Motorcycling: Title agony for Sykes

The Kawasaki rider Tom Sykes missed out on the World Superbike Championship by just half a point from favourite Max Biaggi in the final round at Magny-Cours yesterday.

Yorkshireman Sykes did all he could to overhaul the Italian Aprilia rider Biaggi, who fell on lap two of the first race but did enough with a fifth-place finish in the second to finish on 358 points. Sykes came third in race one and won the second but his points total fell agonisingly short in the closest-ever finish to a World Superbike season.

Biaggi, who said he was "sweating right until the end", won his first championship in 2010.