Teenager Josh Tarling blew away the rest of the field to become the British men’s time trial champion as Lizzie Holden claimed the women’s crown at the Croft Circuit near Darlington.

Tarling is just 19 but the 6ft 4in tall Welshman towered over his rivals in more ways than one, putting more than a minute into them over the course of 41.1 kilometres as he won in a time of 48 minutes 50 seconds in windy conditions in north Yorkshire.

Bahrain-Victorious’ Fred Wright was second, 63 seconds down, with Tarling’s Ineos Grenadiers’ team-mate Connor Swift in third, but nobody could touch the young Welshman as he claimed his first win at senior level.

“It sounds pretty cool, doesn’t it?” said Tarling, who was snapped up by the Ineos Grenadiers on a three-year deal last winter.

“I’m super happy. We had a plan, it was definitely an aggressive plan and we gave it a go.”

Last year Tarling won the world time trial title at junior level.

Here, he skipped the under-23 category and only looked out of place in terms of how dominant he was. Tarling is 360 days younger than Josh Charlton, who took the men’s under-23 title earlier in the day.

Wright, who came into the race still dealing with some raw emotions following the death of his team-mate Gino Mader at the Tour de Suisse last week, could only admire Tarling’s ride.

“As a ride, I was really pleased with it, Wright told the PA news agency. “It’s just a shame there was a massive kid who’s put a minute into me, so what can you do?

“He’s a super talent and I think he’s going to be the next big thing in time trialling.”

It is the third year in a row an Ineos rider has taken the title. Ethan Hayter – winner of the last two national championships – was unable to defend his title due to a broken collarbone, while Geraint Thomas also withdrew and is now expected to also sit out Sunday’s road race.

But even with some elite riders missing, Tarling’s margin of victory left little doubt as to his superiority.

Holden won the women’s event by 14 seconds from Anna Morris and 16 from Elinor Barker, completing the 27.4km course – two laps of the route – in a time of 37 minutes and two seconds.

The 25-year-old Manx rider was third in last year’s time trial as Joss Lowden took the title, and second as an under-23 rider in 2019, but this was her first time on the top step of the podium.

“It’s very special,” Holden said. “It means a lot. I had high expectations because I’ve been close many times before, and with Joss not being here, I thought it could actually be possible.

“But you never know until it happens. When I found out after I crossed the line, I couldn’t believe it.”

Holden, who left British squad Le Col-Wahoo last winter to move up to the WorldTour level with UAE Team ADQ, now hopes the win will help her case as she vies for selection for the Tour de France Femmes at the end of the month.

“Hopefully this result helps my side of it, but in the next few weeks I should hear,” said Holden, who rode in the inaugural edition of the race last summer.

“It was pretty special. I’ve never experienced a race organised like that and with the fans, it definitely felt like a different level, that’s for sure.”

Luxembourg and Adayar look set renew rivalry at Ascot next month after filling the places in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes.

The Aidan O’Brien-trained Luxembourg was the marginal favourite at 2-1 for what appeared a strong renewal of the feature event on day two of the Royal meeting and set out to make every yard of the running in the hands of Ryan Moore.

The three-time Group One winner was powerless to resist the late surge of the impressive Mostahdaf, but stuck to his guns to fill the runner-up spot and O’Brien is keen to step up to a mile and a half in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes on July 29.

“We’re very happy and the winner won very well,” said the Ballydoyle handler.

“The plan was that we would have a look at the King George after this anyway. That’s possible, so we’ll see how he is. He was always going to get a mile and a half well.”

Adayar won the Derby and the King George during the summer of 2021 and Charlie Appleby was keen to enhance his potential stallion value by bagging a Group One over a mile and a quarter this term.

However, after seeing his charge beaten four and a half lengths by Mostahdaf, the Moulton Paddocks maestro admitted he appears to be “crying out” for a return to a longer trip, therefore another King George challenge appears the logical target.

“The way the race was set up wasn’t ideal for us. He was a little bit tardy from the gate and we wanted to either be on the lead or sit second to the American horse, but we ended up in the spot we thought Ryan might end up, that was our plan,” he said.

“I was pleased with the horse in respects to the fractions that were set, it was set up for a turn of foot at the end and the winner is good at that.

