AUGUSTA, Ga. — Scottie Scheffler had a memorable Saturday at Augusta National. He eagled the par-5 2nd, made five birdies and no bogeys and signed for his lowest-ever Masters round, a sublime seven-under 65 that propelled him into contention in this 90th playing of the tournament; at day’s end he was seven under for the week, just four back of Rory McIlroy and Cameron Young. It would surprise no one if Scheffler cards another 65 Sunday and slips on his third green jacket in five years.
When Scheffler had tended to his post-third-round scoring duties on what was a warm, still day at Augusta, he met with a small scrum of reporters in the interview pen by the clubhouse.
“That was a 65 today,” a reporter said. “What did it feel like it could have or should have been?”
As Scheffler processed the inquiry, he scratched his neck and shook his head. Then he dropped the hammer.
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“That’s just a terrible question,” he said. “Next question. Awful.”
It wasn’ta terrible question. Minutes earlier, in an interview with CBS Sports reporter Amanda Balionis, Scheffler himself had said he had “left a few shots out there.” And he had. For one, for the third straight round he’d failed to birdie either of the back-nine par-5s. Scheffler also acknowledged as much later in the session with reporters when he said of his round, “it definitely could have been lower.”
But this is this thing with Scheffler. He can be thoughtful and introspective; he can be fun and goofy; but he also can be bracingly direct and even a bit dismissive. If a media member’s query is not to his liking, he’ll say so. At the BMW Championship last year, after months of sharing his opinions about the Ryder Cup in the lead-up to the event, Scheffler told a reporter: “I love answering questions about the Ryder Cup, but this is ridiculous. We’re at the BMW Championship.” A couple of months later, after the third round of the Hero World Challenge, Scheffler fielded a question about a couple of loose tee shots he’d hit earlier in the event. “So you’re asking me about two drives I’ve hit in the last three days?” Scheffler said. “Next question. That’s ridiculous.”
And that was before questions and analyses started coming about his decline in form. When Scheffler, after opening his 2026 season with a win and two top-five finishes, finished — gasp! — outside the top 10 at Riviera and Bay Hill and then opened with a ho-hum 72 at the Players Championship last month, Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee said, “I don’t even recognize this golf swing from Scottie Scheffler. It’s a foot and a half shorter than it was last year and the face is wide open.”
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Scheffler, you could sense, wasn’t wild about the armchair autopsies. When early in the week at the Players a reporter teed up a question to Scheffler with the phrase “this season probably hasn’t gone as well as you would like,” Scheffler called the question “funny,” and he didn’t mean in the ha-ha sense.
We’re not critiquing Scheffler’s impatience with questions he deems inadequate so much as merely making note of it. But on Saturday, he was objectively edgy. When asked how he would describe the color of Augusta’s unusually brown greens, he said, “Grass.” He added, playfully, “I already ripped on one question that wasn’t that bad, so I’m not going to rip on another one.” Scheffler, it should be noted, is generally for more expansive with his answers than he is short or judgmental. He was at times unfairly curt on Saturday, but maybe he was just tired or irritated that he’d pushed a seven-footer for birdie on 17 or had to punch out of the left pine straw on 18. When a reporter asked Scheffler whether he thought he’d be able to play with the same aggressiveness in the fourth round that he had in the third round, the world No. 1 provided great insight.
“It depends on what the leadership here wants to do,” he said. “It was crazy firm Thursday afternoon when we were coming in. There were virtually no birdie opportunities. If you look at the scores from late in the day on Thursday, there were not many birdies made in fairly similar conditions. A little less wind, and the greens were fairly soft yesterday, so you saw a lot of scoring late in the day. Then today there was a little bit of opportunity early. You saw my front nine. There was definitely some opportunity going out. Not much wind. Softer greens, but they firmed up a little quicker. It really depends on what they decide to do with the greens.
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“If they want to see some lower scores, they can make them softer if they want. I mean, they’re already pretty firm, so they can just go full Bay Hill and just let them die. It’s Augusta. They’ll figure it out.”
