07-31-2019, 12:59 AM
BELFAST -- Marcel Kittel sprinted to victory in a wet second stage of the Giro dItalia on Saturday as Michael Matthews took the overall leaders pink jersey from Orica-GreenEdge teammate Svein Tuft of Langley, B.C. Kittel timed his move to perfection, with 200 metres remaining, to edge out Nacer Bouhanni and Giacomo Nizzolo in a bunch sprint at the end of the 218-kilometre (135-mile) leg, which started and ended in Belfast. The German cyclist clocked more than five hours to claim his first Giro stage win on the day before his 26th birthday. "Honestly, it was not so easy today to stay in front with the team, I lost them a few times," Kittel said. "It was a very hard day with all the rain, and the boys did an amazing job. "The weather was very Irish I guess, and youre cold if you ride five hours in the rain. "I was really overwhelmed by all the people on the roads, it was really a big party despite the weather. Im super happy and proud about this win, its really something to have a win in each of the three Grand Tours." Matthews finished three seconds ahead of his Orica teammates and was hoping to still be wearing the maglia rosa when the Giro moves into Italy. "I didnt expect it, its truly an honour to be wearing this jersey," Matthews said. "We had a great team time trial yesterday and we decided to give it to Svein for his birthday. To take it today is truly something amazing. "Ill try to keep it as long as I can, hopefully until at least stage six or seven. Theres a few guys who are close to me. Its truly a massive thing for the team and for me as well." Despite the heavy rain, thousands of people lined the route which took in picturesque rock formation, the Giants Causeway, as it wound down the coast. Two Garmin-Sharp cyclists withdrew from the race following a crash in Fridays opening team time trial. Dan Martin will have surgery later Saturday on a broken collarbone. Teammate Koldo Fernandez finished the stage, but tests afterward revealed he had also broken his clavicle. There was an early breakaway of four riders. Jeffry Romero, Maarten Tjallingii, Sander Armee and Andrea Fedi swiftly built a lead of more than six minutes on the peloton, which was led by time trial winner Orica. Tjallingii had a superb stage. Not only did the Dutch cyclist lead for most of the day, but he also powered up both category four climbs to claim the blue King of the Mountains jersey. With the peloton quickly catching the four escapees, Tjallingii made a solo break with eight kilometres to go and briefly looked like holding on until he was caught with little more than three kilometres remaining. Sundays third stage is a 187-kilometre cross-border leg from Armagh to Dublin. Monday is a rest day before the race resumes in southern Italy with a stage ending in Bari. The Giro ends in Trieste on June 1. Dave Casper Youth Jersey . Then Klay Thompson put his foot on the gas. Thompson scored 19 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and Harrison Barnes scored 14 points in his season debut to help the Golden State Warriors to a 106-93 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night. Lester Hayes Jersey . Orlando is to begin play in the MLS for the 2015 season. Kaka, who currently plays with AC Milan, is expected to be loaned out to his home club Sao Paulo for the upcoming season before joining Orlando for next season. http://www.shoptheraidersonline.com/Elit...rsey/.Jeff Green, playing in his second preseason game after missing the first four because of a calf strain, had 18 points. The Celtics (3-3) shot 47.2 per cent from the floor and made 15 of 37 3-point attempts. Johnathan Abram Jersey . The Spanish champions decision not to sign a defender during the January transfer window may have backfired after Valencia took advantage of a lethargic, uninspired effort by its hosts at the Camp Nou, where former Spain coach Luis Aragones -- who previously coached the Catalan side -- was honoured after his death on Saturday. Johnathan Abram Raiders Jersey . Its great to be back for another season in Banditland, and Im looking forward to another competitive season with my teammates, said Tavares.EDMONTON -- Mark Matthews scored the winner in overtime, and added an assist in regulation to lift the Edmonton Rush to their fifth straight victory, 8-7 over the Rochester Knighthawks in National Lacrosse League action on Saturday. Cory Conway and Curtis Knight each scored two goals for Edmonton (5-0), Riley Loewen and Jeff Cornwall had a goal and an assist apiece, and Jeremy Thompson added the other Rush goal. Robert Churcch and Jarrett Davis contributed with three assists apiece.dddddddddddd For Rochester (4-2), Dan Dawson scored two and helped on two more, Cody Jamieson had a goal and two assists, and Stephen Keogh, Johnny Powless, Joel McCready, and Mike Accursi each added singles for the Knighthawks. Edmonton goaltender Aaron Bold made 30 saves for the win, while Rochesters Matt Vinc stopped 42 shots in the losing effort. ' ' '