Winning the Tour de France: Pain and suffering then excitement and euphoria

Sportshour

How does it feel winning the Tour de France Femmes? Poland's Kasia Niewiadoma will tell you directly – pain, suffering, excitement and euphoria. It was the rollercoaster of emotions the 2024 Tour de France Femmes winner experienced as she thought at one moment she had lost the yellow jersey, but Niewiadoma dug in to win the overall title by just four seconds.

As the Women's Open golf takes place at St Andrews we chart the progress of Women's golf. Katie Dawkins is one of few female PGA professionals in Golf Monthly’s Top 50 UK list of coaches as well as being an instructional and features writer for the publication. Her podcast “Birdies Banter” is part of “A Birdies View” magazine, a women’s online publication www.abirdiesview.com. Having been involved in the game for many years, Katie is able to identify the changes that have made the growth in the women's game possible, and what still needs to be done, including "on course facilities"

And staying with golf... Kind of! When you were young, did you and your friends or siblings make up your own games? Imagine if the games you played as a child went on to became a recognised sport, played across the world and who knows maybe even one day the Olympics!? Well that's where American Alex Van Alen finds himself. The sport he used to play as a youngster is called "FlingGolf". Played on a golf course, the aim is to get your ball in the hole, but you don't always hit the ball, you fling it... Alex Van Alen explains all

You might think that the Dutch Formula One Grand Prix taking place this weekend would be the most important sporting event in the country this month... but those in Franeker in the north of the Netherlands would beg to differ. Sport as we saw at the Olympics can bring people together from across the world, but it’s also a way of binding together a community with a shared passion – especially if the sport has a powerful local identity. Which is why we sent Sportshour’s Matthew Kenyon to check out one of the biggest days in the sporting calendar in the Dutch province of Friesland.

The opening ceremony for the Paralympics in Paris takes place on Wednesday. Thousands of competitors from all over the world will descend on the French capital in search of sporting glory... but they will also hope to once again showcase their skill, and in doing so change wrongly held stereotypes about disability. But for one group of athletes there's another goal, to lift the spirits of their nation. Sportshour's Andy Swiss has been to meet Ukraine's para athletes:

Photo: Canyon//SRAM Racing team's Polish rider Katarzyna Niewiadoma celebrates after crossing the finish line and winning the third edition of the Women's Tour de France cycling race (CREDIT: JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images)