Win or lose Sunday, Scheffler will face yet more questions. Here’s hoping his answers are all as generous and nuanced as that one.
The 2025-26 men’s basketball season ended for teams from the West with Arizona playing in the Final Four following one of the best seasons in school history.
The Wildcats came out on top among regional teams in another category as well, logging the most Nielsen-reported TV viewers in the regular season, including conference tournaments, plus the postseason, and overall.
Here are the viewer counts in all three view counts
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Regular Season and Conference Tournament TV Viewers
Team
TV Viewers
Arizona
21.82M
BYU
17.65M
Washington
15.31M
UCLA
13.15M
Gonzaga
8.78M
ASU
7.77M
Oregon
4.45M
USC
4.23M
Utah
4.06M
Saint Mary’s
2.43M
Santa Clara
2.40M
Colorado
2.10M
SDSU
2.08M
Utah State
2.08M
Ore St
1.24M
WSU
1.20M
Boise State
869K
Cal
787K
UNLV
679K
Stanford
588K
Colorado State
410K
New Mexico
401K
Nevada
343K
SJSU
312K
Fresno State
94K
Air Force
32K
Wyoming
30K
Postseason – NCAA, NIT, and Crown
Team
TV Viewers
Arizona
32.0M
BYU
29.7M
UCLA
6.76M
Gonzaga
5.87M
Santa Clara
4.99M
Utah State
4.07M
New Mexico
1.39M
Saint Mary’s
667K
Nevada
523K
Stanford
216K
Colorado
207K
Cal
146K
Wyoming
77K
UNLV
70K
Colorado State
56K
Total – Regular Season, Conference Tournaments, and Postseason
Lamine Yamal secured Barcelona’s 4-1 win over Espanyol after setting up Ferran Torres for a double and the La Liga leaders took another step toward retaining the title.
Yamal passed for Ferran to score in the 10th and 25th minutes before the teenage phenom ensured the victory in the 87th with Espanyol threatening to equalize. Marcus Rashford made it four for the hosts at Camp Nou in the 89th.
Barcelona capitalized on Real Madrid’s 1-1 draw at home to Girona on Friday to increase its lead to nine points with seven rounds remaining.
Barcelona and Madrid will try to overcome losses in the Champions League quarterfinals in their next games after Barcelona lost to Atletico Madrid 2-0 and Madrid fell to Bayern Munich 2-1 this week.
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While Madrid will travel to Germany on a three-game winless streak, Barcelona’s attack is clicking as it heads to Spain’s capital needing a big win to advance to the European semifinals.
Barcelona’s fans chanted “Yes we can!” after the match with its team playing at Atletico on Tuesday.
“The team is in a good place. We’ll be ready. We want to go there and fight Atletico,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said. “We don’t need a miracle. We need to play our best football.”
Barcelona’s best play is coming from the 18-year-old Yamal, who leads the team both in goals (22) and assists (18) across all competitions this season.
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Yamal also picked up another record for precociousness after he became the youngest player to reach 100 appearances in La Liga at 18 years, 272 days. That beat the previous mark of Bojan Krkic who played his 100th game at age 20.
Yamal’s other records include youngest player to debut and to score in La Liga.
Ferran ends drought
Ferran started the season in good form, scoring 16 goals among more starts than aging star Robert Lewandowski. While lacking the clinical scoring touch of the Poland striker, Ferran provided more movement, speed and linked up well with Yamal and his midfielders.
But Ferran then hit a slump and had not scored since Jan. 31.
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His goalless run stretched across 13 games in all competitions and finally ended on Saturday when Yamal delivered a corner kick to the far post where Ferran leapt over Carlos Romero and nodded it home.
Ferran celebrated by gesturing with his hands as if they were talking, apparently in reference to the talk in the sports press and social media about his scoring troubles.
He made it a brace when he used a subtle touch to roll a pass by Yamal under on-rushing goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic.
