: Panthers vs Rabbitohs at Penrith (Aug 21), Roosters vs Sea Eagles at the SFS (Aug 28), Warriors vs Broncos at Auckland (Aug 29) and Titans vs Tigers on the Gold Coast (Sept 5). All on Nine and Fox. In the AFL, meanwhile, the ladder’s a li‑ le more stratified, although a dockyard brawl does appear to be building over the last three spots in the eight. These are the games that’ll count: Hawks vs Dockers at Launceston (Aug 21), Swans vs Bulldogs at the SCG (Aug 21), Dockers vs Carlton at Subiaco (Aug 29) and Crows vs Saints at Adelaide (Aug 29). Variously on Seven, Ten and Fox. After that, it’s into finals footy. For the leaguies, the kick-off is September 10. In the AFL, the ball is bounced on September 3.
In June the MotoGP world got a glimpse of the future without Valentino Rossi and it looked a bleak place. With The Doctor on his back for four rounds with a fractured right leg (suffered in a June 5 crash at Mugello), the championship seemed to lose all momentum. Aggression was lacking, atmosphere was dull, the races were processions. Thank goodness Rossi recovered in time for the German GP and what a diff erence he made. Over 98,000 packed the Sachsenring to watch an epic four-way tussle between Pedrosa, Lorenzo, Stoner and Rossi. All of which bodes well for the Red Bull Indianapolis GP (Aug 29) and San Marino GP (Sept 15). Keep a close eye on Stoner. After a sluggish start to the year his consecutive podium finishes at Assen, Barcelona, the Sachsenring and Laguna Seca point to a young man recapturing form. It’s all live on oneHD.
Just when it looked as if the McLaren duo of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Bu‑ on would be fighting an in-house ba‑ le for the drivers’ championship, Mark Webber’s victories at Silverstone and the Hungaroring have thrown the fight wide open. The Belgian GP from Spa-Francorchamps (Aug 27-19) and the Italian GP from Monza (Sept 10-12) could prove decisive as the season rapidly winds down. Unfortunately for Webber, both GPs have provided scant return in recent times. He finished ninth last year in Belgium, while at Monza he was spun by Robert Kubica at Della Roggia on the opening lap and forced to retire. A pair of results like that this year will cruel his championship aspirations. Wreaths aside, the simmering feud between Webber and team-mate Sebastian Vettel is worth the price of admission alone. Both egos are far too healthy to suff er the title of number-two driver on the Red Bull team - is a flashpoint nearing? All live on oneHD.
As the Tri-Nations moves into its second half this month, all eyes will turn to South Africa’s high veldt, where the Springboks host the All Blacks at Jo’burg’s Ellis Park (Aug 21), before the Wallabies enter the stage for back-to-back Tests in Pretoria (Aug 28) and Bloemfontein (Sept 4). After their disastrous opening to this year’s campaign, John Smit’s boys must be turning backflips at the thought of three Tests in the rarefied air of South Africa’s high country. Over the past decade the ‘Boks have proved formidable at altitude, winning 80 per cent of the Tests played in the above three cities. The Wallabies, on the other hand, have shown a particular inability to cope with the thin air – their two wins in the Republic over the past decade have both been in the sea air of Durban. Still, at least their red blood cell-count should be at peak read when they host the All Blacks at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium (Sept 11). All live on FOX , with the Wallabies’ games also on Seven.
The Hockeyroos suffered the ultimate indignity last year when they lost to New Zealand in the final of the Oceania Cup. That defeat meant the Aussie girls had to qualify for this year’s World Cup in Argentina (Sept 2-12) the hard way – travelling to Chile to grind out a qualifying tournament. Fortunately, the Hockeyroos cantered through that tourney undefeated and will take their place in Rosario this month. They open their campaign against India (Sept 2) before meeting the Dutch in a replay of the ’06 final (Sept 4). After that, they face critical games against the Kiwis (Sept 6) and Germany (Sept 8), before the semis on September 10, and the final two days later. It’s all live on FOX.
Despite the fact that defending champ Juan Martin Del Potro has withdrawn with a wrist injury, don’t expect the US Open (Aug 30-Sept 12) to strike a dull note - Flushing Meadows will be rumbling in anticipation of Rafael Nadal notching his career slam. Since debuting in the Big Apple back in ’03, the US Open has proved something of a black hole for Rafa, with his body typically in threadbare condition after full seasons on clay and grass. He was certainly weary last year when he copped a straight-sets walloping in the semis by Del Potro. No doubt his knees are feeling the pinch again this year, but his performances at Wimbledon were so gutsy and, ultimately, so dominant, you’d be a brave man to bet against him. It’s all live on FOX
The eyes of the basketball world will turn to Turkey this month for the 16th FIBA World Championships (Aug 28-Sept 12). The overriding theme of this tournament, coming as it does on the tail end of a long NBA season, is the pull out. For the Yanks, there’ll be no Kobe, no LeBron, no Dwayne. Even international stars like Spain’s Pau Gasol and Argentina’s Manu Ginobili have brushed these Championships. Nonetheless, it should still be compulsive viewing, not least because the Turkish crowds are noted for the virulence of their emotion. The Aussies’ chances, meanwhile, will rest in the hands of our only world-class guard, Pat Mills. If he brings his A-game, then our tall front-court men like David Andersen, Aleks Maric and Ma hew Nielsen should thrive. If Mills is flat, then the Boomers will make little impression. Keep an eye on pivotal group matches against Argentina (Aug 30) and Germany (Aug 31). On FOX
The round-ball game marches relentlessly onwards with a new season of Champions League play-off s beginning in Europe. The first and second legs of these play-off s are on Aug 18-19 and Aug 25-26 respectively, with two games each morning. Set the alarm clock – kick-off times are 4:30am and 7am. Alternatively, highlights of the games will be shown at 10pm (Aug 19 and 26). All on SBS. Back home, the A-League lengthens its stride this month. Adelaide hosting the Heart at Hindmarsh (Aug 20) should be a stern test for the new franchise, while there’ll be a true derby atmosphere at the SFS when the Mariners travel down the F3 to meet Sydney (Aug 28). Gold Coast hosting the Victory (Aug 29) will have the bean counters watching the crowd (will the locals jump on board in season two?), while Wellington hosting Sydney at the Biscuit Tin (Sept 11) should prove whether the Phoenix have been able to hold onto the momentum that carried them deep into last season’s finals. All on FOX. |
Photos by: Getty Images
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