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ekansekans's blog: "df"

created on 10/29/2012  |  http://fubar.com/df/b351055

LIEGE, Belgium -- Mark Cavendish might be the worlds fastest man on a bicycle, but its hard to see him pedaling to a second consecutive green jersey in three weeks when the Tour de France ends on the Champs-Elysees. Tim Jennings Womens Jersey . The "Manxman Missile," as the sprinter from the Isle of Man has been nicknamed by his fans, is focusing on the Olympic road race -- leaving wide open the battle for the Tours best-sprinter title. The defending world champion, who holds 20 Tour stage victories, has changed his training regimen this season, losing weight and power in order to tackle the nine climbs of Box Hill at the London Olympics on home soil. Using the Tour to hone his condition before London, Cavendish wont have the lead-out train that normally sets him up for the stage finales as his Sky teammates will be working hard to fulfil their team leader Bradley Wiggins ambition of becoming the first British rider to win the Tour. The race starts on Saturday in Liege, Belgium, with a 6.4-kilometre prologue. "I probably wont win as much personally, in stages, but to be part of a team that holds real ambitions of winning the Tour de France overall, its an honour for any bike rider," Cavendish said. But riding alongside Wiggins has its downside, too. Ready to fight tooth-and-nail for the Tour favourite, Sky riders are unlikely to waste energy for Cavendish ahead of intermediate sprints -- which offer points that go toward the green jersey. Changes to the points classifications rules implemented last year see sprint points allocated differently. There is only one intermediate sprint on each stage, with 20 points available to the rider who wins that -- as opposed to six points in previous years when there were more intermediate sprints. "Stage wins arent enough to win it (the green jersey)," Cavendish said. "You have to go for the intermediates. Whether youre going to limit your losses or win them flat out, thats the tactic youve got to go for. I havent got my eyes on green, to be honest, but theres always a chance." Unlike Cavendish, his former teammate at the now-defunct HTC-Team, Matt Goss of Australia, will enjoy the support of a team built around him and featuring lead-out men Sebastian Langeveld, Brett Lancaster and Daryl Impey. A silver medallist at the worlds behind Cavendish, Goss, who won a stage at the Giro this year, joined the Orica-GreenEdge outfit at the end of last season and will be riding his second Tour after being part of Cavendishs sprint train last year. "While we have a lot of goals for Gossy in the Tour, his main objective is clear," said Orica-GreenEdge sports director Matt White. "He is on the hunt for stage wins." "There is a super strong contingent of sprinters here, not just Cavendish," Goss said. "Its important to have such a strong team for the lead out. Because if you dont have the lead out, youre the one thats following. If weve got a strong team we can stay in front of other teams." In the absence of Tom Boonen, the Belgian star who decided to skip the Tour to prioritize the Olympics, other green jersey contenders include Andre Greipel and Marcel Kittel of Germany, Alejandro Valverde of Spain, veteran Alessandro Petacchi of Italy and Peter Sagan of Slovakia. Sagan, considered by many as cyclings new prodigy, has been enjoying a superb start to his professional career, claiming stage wins at the Spanish Vuelta, Paris-Nice, the Tour de Romandie and Tour of Switzerland in the past two years. Competing at his first Tour de France following an impressive tally of nine stage wins posted this spring at the Tour of California and Tour of Switzerland, Sagan has the potential to make an impact on the biggest stage. "Im not scared of anything," said the Liquigas rider. "I think Ive done well this season. I hope that in the Tour Ill do well because its a very important race. In the Tour, there are all the top riders and sprinters here for the green jersey. I want the jersey, but its very difficult to take it in the Tour." Matt Forte Camo Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. Brian Urlacher Womens Jersey . Judges Stanley Christodoulou and Dave Parris both scored the bout 116-112 in favour of Geale, while Eugene Grant gave it 116-112 to Sturm. "The judges scored it that way, you have to accept it. http://www.nflbearsteam.com/mike-ditka-jersey . Atalanta midfielder Luca Cigarini scored with a long shot from the top of the area in the 64th minute after teammate German Denis hit the post midway through the first half. With both Brazil forwards Alexandre Pato and Robinho out injured, Milan struggled to finish and was again whistled off the pitch at the San Siro. Brian Urlacher Camo Jersey . Phoenix managed to win despite being outshot 36-21 in the game, the eighth time in this years playoffs that the Coyotes have been outshot by at least 15 shots in a game; they have a 4-4 record in those games. Brandon Marshall Camo Jersey . TSN.ca has got you covered for all the on-court action with the 2012-13 NBA Preview featuring in-depth looks at the Associations 30 teams.WROCLAW, Poland -- Before the match, the Czech fans booed their coach. Six minutes after the start, they could barely contain their joy. After an embarrassing 4-1 opening loss to Russia at the European Championship, the Czechs attacked right from kickoff and scored two quick goals en route to a 2-1 victory over Greece on Tuesday. "Everything worked for us tonight," Czech Republic coach Michal Bilek said. "I am happy with every player." Petr Jiracek scored the first goal, beating Greece goalkeeper Costas Chalkias in the third minute after a pass from Tomas Hubschmann sliced through the Greek defence. Vaclav Pilar added the second three minutes later with his second goal of the tournament. He was first to a ball sent across the goal by teammate Theodor Gebre Selassie. "This was a big goal for me, and its great for the team," Pilar said. "I went in very hard in to meet Gebre Selassies cross and got to the ball with my knee." Substitute Fanis Gekas pulled one back for Greece in 53rd minute with a tap in after Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech spilled the ball and bumped into defender Tomas Sivok. But the Greeks rallied too late, and their chances of advancing were hurt following their 1-1 draw with co-host Poland in the opening Group A match. The Czechs, however, put their bid to reach for the quarterfinals back on track, and they avenged their semifinal loss to eventual champion Greece at Euro 2004. "We knew the Greeks would fight hard and be tough on the tackles, and thats what happened," Bilek said. "But we didnt linger on the ball, andd that denied them possession . Brian Urlacher Pink Jersey. .. Our defence was excellent tonight." The low point for the Czechs came with Cechs second-half blunder, which allowed Greece back into the game. "It was my mistake. Who else is there to blame?" the Chelsea goalkeeper said. "Id been playing well till then, and I was determined I wouldnt let any in." The Greeks, who played without two first-choice central defenders, nearly scored in the 41st minute, but the header from Giorgos Fotakis was ruled out for offside. Greece recovered well after its disastrous start, but lost another player when Chalkias limped off in the 23rd minute. He was replaced by Michalis Sifakis. "This was another game with a very bad start for us," said Greece coach Fernando Santos, whose team had trailed after 17 minutes in the draw with Poland. "We were chasing the game for the whole match after going two down so quickly." Despite the defensive problems, Santos stuck with his attacking lineup of three forwards. The strategy helped the Greeks dominate the second half. Before Euro 2012, Greeces defence had been an important feature in its campaign to qualify, conceding just five goals in 10 games. "We conceded so few goals in qualifying, and this happens to us," Santos said. "We did find our balance but could not get a second goal." Czech Republic captain Tomas Rosicky came off with an Achilles tendon injury in the second half, and team officials said it was too early to say whether it would rule him out for the last group game against Poland. ' ' '

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