“A forward is always judged by the goals he scores,” Ferran said. “It is true I hadn’t scored in some time but I believed in my efforts and that the payoff would come when least expected.”
Espanyol makes Barcelona fight
Espanyol midfielder Pol Lozano put the result in doubt when he used one touch to fire in a rebound of a loose ball to make it 2-1 in the 56th.
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But Yamal finished off the Catalan derby when Dmitrovic tried to clear a long pass but ended up knocking it off Yamal, who only had to push the ball into the open net.
“The final score was too lopsided for the game we saw,” said coach Manolo Gonzalez, whose Espanyol remained in 10th. “We had our chances and their first three goals were from our defensive mistakes.”
Rashford got his goal when he was set up by fellow substitute Frenkie de Jong, who made his first appearance in over a month after the Netherlands midfielder recovered from a right leg injury.
Atletico rotates starters and loses
An Atletico side with several second-choice players and member of its youth squad lost 2-1 at Sevilla, which moved away from the relegation zone with its first win under new coach Luis Garcia.
Akor Adams and Nemanja Gudelj scored for Sevilla. Atletico defender Javier Bonar scored in his debut at age 20.
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Other results
Elche escaped the danger zone and leapfrogged Valencia with a 1-0 win thanks to a goal by Lucas Cepeda.
Alaves striker Lucas Boye struck late in stoppage time to complete a 3-3 draw at Real Sociedad.
In this round the referees and some teams wore throwback shirts as part of a “La Liga Retro” promotion.
“I think the way wickets are nowadays, you know, the margin batting first or bowling first is not much, but you know, we’ve got a bowl first. I think for us it’s amazing. You know, every win is important and especially when you win like that, it shows the character of a team, you know. But we want to move on from it, you know, take one match at a time and just give our best. (Talks about head-to-head) See, definitely it’s a great boost for winning a match and coming into the next one. But at the same time, you know, you still have to give your best each and every match because wicket might play different, condition might be different. But at the same time, last match when we played, we talked about intent on the field. We always talk about that as a team and that was great to see when we were on the field, we were putting bodies on the line. We are playing with the same team,” said LSG skipper Rishabh Pant.
The Indiana Fever made a series of offseason moves Saturday to surround superstar Caitlin Clark with talent as the team looks to contend for a WNBA championship this year.
The Fever re-signed key players Lexie Hull and Kelsey Mitchell, while adding veteran Monique Billings from the Golden State Valkyries.
Last season, Mitchell averaged 20.2 points, 3.4 assists, and 1.8 rebounds in 31.4 minutes per game, and was a 2025 All-WNBA First Team selection and MVP finalist.
Hull, meanwhile has become a fan favorite and part of the Fever core known as “Tres Leches” made up of her, Clark and Sophie Cunningham.
“We saw it on Twitter at some point, and people ran with it,” Hull recently told Fox News Digital of the nickname. “It was funny.”
Hull has also become a close personal friend of Clark, as Clark helped announce Hull’s return to the team on a multi-year deal in a TikTok video on Saturday.
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Billings, drafted 15th overall in 2018 by the Atlanta Dream, played there for six seasons before joining the Dallas Wings, Phoenix Mercury, and Valkyries. Known for her elite rebounding, she has consistently been a key rotational player with significant contributions in both the WNBA and overseas.
The players were signed after the Fever were one game shy of reaching the WNBA Finals in 2025 while Clark missed the entire postseason with an injury.
The Fever have the fourth-best odds to win the WNBA title in 2026 behind the Minnesota Lynx, the defending champion Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty.
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Hull previously teased the Fever’s offseason plans and championship ambitions in an interview with Fox News Digital.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark reacts during the fourth quarter against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center June 19, 2025.(Darren Yamashita/Imagn Images)
“I think it’s because we made it where we made it last year without some of our key pieces, and with a lot of injuries, and a lot of, like, this adversity. … Our bench was longer than every other bench. We had more people in the training room getting treatment than any other team, and we still almost made it to the Finals,” Hull said.
