Schwarzesbrett » one of a dozen England players at Tottenham during Red

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." 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. Balenciaga Shoes Sale . Bjoerndalen, who had failed to win any major race for two years before Sochi, writes in a Facebook entry that he is "full of energy and inspiration" after winning the 10-kilometre sprint and mixed relay at last months Olympics. Fake Balenciaga For Sale .Y. -- Major League Soccer has agreed to new measures to protect gay players from discrimination and harassment as a result of meetings with New Yorks attorney general. https://www.fakebalenciaga.com/ .com) - American Madison Keys grabbed a first- round victory on Sunday in a rainy start to the Apia International Sydney tournament. Fake Balenciaga From China . Mark Van Guilder, Austin Watson and Colton Sissons also scored for the Admirals (22-13-10), who are 2-0-2 in their last four outings, while Roussel tacked on an assist for a two-point night. Greg Pateryn scored once for the Bulldogs (20-22-4), who lost their fifth straight contest, and also assisted on Gabriel Dumonts goal. Fake Balenciaga 2020 .S.-Portugal game on June 22 in the Amazonian jungle city of Manaus. FIFPro, the international soccer players union, had pressed FIFA to avoid the earliest kickoffs in the hottest and most humid weather.TORONTO - While England seems destined for "massive change" in the wake of its failed World Cup campaign, Jermain Defoe says he can still contribute goals to the national cause. "Ill never turn my back on my country," the Toronto FC striker told reporters after training Wednesday. "Like I mentioned before I still feel like Ive got a lot to offer. If I didnt feel that way, Id say theres no point because youre not doing anyone any favours if youre sort of like being selfish (and) you havent got much to offer. "But I still feel strong, I feel sharp. So hopefully at some point Ill get called up (again). How I feel at the minute, Im still ready to play and score goals for my country." The 31-year-old Defoe, who has 19 goals in 55 appearances for his country, was named to Englands 30-man World Cup roster but did not make the final 23. At the time, he said he was devastated by the snub. England (0-2-1) finished last in Group D behind Costa Rica, Uruguay and Italy, managing to score just two goals. "Spain are out, Italy are out," Defoe said. "Some big nations are out but obviously it would have been nice to see (England) progress to the later stage of the tournament. But it wasnt meant to be. A lot of young players, they still have opportunities again to play in tournaments and Im sure theyll do well. But this year it wasnt meant to be. It was a tough group." England captain Steven Gerrard and vice-captain Frank Lampard have said they will take some time to ponder their international future. Veteran fullback Ashley Cole opted to retire prior to the tournament. Veteran midfielder Michael Carrick was also left out of the England squad. "I think its a change," Defoe said, "because obviously theres so many young players coming through — good young players. Obviously theyre inexperienced but theyll get experience with games and I suppose thats what the manager wanted to do when he left me out, Michael Carrick, Ashley Cole, hhe wanted to go with the younger players.dddddddddddd. "Hopefully theyll do well but its going to be a massive change ... but well see what happens." Meanwhile, Defoe said he did not take offence at former manager Harry Redknapp saying some of his England players at Spurs had tried to shirk national team duty. Current England manager Roy Hodgson and Gerrard both said Defoe should not be tarred with that brush. "Its difficult for me (to react) because Im not one those players," said Defoe. "Ive never missed a squad and obviously I dont know who those players are. At the end of the day, when youre playing for your country, its the greatest honour ... I always turned out for my country, even if I was half fit." Gerrard urged Redknapp to name names but the veteran manager, who now runs Queens Park Rangers, said it would not be fair to the players in question. Defoe was one of a dozen England players at Tottenham during Redknapps tenure. Toronto manager Ryan Nelsen, a former New Zealand international who played under Redknapp, said he thought the comments might have been taken somewhat out of context. Nelsen, who captained the All Whites, said he would be outraged if anyone suggested he didnt love playing for his country. But he said theres give and take when it comes to club versus country, acknowledging he had asked not to be picked for some friendlies when they were largely commercial ventures on the other side of the globe and they bumped heads with major club clashes. While he had hoped to be playing in Brazil, Defoe welcomed the MLS break during the group stage of the World Cup. Toronto gave its players eight days off following the 1-0 win over San Jose on June 7. Still he admitted to having "itchy feet," wanting to get back to playing. Toronto (6-4-1) returns to action Friday in New York against the Red Bulls (4-5-6). Nelsens only injury concerns are winger Daniel Lovitz (concussion) and Brazilian striker Gilberto (hip flexor). ' ' '