“I feel for our fella, we’ll step back up to a mile and a half now and go for the King George, that’s what he’s crying out for.

“We’ve had a go over 10 furlongs with him, but against the very best he’s just come up a little short a couple of times. But I’m not walking away too disappointed. If he can reclaim the King George, we’ll be very happy.”

Jimi Hendrix hit the right note at Royal Ascot to lead home a memorable one-two in the Royal Hunt Cup for trainer Ralph Beckett and owners Chelsea Thoroughbreds.

A maximum field of 30 went to post for what was as always a fiercely-competitive handicap and at the business end it was the Beckett duo on opposite sides of the track that had the contest at their mercy.

Eventual 25-1 runner-up Sonny Liston was travelling menacingly on the stands side in the hands of Ryan Moore and burst clear of his group to mount his challenge inside the final furlong, but he was unable to land a knockout blow as Rossa Ryan notched his second Royal Ascot winner when leading home those on the far side on the 22-1 scorer.

Beckett said: “What a performance. I actually gave Ryan the choice of the two. It’s great to get Sonny Liston back, he has to be ridden like that, we think.

“I always thought the winner had a day like this in him. He won the Spring Cup nicely enough, but ran poorly on the Rowley Mile last time out. I think we’ll avoid the Rowley Mile for now. I thought he’d win the Cambridgeshire last year, but that doesn’t matter now because he’s won today.

“You couldn’t make it up the same synidcate own the first two, they are very happy.

“It’s been a tough week up to now, it hasn’t been going great but to win a Hunt Cup takes a bit of doing, to finish first and second is very satisfying, and it’s great for Rossa, he gave him a peach.”

British number one Cameron Norrie came from a set down to reach the quarter-finals of the cinch Championships.

Norrie, the fifth seed, dropped the opener against Australian Jordan Thompson but then lost just five more games in a 4-6 6-3 6-2 victory at Queen’s Club.

World number 76 Thompson was inspired in the first set, which he sealed with a stunning cross-court backhand winner.

But the 29-year-old’s forehand let him down badly as Norrie broke for 4-2 on his way to levelling the match.

Norrie broke in the first game of the decider, but he had to save three break points as he served for the match before completing the victory in just under two hours to reach a sixth quarter-final this year.

He said: “I think it was the perfect match. Jordan really likes the grass and in the first set he played a couple of good points to beat me.

“I thought I’d played great so I didn’t have to change too much. I came out with a lot of energy in the third set and that’s what got me through.

“It’s really good to be that consistent but you always want more as a tennis player. I want to keep pushing for more, especially in the bigger tournaments.

Norrie was due to play doubles with Andy Murray later on Wednesday evening but the two-time Wimbledon champion, who lost in the singles on Tuesday, withdrew through fatigue.

Mostahdaf produced a career-best to land a red-hot renewal of the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.

John and Thady Gosden’s charge was a big-race winner in Saudi Arabia during the winter before running with real credit behind Japanese superstar Equinox in the Dubai Sheema Classic. But he was somewhat the forgotten horse here as the race was billed as a showdown between former Derby hero Adayar, Sir Michael Stoute’s Champion Stakes winner Bay Bridge and his Curragh conqueror Luxembourg.

However, it was the Shadwell-owned five-year-old who landed the spoils in tremendous fashion, to strike for the first time at the highest level.

Jim Crowley was content to bide his time in the early stages as Luxembourg and American raider Classic Causeway eyeballed each other on the front end, but the jockey found himself in the perfect spot to strike as the runners entered the home straight.

And as push came to shove for the main protagonists, the 10-1 winner cruised to the lead before extending his advantage in the closing stages, registering a deeply impressive four-length success.

The victory gave John Gosden his third victory in the past 10 years in the 10-furlong contest and his fifth overall, but his first in conjunction with son Thady.

Heather Knight wants England to exploit the increased exposure from a seminal Women’s Ashes series, insisting she and her team take a responsibility to inspire the next generation “personally”.

England will try to wrestle the urn from all-conquering Australia’s grasp in the multi-format series, beginning with a lone Test at Trent Bridge where around 15,000 tickets have been sold across five days.