“Tasting that and being so close and feeling like we have so much more to give, I think that just changes our mindset a little bit. And it’s not necessarily overconfident, but confident in the fact that we really do have a chance. And we should be playing like every game matters, and we’re preparing for that last one.
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“I think it’s very achievable with what we’re going to be able to do with free agency.”
Playing for the Fever has also proven to be a tall task off-the-court, as the massive national attention Clark has brought to the team also results in tension among fans and added motivation among opponents, per Hull.
“The most challenging part is there’s just so much scrutiny. People have opinions online, and, unfortunately, that’s part of the job and the role that we play,” Hull told Fox News Digital about what’s harder about playing in Indiana since 2024.
“People need to know that everyone’s human. We’re real people. I think when things get blown out of proportion, when things get really personal and there’s personal attacks on people’s character, I think that’s where it gets over the line.”
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Hull says she noticed a difference in how opposing players started to perform against her team that year, which she credits to the surge in popularity.
“Because of the fans that we’ve gotten since 2024, with the rise in, I think, like, popularity with the Indiana Fever being like a name that people know. … And there’s a million Fever jerseys and Fever shirts. I think, like, as an opposing team, you’d want to win even more because you feel there’s so many people rooting,” Hull said.
“It’s exciting to have that type of following across the country, and I think, like, for other teams, they have great fans and great people that show up for them, and they want to perform for those people, just like we want to perform for ours.”
Indiana Fever guards Kelsey Mitchell (0) and Caitlin Clark (22) talk during the first half in Game 2 of a first-round WNBA basketball playoff series against the Connecticut Sun Sept. 25, 2024, in Uncasville, Conn.(Jessica Hill/AP)
The Fever’s season ended in 107-98 overtime loss to the Las Vegas Aces in Game 5 of the WNBA semifinals last year.
With Clark returning from injury, their core intact and at least one new addition, Indiana is looking to finish the job.
Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson’s reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.
Teenage French starlet Paul Seixas completed his impressive Tour of the Basque Country victory on Saturday, while Andrew August claimed the sixth and final stage.
At 19 years old Seixas becomes the youngest ever winner of a World Tour stage race, a year younger than cycling‘s dominant force Tadej Pogacar managed the achievement.
Tadej Pogacar wins second straight cycling world champion title in Kigali
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The teenager finished 2min 30sec ahead of Florian Lipowitz and a further three seconds before Tobias Halland Johannessen in third in the general classification.
American Ineos Grenadiers rider August soloed to victory on a rainy day, with Raul Garcia Pierna in second and Frank van den Broek coming in third to make up the day’s podium.
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Seixas is enjoying a superb breakout season and claimed three stages at the race in a dominant week in northern Spain.
“I’m so happy to take the win, it was not easy today, but I stayed strong in the head,” he said.
“I never gave up and I feel super good … it’s an insane week, three victories, then the GC, what more can we ask for?
“I’m so happy to see I was always there and always strong.”
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Cycling: 19-year-old Paul Seixas earns first World Tour victory
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Overall ranking leader Team Decathlon CMA CGM’s French rider Paul Seixas waves on the podium after winning the first stage of the Basque Country’s Itzulia cycling tour, a 13.8 km time trial in Bilbao on April 6, 2026.AFP – ANDER GILLENEA
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The Decathlon rider, who has six wins this year, has drawn comparisons to Slovenian superstar Pogacar, who racked up eight victories in his own breakout season in 2019 at the age of 20.
Seixas also became the first Frenchman to win a World Tour stage race since Christophe Moreau at the Criterium du Dauphine in 2007.
Marc Soler, Ben Healy and Mattias Skjelmose formed the day’s break early on and others joined them before dropping away, leaving the trio out in front.
With just under 30 kilometres remaining the chase group, featuring Johannessen, caught them to form a 20-strong breakaway, which Seixas and Lipowitz were three minutes behind.
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Seixas started the day with a 5min 39sec advantage on Johannessen, who he had to keep an eye on with the Norwegian flying up the road.
