WOMEN’S CYCLING: The Netherlands won their sixth consecutive European road race title as Lorena Wiebes sprinted to victory in Saturday’s race.

Wiebes crossed the finishing line in the Belgian city of Hasselt at least three bikes lengths clear of Elisa Balsamo with Daria Pikulik in third after a chaotic last-kilometre sprint.

Defending champion Mischa Bredewold was eight seconds off the pace back in 45th place.

MEN’S BASKETBALL: Derby Trailblazers began their defence of the National Basketball League Trophy with a 95-85 win at Bradford in a repeat of last year’s final.

Leighton Elliott-Sewell marked his return from long-term injury with a dominant performance as Derby built a 25-point lead before Bradford’s spirited late surge closed the gap to just six in the dying minutes.

Saturday’s other Group 4 game saw Nottingham Hoods beat Newcastle University 82-72.

MEN’S CRICKET: Gloucester eased to an eight-wicket win over defending champions Somerset at Edgbaston on Saturday to win their first ever Twenty20 Blast title.

After restricting Somerset to 124 all out, with David Payne and Matt Taylor both taking three wickets, Cameron Bancroft scored a brisk 53 and Miles Hammond clubbed an unbeaten 58 from 41 balls as they chased down their target with five overs to spare.

MEN’S ICE HOCKEY: Sheffield Steelers continued their good start to the Champions Hockey League season with a 5-1 win over Sparta Prague in front of almost 9,000 fans at the Sheffield Arena.

The Steelers have five points from their three games in the tournament’s opening phase and sit in 11th place. They next visit the Zurich Lions, one of only two teams with a 100 per cent record, in early October.