6 sporting events to watch this summer

The Rugby and Football seasons may be over, but there is plenty to look forward to this summer. With blockbuster sport around every corner, here are some of the highlights you just cannot miss:

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL: 6th JUNE

With Spain holding its breath in anticipation of an El Classico Champions League Final, Italian Serie A Champions Juventus spoilt the party. But a showdown in Berlin’s Olympiastadion with the attacking verve of an exciting Barcelona side is not a bad substitute. Led by the evergreen magician, Andre Pirlo, The Grand Old Lady has proven adept at shutting down their opposition, as Real Madrid discovered in the semi-finals, but Lionel Messi will arrive seeking to feature on a Champions League Final scoresheet for a record third time. It has been almost a decade since Juventus were relegated to the second division amidst a match-fixing scandal, but this could prove to be their redemption.

ROYAL ASCOT: 16th – 20th JUNE

Royal Ascot has been a highlight of the summer calendar for centuries – and rightly so. The meeting is Britain’s most valuable, attracting many of the world’s finest racehorses to compete for more than £5.5milllion in prize money. Anticipated and revered, these five days are made for socialising. Long seen as a spectacle of fashion and style, they are referenced the world over – this year will surely be no different.

US OPEN GOLF: 18th – 21st JUNE

Chambers Bay is the destination this year for one of golf’s Majors. With Rory McIlroy in erratic form, Jordan Spieth on the back of his first Major title and a host of talent hunting them down will it be the youthful exuberance of Jason Day or Rickie Fowler, or the hardened experience of Mickleson or Rose. As always the ghost of Tiger Woods, tabloid fodder in the wake of yet another cheating scandal, lingers over the Tournament, but with an exciting array of golfers on show there is hope that the sport can climb out of his shadow this summer.

WIMBLEDON: 29th JUNE – 12th JULY

With Andy Murray making light work of the French Open there is renewed optimism ahead of this year’s Wimbledon Championships. Thwarted three times in 2015 by Novak Djokovic he will hope home advantage comes to the fore, but should have confidence from his dispatch of Rafael Nadal in Madrid. Meanwhile Roger Federer, in the twilight of his career at 33-years-old, had a poor 3rd round exit at the Australian Open and there is speculation of this Wimbledon becoming his swan song. With Laura Robson still recovering from her latest injury bout the weight of British expectation falls upon the shoulders of Heather Watson, ranked 45th, who bowed out of the French Open on Friday.

TOUR DE FRANCE: 4th – 26th JULY

With Sir Bradley retiring from racing and Mark Cavendish in the twilight of his career all eyes are on Chris Froome as he targets a historic second Tour de France crown. As sporting tests come there are few more gruelling than three weeks traversing France, scaling the Alpes and Pyrenees before the final sprint through Paris. With no more distractions can the Kenyan-born climber safely navigate the Tour’s notoriously crash-prone early stages and triumph on the Champs Elysees? And does Cavendish still have what it takes to win at the top?

THE ASHES: 8th JULY – 24th AUGUST

After a woeful World Cup, the resignation of Head Coach Peter Moores and the Kevin Pietersen soap opera, England Cricket fans were relieved to see a spirited response in defeat of New Zealand in the first test of that series. But the real heat will come in July and August as we take on the Aussies in this 5-test epic. With any luck we will have a repeat of the 2005 classic in which a ferocious pace and nail-biting tests whipped up public a media storm and turned our cricketers into national heroes. Can England find their way back to the pinnacle of the sport once more, or will it be a bloodbath?

By Dan Cater