August attacked from the breakaway to take the lead with little over 10 kilometres remaining and the 20-year-old was able to record the biggest result of his career to date.
Veteran Primoz Roglic started the day in third but struggled badly and dropped out of the top 10.
“Every day was hot and sunny but then we got the typical Basque weather, 10 degrees and rain today, everybody was freezing,” said August.
Anthony Joshua remained coy over fighting Tyson Fury despite his heavyweight rival’s challenge, but admits the long-awaited fight “probably” happens next.
The former world champions have been linked for years with speculation surrounding a deal materialising during Fury’s comeback fight against Arslanbek Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Fury emerged victorious in a wide points victory over the Russian, with Saudi boxing supremo Turki Alashikh hinting that a “surprise” announcement would be made later in the evening to confirm “the biggest fight in the history of England.
Fury then goaded Joshua, who was sitting ringside, alongside his promoter Eddie Hearn.
“I want to give you all the fight you wanted,” Fury said. “I want you, AJ, Anthony Joshua, let’s give the fans what they want. The battle of Britain, my challenge, I challenge you, Anthony Joshua, to fight me next. Do you accept my challenge?”
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But Joshua remained unnerved, refusing to commit or agree to Fury’s terms ringside.
Tyson Fury celebrates victory (Getty Images for Netflix)
“Tyson, you are a clout chaser,” Joshua responded. “I’ve never had a problem getting in the ring with you. I punched you when we were kids.
“After watching you tonight, I’d do it again. I’ll see you in that ring in due time. You won’t tell me what to do. When you’re ready, you tell me your conditions, and I’ll tell you when I’m ready. I’m the landlord, remember that, you work for me.”
Joshua did concede that the fight is likely to be next, despite discussion surrounding a warm-up bout, following a fatal car accident in Nigeria earlier this year, which killed two of his closest friends.
Fury went the distance with Makhmudov but was always a step or two ahead (Getty)
“I’ll be honest, the negotiations you go through, I’ve sat in there many times, there’s no problem, it’s what I do,” Joshua added. “I’m not here for clout, I’m here to fight. Contracts will be sent over, but you’ll probably see us in the ring next, more than likely.
“He’s the one who retired. I’ve stayed in the ring; it’s on him, he disappears, comes back, disappears. I’m not here to chase fame, I’m a real person. I’ll fight him or the next person. I’m in the big fights, I make the big fights, that’s what I told him.
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Joshua (right) with Saudi boxing matchmaker Turki Alalshikh (Getty Images for Netflix)
“That could be a warm-up fight, after what I saw tonight, I was in a serious incident, so I need to check out. There’s real stuff happening in my life. I’m not ducking anyone. I have to attend to, once I’m 100 percent, I’ll fight. I run the game, you know I run the game. I’m a serious fighter, I’m very strong, when I hit Fury, I’m going to hurt him.”
“I’m sorting some things out with my brothers; the brotherhood is taking care of things. Tyson Fury, if he’s serious, you’ll see us in the ring. The ball is in his court. We’ve been here a million times, once my signature is on the paper, it’s a fight. There’s no fight right now, I’ve been here three or four times with Wilder and Fury. It’s boring to me, for you at home it’s exciting.
“I don’t think he’ll be able to cope with me. It’d be hard work for him. I don’t want to talk too much.”
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Anthony Joshua ringside for the Fury vs Makhmudov undercard (Getty Images for Netflix)
Fury boxed earlier in the evening in his first fight since December 2024, when he was outpointed by Oleksandr Usyk for the second time in a row, and the win over Makhmudov moved him closer to a long-awaited duel with Joshua.
Four months ago, when “AJ” knocked out YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in Miami, there was renewed confidence that Joshua would face compatriot Fury in 2026 – in a generational battle of former heavyweight champions.
But 10 days after beating Paul, Joshua was injured in a car crash in Nigeria, which claimed the lives of two of his teammates.
