SHEFFIELD, England -- Italys Vincenzo Nibali displayed his riding smarts at the Tour de France, winning Stage 2 on Sunday and taking the yellow jersey after a well-choreographed attack on rivals in the postindustrial English city known for "The Full Monty.
[b]Air Force 1 Green Sale[/b] ." The Astana team leader nicknamed "The Shark" for his road savvy took the final lead in a cycling dance of sorts with other title hopefuls, who took turns in front in the last stretch through a sea of fans from York to Sheffield. Nibali perhaps had more at stake: The 29-year-old rider has won the Italian Giro and Spains Vuelta, but has never captured cyclings showcase event. The victory on Sunday gave him both his first Tour stage win and yellow jersey, and sent a message that he could contend to take it home from Paris in three weeks. With less than two kilometres left, Nibali escaped a 21-man breakaway bunch at the end of the 201-kilometre course over nine heath-covered hills of Yorkshire, and held off their late surge. England is hosting the first three Tour stages this year. GERMAN LOSES YELLOW JERSEY Marcel Kittel, a powerful German sprinter who often struggles on climbs, trailed nearly 20 minutes back and lost the yellow jersey that he had captured by winning Stage 1. While the Italian won the fight to the line, under the shadow of a black Sheffield Forgemasters tower, defending champion Chris Froome of Britain and two-time winner Alberto Contador of Spain are focusing more on the overall race -- which ends July 27 on Paris Champs-Elysees. Overall, Nibali leads 20 other riders by two seconds, including Froome in fifth place and Contador in eighth. A six-man breakaway bunch tried its chances early, but got swallowed up by the pack with less than 40 kilometres left. Then, the big race stars moved to the front, splitting the pack. Contador, Froome, and Americans Andrew Talansky and Tejay van Garderen all spent time at the front. At times, they mustered bursts of speed or zipped across with width of the road in tactical manoeuvrs. "In the finale, a lot of contenders were making moves: Nibali ended up taking two seconds on us," Froome said. "Its not a big margin. For me, it was about staying out of trouble to stay at the front, and avoiding any major issues or splits. "Im tired, but I hope everyones tired after a day like today." TIME TO WORK, ASTANA Dave Brailsford, boss of Froomes Team Sky, said the leaders actually "were all hesitant, because nobody wanted the jersey." In the cycling playbook, the yellow shirt brings both glory and responsibility. Brailsford said: "Astana will have to now defend it, which is pretty good for anybody else. "Perfect. Theyve got to work." Nibali didnt dare claim he might keep it all the way to Paris, saying "the Tour de France doesnt stop here: We have three weeks to go, and very tough and tricky stages lie ahead." Mondays stage should be a far less grueling ride: Riders cover 155 kilometres from Cambridge to London, where the pack will finish on the Mall not far from Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. CROWDS FOR A CLASSIC STAGE The course Sunday resembled that of historic one-day races known as "classics," which often feature hilly terrain. Michael Rodgers, an Australian on Contadors Tinkoff-Saxo Bank team, called it "a bit of a special stage, like the Amstel Gold Race, but with 20 times the people." New roads for cyclings greatest race also mean new audiences, some of whom are so enthusiastic and eager for a selfie with the pack that they might not realize the hazards of getting too close to the riders as they go by. Untold thousands turned out just hours after one of the biggest British stars in the race, Mark Cavendish, dropped out because of pain from a separated right shoulder sustained in a crash Saturday. "There are thousands and thousands of people. Its great but its also dangerous," Contador said. Race officials say millions of fans have flooded the course route in just the first two stages. While Yorkshire doesnt have ascents on a par with the Alps or Pyrenees in France, riders faced nine low- to mid-grade climbs. The hardest was the Holme Moss pass. The steepest was also the shortest: The 800-meter Jenkin Road pass had an average gradient of 10.8 per cent. Several riders crashed. Simon Gerrans, who went down with Cavendish in Saturdays stage, also spilled -- as did van Garderen and Joachim Rodriguez, the third-place finisher in the 2013 Tour. All recovered to finish the stage. On the up-and-down, picturesque course, the 197-rider peloton scaled a narrow, cobblestone hill in Haworth, where the Bronte sisters -- the famed 19th-century novelists -- lived when their father was parson in the town.
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[b]Air Force 1 Red Cheap[/b] . Never caused problems. Never raised a ruckus. Never got sick or hurt while frolicking in the fields of Claiborne Farm in Paris, Ky.As a deadlock in CFL labour negotiations stretched through this past week and so much rhetoric and brinkmanship made a work stoppage seem unavoidable, it was surprising when sources confirmed to TSN that progress in talks between the CFL and the Players Associations were moving quickly Friday and into Saturday. Neither side would publicly confirm or deny any discussions were taking place, until the near unexpected happened. On Saturday night sources confirmed to TSN, the league and players agreed to terms on a new, tentative CBA, pending ratification by the unions players. A league source confirmed the CFLs board of governors must also ratify any potential agreement. Neither side would confirm specific details of the tentative deal, but sources confirmed constructive movement toward a deal started Friday. After TSN Insider Dave Naylor confirmed earlier in the week that players on seven of the leagues nine teams had voted in favour of strike action, and with strike votes set to take place in Calgary and Edmonton Saturday, sources told TSN “back door” discussions through an appointed mediator began Friday morning. Ideas and proposals were passed back and forth without acrimony and without talks breaking down. By Friday night, during a Players Association conference call, a tentative deal began to take shape. The league would hold firm on a $5 million salary cap (2013s salary cap was set at $4.4 million) increasing $50,000 a season, and would not budge on its threshold to renegotiate the salary cap in the third year of a new CBA, set at an aggregate revenue increase of $27 million from the previous year. But the ratification bonus to players would increase to $7,5000 for veterans and $1,500 for rookies.
[b]Air Force 1 White Store Sale[/b]. . And with the union possibly controlling the disbursement of the bonus, and setting a scale for veterans, a six-year CFL veteran could potentially earn $12,000 if the CBA is ratified. The league minimum salary would also rise to $50,000, from $45,000 in 2013. A significant non-financial element also possibly included was the elimination of the option contract year for non-rookies. Sources said the term of the new CBA could be set at either four years, five years or five years plus an option to extend into a sixth season. The current CBA expired May 29, the same day talks broke down after the union countered a league proposal, which included a $5 million cap and $27 million threshold, with a $5.8 million cap and $12 million threshold to renegotiate the cap. The league also rejected another offer from the players earlier this week, which included $5.2 million cap and $18 million threshold. New, positive labour discussions continued into Saturday afternoon before a scheduled conference call between union executives and team representatives. A source close to the discussions said he felt “confident” a tentative deal would be reached by the end of the day, although conceded the debate amongst the players would be “vigorous.” After a four-hour call, the union agreed to take the deal to its players. A league source confirmed the board of governors ratification vote will take place “as soon as possible.” In a joint statement the league and Players Association emphasized: “Further details [about the agreement] will not be made public until these votes have taken place.” ' ' '
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