SPORTS ROUND-UP

Racing

Piggott 'the greatest' retires

Lester Piggott, the winner of nine Epsom Derbies and more than 5,000 races around the world, has announced his retirement as a jockey. In an interview with the Mail on Sunday, he said: "I am tired of the struggle to maintain my riding weight." Piggott, who will be 60 in November, retired 10 years ago in order to take up training, but returned to the saddle in October 1990 after serving a year in prison for tax evasion. The Irish trainer Vincent O'Brien, who shared four of Piggott's Derby successes, led the tributes, saying: "I have no doubt Lester was the greatest."

Football

Asprilla storms out

Parma's temperamental Colombian striker Faustino Asprilla stormed out of a training session yesterday after an altercation in the dressing rooms. The striker, who has recently been pursued by Leeds United, arrived late for the session and immediately left still in his civilian clothes. No reasons for his sudden departure were given. Giambattista Pastorello, Parma's director of sport, said: "Asprilla did not seem to want to train. We will assess the situation when things calm down." The club's coach, Nevio Scala, said that Parma would issue a statement soon but that Asprilla certainly would not play in today's match against Inter Milan. Asprilla, 25, was keen to leave the club during the summer when Parma signed the Bulgarian striker Hristo Stoichkov. However, he relented and signed a contract for this season. The Brazilian goalkeeper Claudio Taffarel yesterday announced his retirement from international football, blaming his decision on remarks made by Riccardo Teixeira, the President of the Brazilian football federation, after Uruguay beat Brazil in July's Copa America.

Cycling

Olano the fall guy

The Spanish rider Abraham Olano shrugged off a fall to win the seventh stage of the Tour of Spain cycle race yesterday, a 41km time trial starting and finishing in Salamanca. But Laurent Jalabert, of France, riding for the ONCE team, kept the race leader's yellow jersey after coming in second, 23 seconds behind Olano, with Jalabert's team-mate, the Swiss rider Alex Zulle, finishing third, a further 20 seconds behind. Happily the field was restored to health after Friday's food-poisoning fiasco, which required riders to make frequent comfort stops.

Motor racing

Tasty Menu

The Swiss driver Alain Menu, of the Williams-Renault team, grabbed pole positions for both of today's rounds of the Auto Trader RAC British Touring Car Championship at Oulton Park, Cheshire yesterday. But the happiest man at Oulton was the championship leader, John Cleland. The Scottish veteran qualified alongside Menu on the front row of the grid for both of today's races while his arch rival, the Swedish Volvo driver Rickard Rydell, could manage only sixth and 18th.

Athletics

Beagles outrun Harriers

Newham and Essex Beagles pipped Belgrave Harriers to win the Guardian Insurance Men's Gold Cup Final at Stoke-on-Trent yesterday. Both clubs had 113 points but the Beagles took the trophy because they had six winners to Belgrave's three. Haringey were third. Birchfield won the Guardian Insurance Women's Jubilee Cup, just holding off Windsor, Slough and Eton.

Cricket

Inzamam takes charge

Sri Lanka, facing a Pakistan first-innings total of 459 for nine declared, scored 23 for no loss in reply at close of play on the second day of the first Test in Peshawar yesterday. The tourists, needing 260 runs to avoid the follow-on, opened with Roshan Mahanama and Chandika Hathurusinghe, who stood up well to the fierce pace attack of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. When bad light stopped play, Mahanama was on 5 and Hathurusinghe had made 18 in 5.4 overs. For Pakistan, Inzamam-ul-Haq hit 95 and the captain, Rameez Raja, 78. Saeed Anwar, Shoaib Mohammad and Moin Khan contributed with half-centuries each. The home innings was boosted by an unbroken last wicket partnership between the pace bowler Aaqib Javed and the debutant Saqlain Mushtaq, which added 36 runs. Aaqib made 28, his highest Test score. The left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas, who took five wickets for 99, was the pick of the Sri Lankan bowlers. His tally included the wickets of the home side's two top scorers.

Sailing

Welsh rule the waves

The Welsh team arrived at the finish line off Southend late on Friday evening victorious in sailing's five nations championship, the Teachers Round Britain Challenge, writes Andrew Preece. The two Welsh boats, skippered by Richard Tudor and Colin Lyons, finished second and third on the final 250-mile final dash from Hartlepool behind the Irish boat, Dream of Erin. This last of four legs, south down the North Sea, was the toughest of them all, testing the 60 amateur sailors . Meanwhile in Sardinia, the 1995 Rolex Maxi world championship finishes today. Britain's Longobarda, steered by Chris Law, was in contention for a top three place in the 20- boat maxi fleet until the top section of her mast snapped off in yesterday's strong winds. The Italian Rrose Selavy, skippered by the former America's Cup skipper Mauro Pelaschier, looks set to win.