On the eve of the curtain-raiser, Knight senses an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of the England football team, who sent the nation into raptures with their triumphant Euro 2022 campaign.

Doing so will be no mean feat as Australia have not lost to England since 2014, hold both limited-overs World Cups and won gold at last year’s Commonwealth Games, but Knight is in an optimistic mood.

She said: “One of our mantras is to entertain and inspire. In the women’s game, we take it quite personally that we want to promote the game in the right way, get people behind us and inspire them.

“It’s super special and it’s set up to be a really amazing Ashes series that’s probably going to be the most visible series outside of World Cups that we’ve ever had. We’re keen to try and maximise that.

“Women’s sport is just in such an amazing place in the country in the moment and we want to be a part of that. What the Lionesses did last summer, we loved watching it and want to be a part of that.

“We know we’re up against a very good Australian team but we’ve got the opportunity to do something special and part of that is bringing the country with us on that journey.”

Leeds Rhinos head coach Rohan Smith has acknowledged his side face a “mini Grand Final” against fellow strugglers Huddersfield on Friday night amid increasing speculation over the 42-year-old’s future.

Rhinos limp into the Headingley clash sitting outside the play-off zone in eighth place and reeling from back-to-back defeats to Wakefield and Castleford, the Betfred Super League’s bottom two.

Ian Watson’s Giants have also struggled for much of the current campaign and go into the game in 10th place, with both clubs knowing a win is imperative if they are to mount a late push for a play-off place.

“It’s huge – it’s massive for both teams,” said Smith, whose arrival in April last year sparked his side’s rise from 11th to a fifth-placed finish and ultimately a spot in the Grand Final.

“We expect Huddersfield to be very hungry and it’s a mini Grand Final for both of us, coming off a week of reset. It’s a pivotal game for the season.”

The Rhinos’ staggering inconsistency has been laid bare in the last four games, with the dismal Wakefield and Castleford losses following an heroic 12-man win at Wigan and an injury-hit golden-point defeat to St Helens.

But, despite their alarming dip in form, Smith insists he has no fears over his job security and revealed he continues to have almost daily conversations with Rhinos chief executive Gary Hetherington.

“Gary and I talk a lot and are aligned with what we’re trying to create here,” added Smith.

“There’s no issues there. We chat every day about where we’re at – form, performance, recruitment and retention, and how we do things around the place that not dependent on last week’s result.

“Those chats happen every day and those chats will continue to be had.”

Andy Murray’s uncle and brother have questioned why the two-time Wimbledon champion is not on an official poster of past and present greats.

The All England Club posted on its social media channels an image of 15 famous players walking down a staircase.

Under the banner “here’s to the next generation of headline acts”, young duo Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz – neither of whom have made an impact at the Championships yet – stand in the foreground.

Behind them are a selection of “epic” rivalries including Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova and Serena and Venus Williams.

But Murray, who ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a men’s champion in 2013, is nowhere to be seen.

His uncle, Niall Erskine, tweeted underneath the image: “Appalling at every level, all about the men in the forefront and your own British history maker nowhere to be seen. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

And Jamie Murray, who has been competing along with his brother at the cinch Championships this week, replied to Wimbledon’s Instagram post with “Where’s @andymurray?”

He added: “Didn’t they talk about the big 4 for 10 years until he smashed his hip to pieces when he was world No 1?”

Illustrator Grant Gruenhaupt responded by saying more paintings are planned.

Meanwhile, Jamie Murray and partner Michael Venus lost their first-round doubles match at Queen’s Club against Matthew Hebden and Rohan Bopanna in two tie-breaks.

Andy Murray was due to play in the doubles alongside Cameron Norrie later on Wednesday but the Scot, knocked out of the singles on Tuesday, has withdrawn from the event.

Danny Tudhope delivered Rogue Millennium with a perfectly-timed challenge to secure a popular success in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Winner of the Lingfield Oaks Trial last season, Tom Clover’s stable star had since been placed three times at Group-race level, most recently going down by half a length to Free Wind in the Middleton Stakes at York.

Despite having never previously run over a mile, members of The Rogues Gallery syndicate boldly supplemented her for this Group Two last week – as they had the Oaks at Epsom after her Lingfield success – and were handsomely rewarded in the Berkshire sunshine.