(PA)
Although the accident seemed to leave Joshua’s fighting future up in the air, he soon returned to the gym, and his promoter Hearn talked up a summer return for the 36-year-old.
That bout was expected to be a warm-up for a possible showdown with Fury, 37, but with the pair facing off on Saturday, many fans will hope that the bout will be next for each boxer.
Australian teenager Gout Gout has run 200m faster than sprinting great Usain Bolt did at the same age.
The 18-year-old clocked a superb time of 19.67 seconds to win at his national championships on Sunday.
It was the first time that Gout had gone under the 20-second mark legally, after a wind-assisted 19.84 last season, and is the leading time in the world this year.
He had the quickest-ever time by a 16-year-old – setting a national record of 20.06 – when he burst on to the scene in 2024. Sunday’s mark in Sydney was quicker than the Jamaican eight-time Olympic champion’s time of 19.93 back in 2004.
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Aidan Murphy, who was second to Gout, also beat the 20-second mark with a time of 19.88.
“This is what I’ve been waiting for,” said Gout, who was born in Queensland to parents from South Sudan.
“We have such incredible athletes in Australia and me being able to race these athletes, we push each other to the limits. Two Australians sub-20. I mean, this is amazing.
“There’s a big weight off my shoulders knowing I ran it legally, and I have the speed and my body to run times like that. So, it definitely feels great, and ready for more.”
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Gout has indicated that he will skip the Commonwealth Games, which begin in Glasgow on 23 July, to focus on the World Under-20 Championships in Oregon in early August.
It was not an entirely vintage performance from the 37-year-old, who often looked his age as he laboured through 12 rounds at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, shaking off 16 months of inactivity.
But still, it came as little surprise when Fury called out Joshua, his long-term rival, during his post-fight interview, urging him to sign on the dotted line.
Matching this enthusiasm, Alalshikh suggested their heavyweight dustup could soon be announced, while Joshua responded with a slightly different tone when handed the microphone.
Instead of playing Fury’s game, the 36-year-old decided to take a more measured approach, insisting that nothing is confirmed until both sides are satisfied with the deal.
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But while Joshua represents Fury’s preferred option, ‘The Gypsy King’ equally said at his post-fight press conference that a trilogy showdown with Oleksandr Usyk could also make sense.
“I wanna fight Anthony Joshua – that’s it. Or, if AJ don’t want it, then let’s get Usyk in the trilogy. But I need some f**king fair play.”
Clearly, Fury has maintained his belief that, despite twice being outpointed by Usyk in 2024, he should have had his hand raised on both occasions.
The chance to exact his revenge therefore represents an enticing possibility, while Joshua, who has not fought since stopping Jake Paul in December, may still consider a ‘warm-up’ fight.
Paris-Roubaix is a bike race which rewards guile and experience, one for the battle-hardened pro rather than the wide-eyed youngster. Zoe Backstedt in some ways is both. At 21 she is among the peloton’s younger contingent – but she has an additional weapon in her arsenal: a family history of Paris-Roubaix going back more than 20 years.
Her father, Magnus Backstedt, took the biggest win of his career in the famous Roubaix velodrome in 2004; Zoe and older sister and fellow cyclist Elynor grew up re-watching, analysing and celebrating his race.
“It’s in the family to enjoy this race and to have a special connection to it,” the younger Backstedt tells The Independentover video call,a few days before the 2026 edition. “For me part of it is following what he’s done, and one day I would also like to have a cobblestone to go next to his.”
Magnus’ iconic cobblestone prize lives on a bookshelf in the Backstedt family living room, and his success means that Zoe not only knows the ins and outs of the race – it means she’s aware of what it feels like to lift the trophy, too. “I tell you, if you try and lift it above your head after a race, I don’t think I could do it,” she grins. “[The shelf] now has a dip in it, because it’s just that heavy.”
