Mark Cavendish wins his third stage and Cadel Evans retains the yellow jersey

[youtube HWlgCDNZ3v0]

Lewis Hamilton qualified on pole for Sunday’s German Grand Prix with Massa and Kovalainen acquiring 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Serina Williams advanced to the semi-finals of the Stanford Classics with a victory over Patty Schnyder in two sets 6-3,6-1.

Oscar Freire of Spain wins stage 14 of the Tour de France, Leonardo Duque earns second and Erik Zabel gets the third spot.

After five grand years of donning the Barca jersey, and having very much turned into the unofficial mascot of the Spanish giants, Ronaldinho traded his blue and red for the red and black of AC Milan. Acclaimed by many as the greatest footballer in the world, he carried a hefty price tag of 21 million pounds, which the Italians were more than willing to pay. “The Brazilian Magician” helped net in 94 goals in 207 appearances for Barcelona, and played an integral part in achieving the club’s Champion’s League title in 2006. Among the most memorable nights in his career at Barca was El Casico on November 19, 2005 at Real Madrid’s stadium, Santiago Bernabeu. He contributed two phenomenal goals in the 3-0 victory, the latter of which produced a standing ovation from Madrid fans, the first time a Barca player was given such respect at Bernabeu since a stunning performance by Diego Maradona in 1982. At AC Milan Ronaldinho can be seen playing alongside fellow Brazilians including Kaka, Digao, Emerson and Dida. He arrived at the Milan training grounds to be greeted by 4000 screaming fans, the footballer reciprocated by admitting, “I am very happy, after so much time I am here. I am really pleased to come to Milan and I hope I will be able to give a lot of happiness to everybody.” Many Barca fans are mourning the loss of their favourite player, yet they can be consoled by the fact that they can see more of this great player somewhere else in the world.

The 23-year-old from Britain, Mark Cavendish, has recently been in the news for winning four stages at the Tour de France. With his win on Friday, the Team Columbia rider secured the spot of “ most successful British rider in a single tour.” Cavendish was originally a track cyclist, making his debut in the Moscow 2004 World Cup for Great Britain. He began his professional road racing cyclist career in 2007, attaining a notable win at the Grote Scheldeprijs and sealing his reputation as a sprinter. His other major accomplishments this year include two stage victories at the Giro d’Italia in May, another win at Grote Scheldeprijs and the title of World Champion in Madison. Cavendish plans to return to the track to resume training for the Olympic games in Beijing, which will be his main priority this season.

The Canadian Masters (aka Roger’s Cup) is set to start on Saturday July 19 in Toronto with the men’s division. This tournament is one of the oldest reigning major tennis tournaments in the world, coming only behind the U.S. Open and Wimbledon. The prize money is 2.45 million U.S. dollars and will showcase the best tennis talents in the world. The defending men’s champion is Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Justine Henin of Belgium holds the women’s title. Roger Federer was the finalist two years in a row, winning the title in 2006 and Rafael Nadal took the title in 2005 but failed to reach the finals in the last two years. The women’s tournament will begin on July 26 in Montreal and with the defending champion retired from the WTA, favourites to win include current top seed and the 2006 champion Ana Ivanovic. Tennis Canada announced that Frank Dancevic, Frederic Niemeyer, Peter Polansky and Marat Safin were given wildcard entries into the tournament. Safin turned heads at the Wimbledon with a stunning performance that landed him in the semi-finals against none other than Roger Federer. This tournament promises to be an exciting one with both Djokovic and Federer looking to get back on track after their respective Wimbledon upsets and Nadal looking to battle on towards attaining the top spot in men’s tennis.

Kurt-Asle Arvesen of Norway won stage 11, while Cadel Evans remains in possession of the yellow jersey.

Leonardo Piepollo won stage 10 today in the second day of climbing for the cyclers.

Riccardo Ricco, the 24-year-old from Italy, wins stage 9 to claim his second stage in the tour so far.

Stage 5 winner: Mark Cavendish

Stage 6 winner: Riccardo Ricco

Stage 7 winner: Luis Sanchez

Stage 8 winner: Mark Cavendish