m his neck was secure, however, Manning said he quickly shif

[blueberryjerry]

NIMES, France -- Almost at the line, Jack Bauer and Martin Elmiger were exhausted but could see it coming -- their first Tour de France stage victory. . Those last 50 metres, however, got in the way. A bunch of sprinters leading the pack came speeding like a runaway train and plowed past the huffing breakaway duo in the final milliseconds. Stage 15 belonged to Norwegian speedster Alexander Kristoff, his second stage victory in this Tour. The 138-mile (222-kilometre) stage went smoothly for overall leader Vincenzo Nibali of Italy. He made sure his main rivals couldnt claw back any time, and he kept his yellow jersey by finishing in the trailing pack. After two days in the Alps, Sundays stage offered some relief over a flat course from Tallard, southeast Frances parachuting capital, toward Nimes, known for its Roman arena and bullfighting. More relief comes Monday -- a second rest day. This ride showed yet again on the Tour how mighty efforts so often go unrewarded. Bauer is a New Zealander who had a better shot of holding off the sprinters than Swiss champion Elmiger. Bauer dropped his bike after the finish line, sat on the ground and cupped his face in his hands, crying. They had led nearly from the starters gun. "Its a fantasy for any cyclist to win a stage at the Tour and especially for a Kiwi cyclist, not many of us turn professional and not many of us get a chance to start the Tour de France," Bauer said. The 29-year-old rider came to the Tour to help Garmin-Sharp leader Andrew Talansky, who dropped out before Stage 12 because of injuries from an earlier crash. The pack perfectly timed its move on the breakaway duo and proved too strong. Bauer was pedaling with his last remaining strength, and when he looked back a last time they were already zooming by. He finished in 10th place, with Elmiger 16th. "I really gave it absolutely everything, and as you can see from my meltdown at the finish I was pretty disappointed to come away empty-handed," Bauer added, noting hes usually a support rider. "I thought I had it, but then I realized in the last 50 metres that I had nothing." The Swiss rider with IAM Cycling took it more in stride. This, after all, wasnt the first breakaway to fail in this Tour. "I am not disappointed because I actually did not have the best legs today," Elmiger said. "Being caught by the pack is not so bad when you are convinced you have given everything. As I have already said three times this Tour after breaks have failed, one of these days the wheels will turn in my favour." Kristoff, a Katusha rider who also won Stage 12, sighed in relief. "It was a little bit late for comfort. It was very close," he said. "I thought I would be second. ... We turned on the gas." "Of course, thats a pity for them, but I dont feel sorry for them," he said. "Normally, the break should never have had a chance, but they did. They were really strong guys. ... That must have been really hard." With about 12 miles (20 kilometres) left, rain briefly doused the riders, though skies brightened by the end. A series of roundabouts and leg fatigue among the sprinters after the Alpine stages gave an advantage to the breakaway pair until the final seconds. Nibali kept his main rivals for the Tour title at bay. He leads Spains Alejandro Valverde by 4:37 while Romain Bardet of France is third, 4:50 behind. American Tejay van Garderen is fifth, 5:49 back. Nibali, the leader of Kazakh team Astana, is in good shape to take the yellow jersey when the three-week race ends next Sunday in Paris. Some of his closest rivals have already said the race is now for second place. The Italian has shown savvy -- gaining time on cobblestone patches in Stage 2 -- and nearly insurmountable dominance on high climbs. He won Stage 13s entree into the Alps and was second a day later, also in the snow-capped mountains. On Sunday, Nibali showed he wasnt leaving any chances to his rivals. With about 39 miles (65 kilometres) left, he sped out of the pack and briefly took the lead. "At that moment, there was a lot of side wind," he said. "I really didnt want to miss the good opportunity and try to move up into position ... because when theres wind, you have to be at the front." More grueling climbs loom in the Pyrenees this week before the only individual time trial of this Tour on Saturday. .com) - Troy Brouwer scored the game-winning goal with just 12. . - Zac Leslie scored two goals and assisted on two more, and Justin Nichols made 34 saves as the Guelph Storm blanked the Kitchener Rangers 6-0 in Ontario Hockey League action on Sunday. .ca. Hi Kerry, Love reading your column and loved watching your analysis on the TSN broadcasts!And were now in Round 2! Bruins! Canadiens! We know all about the great games of the past from the players, the broadcasters and the writers. ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Sixty touchdown passes. Fifteen wins. A fifth MVP trophy. Peyton Manning is more productive than hes ever been, and whether hes deciphering defences at the line of scrimmage on game day or on his iPad during the week, his love for the game hasnt waned. The final piece of evidence that Manning is as good as ever came Monday. As expected, Manning passed the exam on his surgically repaired neck that was required by his contract with the Broncos that will pay him $20 million next season, according to a person with knowledge of the results. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday because results of medical checkups typically arent announced. Manning has said that if doctors tell him hes at risk physically, hed have no problem calling it a career. After his four neck procedures, including a spinal fusion that sidelined him for all of 2011 and eventually led to his release from Indianapolis, Manning has said he has steeled himself for that possibility. At the Super Bowl last month, he talked about how his older brother, Cooper, had to give up football after neck surgeries in high school and college, and how that had a big impact on his life. "I remember at the time, when Cooper got injured, they did a test on me and Eli. I would have been a junior in high school and Eli would have been a sixth-grader, or something. They said our necks werent picture perfect and didnt look ideal, but theyre stable enough to keep playing football. Cooper had to give up playing football. In some ways, when I had my neck problems, I thought maybe I had been on borrowed time this entire time," Manning said. "I was fortunate to have 20 years of health to play football. If that was going to be the end of it because of a neck injury, I really, believe it or not, had a peace about it. . " Once doctors told him his neck was secure, however, Manning said he quickly shifted his focus to seeing if he could strengthen his weakened throwing arm to the point where he could be productive again. After the Colts released him, Manning signed a five-year, $96 million deal in Denver, where hes thrown for 100 TDs, including the playoffs, while going 28-7 with two AFC titles. Manning won his fifth MVP award in 2013, when he set single-season records by passing for 5,547 yards and 55 TDs while guiding the Broncos, the highest-scoring team in NFL history, to their first Super Bowl in 15 seasons. Manning, who will be 38 next season, said during Super Bowl week that he had no intention of retiring after the Super Bowl. Although Mannings plans for 2014 became a big story line in the playoffs, the Broncos front office had proceeded as though their quarterback would be returning for another run at a title. Although his deal with Denver requires him to pass a physical every spring to make sure his neck is OK, if there were any concerns about his neck, he wouldnt have started all 16 games, plus three more in the playoffs. Not only is Manning still performing at his peak level, he said he still enjoys everything that goes into getting ready to play on game days and "when you still enjoy the preparation, I think you probably still ought to be doing that," he said at the Super Bowl. He passed his required exit physical that all players take in the days following the Broncos Super Bowl loss to Seattle. He then played in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament just days later, another indication that his neck is fine. ' ' '

[Neel]

nfl wholesale china Don you hate it when you riding your mountain bike along a dirt path in South Africa and an antelope comes out of nowhere and plows into you? I know I do. And I imagine Austrian cyclist Robert Mennen hates it also.
On Monday, during the first stage of South Africa Cape Epic race, a seven stage 435 mile mountain biking event, Mennen was riding along, minding his own business, when one of those pesky South African springboks suddenly ran out of the bush and into his path. Mennen collided with the animal at 37 mph and flipped over, breaking the handlebars and, perhaps, his collarbone.
As a result of this run in, Mennen had to withdraw from the race. But as you could tell from that interview, he was in pretty good spirits. And why shouldn he be? Riding his bike in the South African wilderness, things could have been much worse. He could have hit a buffalo or been attacked by a lion. Something like that.

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