Sport Digest, October 27, 2012
No one will replace Lance Armstrong as winner of the Tour de France from 1999-2005 after the American was stripped of the titles for doping, the International Cycling Union (UCI) said yesterday. The decision, supported by Tour organisers, was widely expected given so many riders finishing behind Armstrong have also been associated with doping. The UCI also said it was setting up an independent commission, part of its remit being to find ways to ensure anyone caught doping would no longer be able to take part in the sport, even as a non-rider. Reuters
Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone distanced himself from "political" matters yesterday after Ferrari put Italian naval flags on their cars at the Indian Grand Prix, protesting against Delhi's arrest of two marines. Ecclestone said the issue would be better dealt with by India's national motorsport association, stressing that F1 was not a political body. Two navy personnel were imprisoned in India in March, and later granted bail, following the fatal shooting of two fishermen mistaken for pirates trying to attack an oil tanker the Italians were protecting. Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel of Germany put himself in position to win a fourth straight race when he set the fastest times in practice. Vettel headed a Red Bull one-two in the second practice, with Mark Webber a tenth of a second behind. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, Vettel's title rival, was third fastest, six-tenths off the pace. AFP
The expanded 2013 CIMB Classic will not lead to an increase in invites for Asian Tour players, the PGA Tour said, drawing a sharp response from the regional golf body yesterday, which said numbers had yet to be agreed. The 48-man, co-sanctioned event will add 30 players to the field next year and be part of the 2013-14 FedEx Cup series when it becomes a full-fledged PGA Tour event with a bump in prize money to US$7 million. "The eligibility next year is going to be 60 PGA Tour players off our FedEx Cup list and then it will be 10 Asian players off their order of merit and then eight sponsor exemptions," the PGA Tour's co-chief operating officer, Ed Moorhouse, said. The Asian Tour were surprised to hear of Moorhouse's comments and said meetings were planned over the coming days to discuss the invite breakdown. "But with the field size increasing from 48 players to 78 players next year, we expect the Asian Tour's allocation of players to increase proportionately," Asian Tour executive chairman Kyi Hla Han said. American Robert Garrigus led at the halfway stage of this year's event, two clear of South African and Asian Tour member Jbe Kruger, who outperformed his playing partner, Tiger Woods, in yesterday's second round. Reuters