Magnus raced Paris-Roubaix eight times over the course of his career and has been imparting his wisdom ever since. “He’s told me every single story there is to tell about this race, about every single edition that he’s done, that it was dry, wet, different changes in the course, he knows everything. He knows where every single pothole is on the course, he could tell you literally to a T. So we’ve grown up learning this course as well, watching his race back because as a family, it makes us so proud of his achievement.”
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When we speak Backstedt is fresh from a team recon of five of the 20 cobbled sectors, which make up just over 33km of the 143km women’s race. Her Canyon-SRAM-zondacrypto team rode the first three sectors, which are new to the course this year, and the infamous Carrefour de l’Arbre: the fourth-last sector and one of two rated five stars, the most gruelling of all.
“It’s like a two-parter, you have a really awful, aggressive part to start with, and then it goes across the road, you’ve got a nice” – she checks her wording – “nice, I don’t know, less aggressive sector with a bit of gravel on the side. I made the most of that today, saved myself from the cobblestones, and I’m going to go full in for those on Sunday.”
Paris-Roubaix is one of the most gruelling races on the cycling calendar (AFP via Getty Images)
The race sees the riders swap the cobbles of Flanders in the previous Monument for the harsher pavé of northern France (Belga/AFP via Getty Images)
Many riders speak about Paris-Roubaix with a mix of respect and dread – there’s an element of masochism to the race – but Backstedt relishes it. “Just out there having a bit of fun, and the sun was shining in France – not Belgium,” she says, with the air of someone who has made that mix-up before. “It was super nice to see a bit of the course again.”
Backstedt has ridden Paris-Roubaix three times, finishing 46th on her debut at age 18 and upgrading that to 16th in 2024 and 15th last year. And the Red Bull athlete has every reason to hope she can crack the top 10, or go a step further this time round.
She will be one of the in-form riders on the start line in Denain and impressed in the hilly Tour of Flanders – the only other cobbled Monument – last Sunday. She finished fifth, her best-ever result in the race, backing up a fourth place in Dwars door Vlaanderen a few days prior.
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The Welshwoman was part of an elite group including three-time Flanders winner Lotte Kopecky, eventual winner Demi Vollering and defending Paris-Roubaix champion champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot over the infamous Koppenberg hill, and later said she had “goosebumps” being in such elite company.
Backstedt has multiple junior and under-23 world titles to her name and is one of the in-form riders of the peloton heading to Paris-Roubaix (Kristof Ramon / Red Bull Content Pool)
She said: “I was really proud of myself. I really didn’t expect to go into the day with the legs that I had and to be able to go over all of these iconic climbs, going over the Koppenberg in the front group of ten, with Kopecky, [Elisa] Longo Borghini, those kinds of riders, and be almost fighting for a podium – that was not on my bingo card for the day!”
Even so, she isn’t satisfied, adding: “It was a shame that I missed those front three that went [Vollering, Ferrand-Prevot and Puck Pieterse, who completed the podium], but what can you do?”
That result means she is full of confidence ahead of Paris-Roubaix, and with good reason: as a former world junior and under-23 cyclo-cross champion, she is well suited to difficult terrain.
She says: “I think it’s a super useful skill to have, just knowing how to handle uneven surfaces and conditions that are very unpredictable, especially if there’s rain at some point, if the cobblestones become super slippery.”
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She was among an elite group of ten at the business end of last Sunday’s Tour of Flanders, won by Demi Vollering (Belga/AFP via Getty Images)
Her success against the clock – she has won both junior and under-23 world titles in time trials too – may also come in handy. “Time trialling is very much an individual pain, an individual effort. Cyclocross is the same: one hour, you’re not riding with any teammates, with tactics, you’re purely riding, constantly with a high heart rate, constantly thinking under pressure. And your whole body is completely dead at the end, the same feeling that I’d have at the end of a time trial.”
And the same as at the end of Paris-Roubaix. “It’s definitely one of those races that you hate in the moment,” she smiles. “And then once you cross the finish line, and you know that you can relax, it’s one of the nicest and most rewarding races. Even to finish, to finish first or last, is such a rewarding thing.
