The Weekend Highlights: 30 April-1 May

Football: Foxes unable to finish the job

In a season packed with fairytale narratives, Leicester City were unable to write one more at the Theatre of Dreams. Sealing the Premier League title against the club who released Foxes stars Danny Drinkwater and Danny Simpson would have been a story worthy of the upcoming Jamie Vardy: The Movie, as would Kasper Schmeichel lifting the trophy at the stadium where his father, Peter, made his name.

Three points were needed to confirm Leicester’s place in the record books, but they left Old Trafford with just one. An absorbing 1-1 draw, where captain Wes Morgan cancelled out Anthony Martial’s opener, exhibited the defensive solidity and counter-attacking flair that has won Claudio Ranieri’s side so many points this season. With Tottenham needing to beat Chelsea tonight to keep the title race alive, the Foxes could be champions when they run out to face Everton at the King Power Stadium on Saturday. You wouldn’t blame them for wishing for a Spurs win so they can close the deal in front of their own fans.

Rugby Union: Irish’s luck runs out

The Madejski Stadium won’t be hosting Premiership Rugby next season. Image: Wikipedia/Mark Hillary

This weekend saw one of the Aviva Premiership’s mainstays bow out of the top tier for the first time in over 20 years. London Irish have been a regular fixture in rugby’s top flight since the sport turned professional in 1996, but a 32-25 defeat to Harlequins confirmed their demise. Sadly, it’s been on the cards for some time – Irish have won just four times this season, the first of which didn’t come until Boxing Day. It remains to be seen whether the club can bounce straight back up next season, with the second tier an exceedingly hard division to get out of. If they do, they’ll have certainly earned it.

Formula One: Rosberg unrivalled but more hurt for Hamilton

Formula One in 2016 is shaping up like the 2015 season – but in reverse. 12 months ago, Lewis Hamilton was well on the way to his third world title, while Nico Rosberg was plagued with the problems that stopped him from sustaining a title challenge. Fast forward to the present day and Hamilton is yet to win a race this season; whereas Rosberg has four wins from four.

The German’s latest victory came at the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi – a track where Hamilton emerged victorious in each of the last two seasons. The British driver experienced engine problems in qualifying, and the race yet still battled to finish second behind his team mate. Rosberg’s day was much more stress-free as he dominated the field to stretch his championship lead to 43 points. He’s spent the past two seasons in Hamilton’s shadow – is 2016 Rosberg’s year?

Cycling: Yorkshire – cycling’s new spiritual home?

The Tour de Yorkshire was enthusiastically supported all weekend. Image: Geograph.co.uk/Martin Dawes

In a week when cycling was in the news for all the wrong reasons, the three-day Tour de Yorkshire brought a smile back to the sport. Frenchman Thomas Voeckler took the victory but the event itself was the real winner as locals turned out to support in their millions. Yes, that’s right, millions – over two million spectators watched the second edition of the race between Friday and Sunday. The crowd was so enthusiastic that the director of the Tour de France, Christian Prudhomme even said that Yorkshire is “fast becoming the heartland of cycling”. While it may not usurp the sport’s blue ribbon event anytime soon, it’s clear that the Tour de Yorkshire is here to stay.