ARGELES-GAZOST, France -- Vincenzo Nibali crushed everyone on the last mountain leg of the Tour de France on Thursday, all but ensuring he will be crowned
champion when the race ends in Paris in three days.
Chargers
Hoodie . On the big, final climb of Stage 18, the Italian broke out of the
peloton, chased down breakaway riders, and rode solo in front for the last eight
kilometres (five miles) uphill. Nibali, who captured his fourth stage of the
Tour, stuck out his tongue, tapped his chest, and raised a fist skyward as he
finished the 145.5-kilometre (90-mile) leg more than a minute ahead of Thibaut
Pinot of France, who was second. Rafal Majka of Poland, in third, was another
two seconds back. The remarkable effort by Nibali, set to become the first
Italian to win the Tour since Marco Pantani in 1998, essentially reduced the
race drama to who will join him on the podium on the Champs-Elysees on Sunday.
"I didnt want to lose command. My goal was to win here," Nibali said. "It was
important to me to win another stage in the Pyrenees. The team worked really
hard and this victory is for them." He is also set to become only the sixth
rider to win all three Grand Tours of France, Italy and Spain. He won the 2013
Italian Giro and the 2010 Spanish Vuelta. One man basking at the finish line was
Alexandre Vinokourov, the general manager of Nibalis Astana team, and a former
rider who was expelled from the 2007 Tour for blood doping. He said the stage
victory was "not by chance." "We said, we need to show that theres a boss,"
Vinokourov told French TV. The last time the term "boss" was used regularly at
the Tour was when a doped-up Lance Armstrong won seven in a row. While three
stages are left, Fridays is mostly flat and unlikely to allow a breakaway rider
to gain time. The last real challenge will be Saturdays individual time trial,
but Nibalis lead is so big -- 7 minutes, 10 seconds ahead of Pinot, and 7:23
ahead of Frances Jean-Christophe Peraud -- that it would take a disaster for him
to lose the yellow jersey before Sunday. "It was a very good day," said Pinot,
who rose a spot from third, "but Nibali is untouchable." The race for second
heated up: Alejandro Valverde of Spain lost crucial seconds on the last climb
and fell from second overall to fourth, two seconds slower than Peraud. But
Valverde is considered a stronger time-trial rider than Pinot, and possibly
Peraud. "Everything is possible," Valverde said. "Before, I was ahead, now Im
behind, but its very tight. Im pretty happy." After setting off from Pau, riders
tackled the famed Tourmalet pass -- the highest Pyrenean peak on this Tour --
before heading up to Hautacam ski station. Both climbs are among the toughest in
professional cycling. Two breakaway riders, Mikel Nieve of Spain and Blel Kadri,
a Frenchman who won Stage 8, were the first over Tourmalet more than 4 1/2
minutes ahead. But by the valley below, the duo had lost two minutes: Nibalis
chasing bunch was gaining. That was partly because Valverdes Movistar squad
bolted ahead in a challenge to Nibali. The Italian didnt let that last long, and
Valverde was caught within a few minutes. By the foot of Hautacam, the main
contenders were bunched together. Then, American Chris Horner, who beat
second-place Nibali in the Vuelta last year, broke away. Nibali stayed with him,
and then, rounding a curve and looking back for the peloton, burst ahead. Nibali
said later he had memories of Horners Vuelta victory in mind. That said, Horner
was little threat for the Tour title: He was about 35 minutes behind when the
stage began. On the way up, Nibalis shoulder whacked the outstretched elbow of a
woman speaking on a mobile phone on the side of road, with her back to the
peloton. He winced briefly. "Happily, it wasnt serious for her or me," Nibali
said. Stage 19 on Friday in southwestern France will likely end in a sprint
finish, and Nibali and his Astana teammates will keep a close watch on the
riders closest to him in the general classification. They are no longer rivals,
nor challengers.
Dan
Fouts Jersey . Still, its a start. Josh Baileys goal with 1:40 left capped
a furious third-period rally, and the Islanders edged the Penguins 4-3 on Friday
night.
Antonio
Gates Jersey . Kansas City became the first team in baseball history to
win four extra-inning games in a single postseason on Friday, as Alex Gordon
crushed a leadoff homer in the 10th and Mike Moustakas added the deciding
two-run blast in the Royals 8-6 win.
http://www.chargersprofansshop.com/Black-Doug-Flutie-Chargers-Jersey.html?cat=888 . Blown save in the ninth inning? No problem.TAMPA, Fla. -- Yasuhito Endo,
Shinji Kagawa and Yoichiro Kakitani scored second-half goals Monday to help
Japan warm up for its World Cup appearance with a 3-1 victory over Costa Rica.
After Bryan Ruiz scored for Costa Rica in the 31st minute, Japan failed to take
advantage of several opportunities before breaking through when Endo scored in
the 60th. Kagawa put Japan ahead in the 80th minute, and Kakitani added his goal
in injury time before a crowd of 7,106 at Raymond James Stadium. The teams have
one more warm-up match in the United States, with Japan facing Zambia in Tampa
and Costa Rica meeting Ireland in Philadelphia on Friday. Both teams open their
World Cup campaigns on Junee 14.
Custom Chargers
Jerseys. Japan, preparing for its fifth straight World Cup, will open
against Ivory Coast in Group C, while Costa Rica meets Uruguay in Group D. Four
years ago, Japan beat Cameroon and Denmark before losing on penalties to
Paraguay in the knockout stage of the World Cup. In addition to facing Uruguay,
Japan will play Colombia and Greece in the group stage. Italy and England
complete the group that includes Costa Rica and Uruguay. Costa Rica opened the
scoring when Ruiz scored off a pinpoint cross from Junior Diaz. Costa Rica --
headed to the World Cup for the fourth time -- was unable to put much pressure
on Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima after Ruizs goal.
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