Rogue Millennium travelled strongly in midfield for much of the way before being unleashed inside the final furlong, where she picked up well to get up and beat long-time leader Random Harvest by a neck.

Prosperous Voyage and Jumbly finished third and fourth respectively.

Colin Keane got off the mark at Royal Ascot as Villanova Queen swooped to land the Kensington Palace Fillies’ Handicap.

A winner at the big summer showpiece had so far eluded the Classic-winning rider – who is the reigning champion jockey in Ireland. But he was at his very best as he guided Jessica Harrington’s four-year-old to success.

In a typically competitive running of the one-mile handicap, there were plenty in with chances as the 19-strong field rounded the turn for home, with Frankie Dettori’s mount Tamarama looking a real player.

However, the challenge of the Ralph Beckett-trained filly soon petered out and it was left to Villanova Queen to down Daniel and Claire Kubler’s Don’t Tell Claire in the closing stages, with Tarrabb (third) and the Joseph O’Brien-trained pair of Adelaise and Yerwanthere finishing off strongly to finish fourth and fifth.

Pablo Larrazabal insisted the Ryder Cup was not the cause of his current lack of sleep, but was relishing the pressure of playing alongside Europe captain Luke Donald in Munich.

Two wins in the space of three events have lifted Larrazabal to 10th in the European points list, with 10 events remaining in qualifying for this year’s contest in Rome.

And with six wild cards at his disposal, Donald has taken the opportunity to partner Larrazabal and Germany’s Marcel Siem in the first two rounds of the BMW International, an event Larrazabal has won twice before.

“I go week by week,” Larrazabal said after making the long journey from Los Angeles – where he missed the cut in the US Open – to Munich.

“I’m not looking forward to anything, I’m looking forward to the work I’m doing today to prepare for the tournament.

“I know what I’ve done in the last five weeks. I know, for example, Luke Donald is having an eye on me. I know he is going to choose to play with me but I’ve had that pressure all my career.

“I like the pressure, I adjust to the pressure and whatever way it goes, it will go. Ryder Cup doesn’t take a minute of my sleep, probably jet-lag does at the moment.

“It’s in my mind because you guys (the media) remind me every now and then. But the Ryder Cup is a result of the work you do day after day.

“If I was nervous in Korea and Holland the last few holes, I cannot imagine how much pressure I would have in a Ryder Cup, but the Ryder Cup is at the end of September and we are in June. So many things can happen in three months.

“I checked off all my dreams and Ryder Cup has never been my dream because I saw it very far away. I saw all my idols playing Ryder Cup, but I’m not an idol of myself.

“If it happens, it happens, but if not I will pulling for Team Europe anyway. I’m a Ryder Cup fan, it’s one of the tournaments that I watch from the first tee shot to the last.

“I watch all the Ryder Cups on TV, the one in Valderrama I watched on site when I was 14 years old.”

Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton and Matt Fitzpatrick currently occupy five of the automatic qualifying places, with Germany’s Yannik Paul the surprise name rounding out the top six.

Paul’s place is under threat from the likes of Victor Perez, Adrian Meronk, Adrian Otaegui, Jorge Campillo and Larrazabal, all of whom would be making their debuts in the biennial contest.

“I think from the side of trying to fulfil the team and fill those last few spots, we’re looking for some rookies who are really keen to be a part of it,” Donald said.

“There have been some great stories and great victories from those guys too, so I’m really happy with where we are.

“I said from the beginning that I’m looking to see the excitement and commitment from these guys to be a part of that. I’m very excited with how it’s going, how these guys are playing over here on the DP World Tour.”

Ryan Porteous watched his Scotland team-mates gearing up for their summer holidays after Tuesday’s win over Georgia while preparing to start his next campaign the following day.

The defender was due back at Watford for a team meeting and day three of pre-season training hours after helping Scotland to victory in difficult conditions.

The former Hibernian player is happy to get back to England, though, and get to work under new head coach Valerien Ismael, who was appointed on May 10.

“All the boys are jetting off on holiday but I’m back in,” Porteous said. “There will be a big rebuild probably at Watford so I’m looking forward to getting started there.

“I had a holiday before. We finished up on the 10th (of May) so I got away for a couple of weeks.