“Going across kilometres of cobblestones that you’re not naturally meant to do, it’s aggressive on your hands, on your legs, on your arms, on your body, all of your muscles are just so tense for four hours. I think that’s also what makes it one of my favourite races, it brings out the strongest riders. The ones that are the front are the ones that can handle all of the pain, that can handle everything that your body is going to go through.”
Backstedt’s cyclo-cross background could give her the edge on Sunday (Kristof Ramon / Red Bull Content Pool)
Unsurprisingly, she has high hopes for Sunday. “It’s my favourite race of the whole season, so I’m hoping that the team will give me the chance to be the leader,” she says frankly. “Of course the whole race is a little bit based on luck, you can have a puncture one kilometre before the most important sector, and then your whole race is done, or someone can crash in front of you. There’s so many unknowns that you can’t really go in with too much expectation.
“But for sure, I want to be better than last year. I mean, I would love to do a top five like I did on the weekend, but I know that’s also going to be hard, so no expectation, no pressure for myself. It’s just going and having fun, racing the bike, and see what I can do.”
And if the 21-year-old can come away with a slab of French rock it will be not just a triumph for her and the team, but for a family bound up in the history of this race, a triumph 22 years in the making.
Former India player Aakash Chopra has highlighted the Mumbai Indians’ (MI) selection conundrum heading into their IPL 2026 clash against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He noted that the five-time champions have multiple choices to make in the bowling department, pointing out that virtually all their bowlers have proved very expensive.
MI will host RCB in the 20th game of IPL 2026 in Mumbai on Sunday, April 12. While the home team is placed eighth on the points table with two points from three games, the visitors have garnered four points from three matches and are third in the standings.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ the former India opener noted that MI have struggled with their bowling, with Jasprit Bumrah being the only bowler to have an economy of less than 10 in IPL 2026, and would have to choose between Trent Boult and Corbin Bosch and between Deepak Chahar and Ashwani Kumar in the seam-bowling department.
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“Plenty of questions. A good team, but you (MI) have lost two of the three matches. It’s not a good story. Will you stay with Trent Boult? If you want to stay with Trent Boult, you will have to bowl him more overs with the new ball. Do you want to stay or go? You will have to answer that question,” Chopra said.
“Do you want to keep Deepak Chahar or play Ashwani Kumar? You will have to answer that question as well because the bowling is struggling. Only one bowler has an economy in single digits. Everyone else, who has played two or more matches, is in double digits,” he added.
Aakash Chopra also wondered whether the Mumbai Indians would want to try Raghu Sharma as a spinner, urging them to stick with Allah Ghazanfar ahead of Mitchell Santner. He added that MI might consider playing Will Jacks in place of Sherfane Rutherford if the England all-rounder is available.
“I have a suggestion for you” – Aakash Chopra on a potential change in RCB’s playing 12 for IPL 2026 clash vs MI
RCB suffered a six-wicket loss in their IPL 2026 clash against RR (Image via iplt20.com)
In the same video, Aakash Chopra wondered whether RCB should bring in Jacob Bethell at Phil Salt’s expense for their IPL 2026 clash against MI.
“If you (RCB) lose this, your situation will be like Delhi’s, with two wins and two losses. I have a suggestion for you. Do you want to play Jacob Bethell in place of Phil Salt? Phil Salt doesn’t keep in any case. Jitesh Sharma is doing the keeping,” he said.
The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that Bethell had scored a blazing century in the T20 World Cup 2026 semi-final against India at the same venue.
“I am thinking about Jacob Bethell because of how well he batted at this ground. He was absolutely brilliant in the T20 World Cup semi-final. Would you want to play him? Phil Salt is not scoring runs. You can make Devdutt Padikkal open. Bring Bethell in place of Phil Salt, and keep him at No. 3,” Chopra observed.
Aakash Chopra pointed out that Jacob Bethell will also give RCB another left-arm spin option. He highlighted that MI have many right-handers in their batting lineup.
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