OYONNAX, France -- French rider Tony Gallopin led a late breakaway in a show of opportunism and savvy racing to win Wednesdays 11th stage of the Tour de France
as Italys Vincenzo Nibali retained the overall lead.
Alyssa Naeher Jersey . The peloton returned to action after the races first rest day with the 187.5-kilometre (116.3-mile)
ride from Besancon to Oyonnax, not far from the Swiss border. The stage featured
four small- to medium-sized hills near the end. In the stages mini-drama,
American Andrew Talansky, struggling through pain from crashes earlier in the
race, dropped out of the pack and rode solo much of the day. In a show of grit,
he finished some 32 minutes back -- enough to qualify to ride another day under
race rules. Gallopin, who wore the yellow jersey for a day before Nibali
recaptured it, first tried to break away with about 13 1/2 kilometres (8.4
miles) left but got reeled in. Then, in a late flurry, with less than 3
kilometres to go, the Lotto-Belisol rider tried again. This time, it worked. He
chiseled out a lead of several seconds and, desperately pedaling, held off a
surging pack in the final several hundred meters. Gallopin won by several bike
lengths, just enough for him to have time to lift his arms in celebration,
panting. "Incredible," said Gallopin of his first Tour stage win. "I came to
train for the Tour de France here ... that really served me today. "Its really a
victory that feels good." The top standings didnt change, because Nibali
finished in the pack with the same time as Gallopin. Astana team leader Nibali
has a lead of 2 minutes, 23 seconds over Australias Richie Porte, in second.
Alejandro Valverde of Spain was third, another 24 seconds back. Gallopin was in
fifth, 3:12 behind Nibali. With such a margin and the strong form he has shown
so far, Nibali is looking well-positioned for possible victory when the race
ends in Paris on July 27. But tough days lie ahead: in the Alps later this week,
and the Pyrenees mountains in Week Three. Talansky, in pain after two crashes
twice in recent days, dropped back from the peloton more than halfway through
the stage. At one point, he stopped and sat down on a roadside guard rail.
French TV first counted him out, as did some observers on Twitter. But in a show
of heart, and with encouragement from his team sports director Robert Hunter,
Talansky got back on his bike, wiped his eyes and continued. Now he was racing
against the clock. Under race rules, which require riders to finish within a
certain time of the stage winner, he had to finish within 37 minutes of
Gallopin. Talansky did that with about five minutes to spare, said Jean-Francois
Pescheux, a top race official. The Garmin-Sharp team leader, who won the
Criterium du Dauphine stage race last month, was seen as a potential podium
contender before this Tour. But Talansky fell largely out of contention for that
prospect in Stage 10, when he had the second of two crashes in this race. As
Wednesdays stage began, he was nearly 15 minutes back of Nibali in 26th place.
Riders head off on another day featuring four small- to mid-sized climbs on
Thursday, with a 185.5-kilometre (115-mile) 12th stage from Bourg-en-Bresse to
Saint-Etienne.
Womens USA Soccer Jersey . -- Having already fallen behind because of the NFL lockout, Blaine Gabbert couldnt afford a
lengthy holdout.
Megan Rapinoe Jersey .com) - Whew! North Dakota States reign as the three-time FCS national champion was pushed to the
limit by South Dakota State on Saturday, but freshman R.Rangana Herath
registered his second five-wicket haul in as many days as Sri Lanka closed in on
victory in the second Test against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club on Wednesday.
Herath followed up his five-wicket haul in the first innings with 5-45 in the
second as Zimbabwe, set 491 to win, went to stumps on the fourth evening on
180-7.The feat not only took Herath to 50 wickets in the calendar year - in just
his eighth Test - but also gave him the seventh 10-wicket match haul in his
career.The tourists began the fourth day on 102-4 in their second innings, with
an overall lead of 334, and spent the first half of the day extending that
aadvantage.
Rose Lavelle Soccer Jersey. With Dimuth Karunaratne anchoring the innings with a patient 88 and Kusal Perera adding a
quickfire 62 towards the end, Sri Lanka were able to declare their second
innings on 258-9 to set Zimbabwe 491 to win.Left with 136 overs to bat in order
to save the match, Zimbabwe were soon reduced to 39-3 before a 74-run stand for
the fourth wicket between Sean Williams and Craig Ervine briefly revived
them.Once Williams edged to slip off Lahiru Kumara to fall for 45, Sri Lanka
were able to chip away at the middle order and move within three wickets of a
2-0 series sweep.Ervine reached stumps unbeaten on 65, with Donald Tiripano for
company.
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