ixon, 7 Dan Pryor, 8 Luke Whitelock.Replacements: 16 Greg Pleasants-Tate, 17 Aki Seiuli, 18 Siosiua | Forum
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Dec 3 '19
NAPLES, Italy -- British standout Mark Cavendish won the opening stage of the Giro dItalia in a sprint Saturday that was marred by a crash shortly before the finish. Wholesale Nike Air Max From China . The main pack was split into two groups when riders went down with less than two kilometres to go in the 130-kilometre leg and less than a dozen riders were left in front to contest the sprint. Cavendish, who rides for the Omega Pharma-Quick Step team, finished in two hours 58 minutes 38 seconds on the circuit in downtown Naples, which featured a long, flat finishing straight. The Isle of Man rider has now won a combined 37 stages at the Giro, Tour and Vuelta -- cyclings three Grand Tours. Defending champion Ryder Hesjedal of Victoria, and other overall favourites Bradley Wiggins and Vincenzo Nibali, finished safely in the main pack. All of the riders who finished in the main pack were given the same time as the winner courtesy of the neutralizing rule for crashes in the final kilometres. Elia Viviani, an Italian with Cannondale, crossed second, and Nacer Bouhanni, a Frenchman with FDJ, was third. It was the 11th Giro stage win of Cavendishs career and his 98th victory overall. Hell wear the overall leaders pink jersey in Sundays second stage, a team time trial on the nearby island of Ischia. With time bonuses of 20, 12 and eight seconds handed out to the top three finishers, Cavendish took an eight-second lead on Viviani in the overall standings. It will mark the fourth time Cavendish wears the pink jersey. He wore it for two days in 2009 when his former team Columbia won the opening team time trial and for one day in 2011 after a stage win. "Ive worn it before at the start but that was thanks to my team," Cavendish said. "I really wanted to win this here in Napoli. ... Now I want to go for a pizza." Cavendish didnt have any teammates helping him in the finish but he used the crosswind to good effect and burst in front just before the line. "Im lucky I have the speed to be able to come like that in the final," he said The course featured two mild climbs in the Posillipo neighbourhood and several loops down the finishing straight alongside the bay. On a warm spring day, fans came out en masse to watch the race. Some even brought their dogs, one of which nearly tripped up some riders on a sharp corner after slipping under a barrier lining the road. With the roads narrow in areas and stretches of cobblestones, there were several crashes. Among those who hit the asphalt early on were Laurent Pichon of France, Matteo Rabottini of Italy and Miguel Minguez Ayala of Spain. Italians Mattia Gavazzi and Davide Apollonio, plus Belgian Klaas Lodewyck, were involved in the crash near the end that split the group, although they appeared to escape serious injury. "Some guys took me with them and I crashed into the barriers," Lodewyck said. Cavendish attributed the crashes to hairpin turns after long, wide straightaways. "Circuit races always have crashes but its nice to have circuit races for the fans," Cavendish said. "This is probably the most chaotic city Ive been to so to clear the traffic from the city centre Ive really got to take my hat off to the organizers." There were a couple of groups of early breakaway riders and the last man caught by the main pack was Cameron Wurf, an Australian with Cannondale, with about 20 kilometres to go. Cavendishs Omega team led the chase. Sundays team time trial from Ischia to Forio lasts 17.4 kilometres. While Omega is without its time trial specialist Tony Martin, Cavendish is hoping for a solid performance. "Were going to do everything we can to keep it," he said of the pink jersey. The race ends May 26 in Brescia. Cheap Nike Air Max Outlet . -- Its been a long road back for Sean Bergenheim. Discount Nike Air Max Wholesale . The giant slalom world champion slipped during her first run in the morning, landing on her back and then twisting forward before getting her leg caught in the protective material on the side of the slope. https://www.wholesalenikeairmaxshoes.com/ . The quest begins with what is supposed to be an easy one, although Germany has traditionally been a stubborn opponent to Canadian teams at international tournaments.New Zealand wing Waisake Naholo will make his return after more than two months out with a broken leg when the Highlanders face the Chiefs on Saturday, live on Sky Sports 2 HD. Naholo broke his right leg in the Super Rugby champions opening round loss to the Blues on February 26.The 24-year-old broke the same leg last year, which had threatened to scupper his World Cup chances, though he sought traditional treatment in his native Fiji and made Steve Hansens squad for the tournament in England. Hell be all go, said Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph. It has increased the morale of our team, having one of our All Blacks back to play. You only have to watch his game to see what he can bring to a team.What he did last year was set the competition alight. We certainly dont expect that for a few games.I think hes like every player, we just expect them to do their own job. Everyones got a role to do and if he does that well, thats all were expecting. Sean Fitzpatrick picks out the biggest and hardest hits from round 10 of Super Rugby Naholo, who played club rugby in Dunedin last week and scored three tries, will replace Jack Wilson on the right wing for the match at Waikato Stadium.Inside centre Rob Thompson has been ruled out with concussion, with utility back Matt Faddes, who has played wing and full-back this season, moving to centre.All Blacks centre Malakai Fekitoa, who outtshone Wallabies counterpart Tevita Kuridrani in Canberra last week in the victory over the Brumbies, will wear the No 12 jersey. Nike Air Max Sale. The Chiefs make two changes to the team that beat the Sharks last weekend, the influential Charlie Ngatai and wing James Lowe both returning from injury. Check out the best tries from round 10 of Super Rugby Chiefs: 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Toni Pulu, 13 Seta Tamanivalu, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 James Lowe, 10 Aaron Cruden (co-captain), 9 Brad Weber; 1 Mitchell Graham, 2 Hika Elliot, 3 Hiroshi Yamashita, 4 Dominic Bird, 5 Brodie Retallick, 6 Taleni Seu, 7 Sam Cane (co-captain), 8 Michael Leitch.Replacements: 16 Nathan Harris, 17 Siate Tokolahi, 18 Kane Hames, 19 Michael Allardice, 20 Maama Vaipulu, 21 Kayne Hammington, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Sam Vaka.Highlanders: 15 Ben Smith (c), 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Matt Faddes, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Patrick Osborne, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Aaron Smith; 1 Daniel Lienert-Brown, 2 Ash Dixon, 3 Josh Hohneck, 4 Alex Ainley, 5 Tom Franklin, 6 Elliot Dixon, 7 Dan Pryor, 8 Luke Whitelock.Replacements: 16 Greg Pleasants-Tate, 17 Aki Seiuli, 18 Siosiua Halanukonuka, 19 James Lentjes, 20 Gareth Evans, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Marty Banks, 23 Teihorangi Walden.Watch Chiefs v Highlanders live on Sky Sports 2 HD on Saturday from 8.30am. Catch all of Saturdays Super Rugby and PRO12 action for £6.99 with a NOW TV day pass. ' ' '
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