Dein erstes Forum » -old lifted the ball perfectly into the top ri

LE LIORAN, France -- Vincenzo Nibalis struggles in the first hard climb of the Tour de France have settled the leadership debate within the Astana team.The 2014 Tour champion was dropped by the top Tour contenders in the punishing category-2 ascent of the Pas de Peyrol in Wednesdays first mountain stage, crossing the finish line at Le Lioran ski resort eight minutes and 38 seconds behind his younger Astana teammate Fabio Aru.After winning the Giro earlier this season, the Sicilian rider made the pledge that he would ride the Tour in support of Aru to focus instead on the Olympic Games road race next month. The plan was that Aru would return the favor by working for him in Rio, where both cyclists traveled in January to check out the course.But given Nibalis proud temper and stunning comeback on the penultimate stage of the Giro, there was speculation that he would play his personal card at cyclings showpiece event.Its now obvious that Nibali is not fresh enough to compete for the overall win.With three very difficult stages in the Pyrenees looming this weekend, Nibali dropped to 50th overall, 14.06 minutes behind new race leader Greg Van Avermaet.I wanted to stay near the front with Fabio, but I didnt have the legs and I wasnt having a good day so I really let it all go, Nibali said at his team bus after the 216-kilometer stage on the middle mountain roads of Massif Central.After the Giro, I took 15 days off. Its not easy to race here after the Giro. Weve all said many times that Fabio is racing for the Tour, so were here in support of him. Today it would have been nice to be alongside Fabio, but it wasnt my day. Im fine with this, I dont have any regret.Astana manager Alexandre Vinokourov said Nibali suffered from the heat and was not surprised by his riders failure to deliver.We knew he would not be a contender, Vinokourov said. Today was difficult for everybody, a real mountain stage even if the climbs were not so long. And everyone saw that Aru was there.A climbing specialist who won the Spanish Vuelta last year, Aru is widely regarded as a future great of his sport. At 25, he has also finished twice on the Giro podium and is attempting to win the Tour on his race debut. Only 11 cyclists have achieved the feat, including Eddy Merckx, Fausto Coppi, Jacques Anquetil and Felice Gimondi.Aru, who was mentored by Nibali earlier in his career, was at ease throughout the days five climbs and crossed the line in the same time as favorites Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana, keeping his chances alive.Although he is not sure he will recover his form before the Pyrenees, Nibali repeated that he would try his best to help Aru. He is in great shape and we all want to ride a good race for him. Jonathan Ledbetter Jersey . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . TreWatson Jersey . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. http://www.wholesaledolphinsjerseys.com/?tag=youth-clive-walford-jersey . -- Ty Montgomery had 290 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, and fifth-ranked Stanford held on to beat No. Maurice Smith Jersey . As he recorded his 23rd and 24th points of the evening, a segment of the sellout Air Canada Centre crowd expressed their appreciation for the Raptors point guard with a smattering of MVP chants. Kenny Stills Jersey . -- Edmontons Val Sweeting is two wins away from a trip to Winnipeg to play in Canadas Road of the Rings in December.ROME -- An Argentina side without Lionel Messi beat Italy 2-1 Wednesday in a friendly match honouring Pope Francis. Gonzalo Higuain put Argentina in front in the 20th minute and substitute Ever Banega doubled its lead four minutes into the second half before Lorenzo Insigne pulled one back with his first goal for Italy in the 76th minute. Higuain, Napolis new signing, was one of several Argentina players currently in Serie A. Pope Francis is an avid football fan, who comes from Argentina. He met the teams in the Apostolic Palace on Tuesday. AC Milan and Italy striker Mario Balotelli missed the match with an injury. Both he and Messi returned to their respective clubs Tuesday night. The last time the teams met was in 2001 -- also a friendly in Rome that Argentina won 2-1. Before that, Diego Maradonas Argentina eliminated host Italy from the 1990 World Cup on penalties in a semifinal in Naples. "We met a team of great quality, one of the best in the world," Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said. "We made mistakes coming out of defence and started badly, but then we did well. "We lacked that grit and finish around the penalty area, but the team did well. Honor to Argentina, it is a very strong side." The match was also used to promote peace and camaraderie in sport and to that end both teams had been staying at the same hotel and had travelled to the Stadio Olimpico together. Italy captain Gianluigi Buffon and his Argentina counterpart Javier Mascherano also planted an olive tree in a temporary pot after the national anthems, as a sign of unity. The tree will be kept in the Vatican gardens. All that had little impact on the teams competitiveness on the pitch, as the match was fast-paced right from kickoff. Italy had a good chance early on as Daniele De Rossi collected the ball in his own penalty area and dribbled downfield before lifting an accurate long ball to release Pablo Osvaldo. However, Argentina goalkeeper Mariano Andujar rushed out to clear the danger. It was Osvaldos first match back since being kicked out of the Confederations Cup squad for insulting his club coach at Roma -- a breach of Prandellis strict code of ethics. The Roma striker was born in Buenos Aires. Argentina went even closer twoo minutes later as Higuain raced into the area but Giorgio Chiellini got in a perfectly timed tackle to clear the ball for a corner before the former Real Madrid player could unleash a shot.dddddddddddd Chiellini, who was celebrating his 29th birthday, also headed the resulting corner out to safety. Argentina took the lead after Italy lost the ball in midfield and Erik Lamela picked out Higuain, who was given too much space in the box by De Rossi and Verratti and he curled a shot into the right hand side of goal. Italy started looking more dangerous, especially down the right flank, and almost took the lead in the 39th minute. Antonio Candreva put in yet another cross from the right, but Claudio Marchisio -- seemingly surprised to find himself completely unmarked -- failed to connect from a meter out. Argentina should have doubled its lead on the stroke of halftime when Rodrigo Palacio slid in, in front of an empty net, but didnt connect properly with Angel Di Marias cross and blazed the ball over the crossbar from close range. Argentina did so shortly after the restart. Higuain rolled the ball across to an unmarked Banega following a swift counter attack, and the halftime substitute drilled a low shot into the bottom left corner. Argentina could have extended its lead in the 56th minute when Palacios ball was parried by Federico Marchetti -- who had come on for Buffon moments earlier -- but only as far as Higuain. However, Marchetti got back up swiftly to palm away his effort and De Rossi cleared the danger. Italy almost grabbed one back but Andujar did well to tip Alessandro Diamantis free kick onto the crossbar. The rebound was eventually bundled into the net by Candreva, but he was clearly offside. The hosts did reduce the deficit in stunning fashion. Osvaldo touched the ball onto Insigne and, with his first touch, the 22-yearght corner from 25 yards. It was Inisgnes second game for Italy. "It was a wonderful sensation to score," Insigne said. "I always try those shots and it went well tonight. "It was a wonderful feeling to meet the pope, I got goosebumps because it doesnt happen