“Listen, I will be in good shape going back. That’s what you want as a player. Pre-season is hard enough but if you are in good physical state, as you need to be in this day and age, then it will be of benefit to me.”

The defender’s return to club duty might have been delayed at one point as the Euro 2024 qualifier looked in severe doubt because of a waterlogged pitch, with rules stating any abandoned game continues the next day.

Porteous got away from Hampden after midnight but the fans were not far in front of him after a near two-hour delay while water was swept off the pitch following a torrential downpour.

Speaking after a 2-0 win for the Group A leaders, the 24-year-old said: “We wanted the game to go on because there were 50,000 fans there. For them to come to the game, spend all that money on travel and tickets and then go home very disappointed that the game was the next day, wasn’t what we wanted.

“We wanted to play the game. We understand why they (Georgia) wouldn’t because they were 1-0 down, that’s completely understandable, but most of the fans stayed to the end.

“The fans were brilliant, because it was a late night for a lot of kids and working people as well.”

The victory made it four wins from four in Group A, Scotland’s best start to any qualifying campaign, and sent them eight points clear halfway through their schedule.

Porteous said: “It’s exactly where we want to be, but the manager keeps reiterating to us and the press that we have done nothing yet.

“We have put ourselves in a fantastic position but it’s one game at a time that will get us there. We need to stay grounded.

“Four wins probably doesn’t get you there, you have to keep going.”

Bethany England admits she “screamed the house down” when she found out the “big risk” of her mid-season transfer from Chelsea to Tottenham had paid off with a recall for this summer’s World Cup.

Having been part of the England squad that won the Euros last July and played in subsequent matches in September, the 29-year-old forward then found herself being omitted by boss Sarina Wiegman.

England was seeing limited game time for Chelsea, starting only twice in the Women’s Super League for the champions in the first half of the season, and she moved to Tottenham in January.

She went on to register 12 goals in as many league starts for Spurs, and a return to the international fold followed as on May 31 she was included in Wiegman’s 23-player group for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand that gets under way next month.

On her reaction to the recall, England said: “It was amazing for me.

“I think I’d done everything I could to get put in this position. I worked as best as I could, I was scoring the goals, so the question was just left to Sarina.

“I got the call, tried to play it nice and cool – but I hung up the phone and screamed the house down!

“The first thing I did was ring my mum, ring my partner. Obviously I was elated, it’s been a long time since I’ve been back in this environment. It’s just a pleasure to be back here wearing the badge and I’m really excited for the summer.”

England, who has 11 goals in 21 caps, added: “I think the situation I was in (at Chelsea), I wasn’t getting used, I was stuck on the bench and as Sarina said, rightly, I wasn’t getting picked (for England) because I wasn’t playing the minutes.

“It was up to me to make sure I was not only getting the minutes but making them count and I think I did that at Spurs. I can’t thank them enough for giving me the opportunity to go out and play and be happy again.

“Ultimately it’s my career and I had to take it into my own hands and make sure that I put myself in the best position.

“I think it was just first and foremost I want to be back on the pitch, playing minutes and scoring and I’m glad I did that.

“Obviously at the back of my mind the World Cup was creeping up, I’d not been selected for a couple of camps leading into Christmas. Every player wants to be part of these big moments representing your country, going to big tournaments, so I think that was definitely a key factor in it.

“But ultimately, I think in myself I knew that I wasn’t happy. I knew that I’d been in a situation where it was going on for too long and I needed to make change.

“Change can be scary and I’ve never dealt well with change, but luckily I hit the ground running and I’m just thankful that it turned out well.”

England left Chelsea having been with them since 2016, netted 74 times for the club and won multiple trophies.

“It was a big risk, I’d been at Chelsea for seven years, that was a big part of my professional career and I didn’t really like the thought of change,” she said.

“But ultimately I didn’t want to be sat in a position where I didn’t try to give my everything to go. I could have stayed at Chelsea, could have stayed on the bench, in my comfort zone. But then I’d have been watching other people going out there to Australia, when I know it’s something I would have regretted looking back on.

“So I’m glad the risk paid off – and even if it didn’t and I didn’t come, I could have at least looked at myself in the mirror knowing I did everything I could to put myself on that flight.”