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void violating the minor league testing program, I unknowingly inges
Topic Started: Oct 9 2013, 08:30 AM (5 Views)
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SERAING, Belgium -- Rising cycling star Peter Sagan of Slovakia won the first stage of the Tour de France on Sunday ahead of Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland, who retained the overall lead. Title contenders Bradley Wiggins of Britain and defending champion Cadel Evans trailed close behind in the pack after the 198-kilometre loop from Liege to suburban Seraing featuring five low-grade climbs. Victorias Ryder Hesjedal finished in ninth place and is 10th overall. The 22-year-old Sagan, who is one of cyclings most promising riders, placed his hands on his shoulders as he collected his first Tour stage win in a three-man sprint ahead of Cancellara in second and Edvald Boasson Hagen of Norway in third. It was a spirited defence of the yellow jersey by the Swiss rider, who many expect to fall behind in the later, mountain stages of the race. The top standings among the leading pre-race contenders didnt change much, though some speedsters who fared well in Saturdays brief prologue, lost ground after the first stage. RadioShack Nissan rider Cancellara, who won the prologue, leads Skys Wiggins in second and Frances Sylvain Chavanel of Omega Pharma-Quickstep in third -- with each seven seconds behind. Evans, the Australian leader of the BMC team, trails 17 seconds behind the Swiss leader. He rose to eighth place overall as others slipped back in crash traffic or because of a hilly final climb that split the pack during the last three kilometres. That was when the stage turned into a three-man race. Sagan hugged the wheel of Cancellara, doing the hard work of leading into the wind, then whipped around him with less than 150 metres (yards) before the finish to win in 4 hours, 58 minutes, 19 seconds. "I am really, really happy," Sagan said. "I was the only one who could follow (Cancellara), I was tight behind him. I was just happy to stay on his wheel." It was the Liquigas-Cannondale riders 13th stage victory this season, after winning in races as diverse as the Tirreno-Adriatico, the Tour of Switzerland and the Tour of California -- where he won five of the races eight stages. Sagan, who said his victory gesture was just "for fun," is the youngest rider to win a Tour stage since Lance Armstrong won Stage 8 in 1993 at the age of 21 -- his first of 22 career stage victories. The youngest stage winner of all time is Italys Fabio Battesini, who was 19 when he won one in the 1931 Tour. Asked about whether he has the potential to become the next Armstrong, Sagan blushed and replied while laughing nervously: "I would like to be, but Im so young its impossible to know what the future will be." At least two crashes marred Sundays stage amid escalating tensions within the pack near the finish, where roadside crowds drew in to get a glimpse of the whirring cyclists. High-profile riders including Spains Luis Leon Sanchez and Michael Rogers of Australia went down in one late spill, but got back up. The bad luck continued to stick with Germanys Tony Martin, who went down in a crash early Sunday before recovering. The world time-trial champion popped a flat and lost in the prologue the day before. At one point, with his BMC team leader Evans riding in his wake, Marcus Burghardt of Germany caused his bike to jump to avoid a plastic bottle in a downhill patch about 17 kilometres before the finish. Six breakaway riders jumped out of the pack after the first kilometre, and held onto a lead until less than 10 kilometres to go -- when the speeding pack overtook all the escapees. Wiggins wore the best-sprinters green jersey after placing second in Saturdays prologue -- an honour granted to him because Cancellara cannot wear both the green and the yellow jersey. Evans said a conservative start by the pack set the stage for a "hectic" finish during the final climb. He took a chance with a burst of speed with about two kilometres to go, after team scouting report led him to believe he could nibble some seconds from his main rivals. But instead, he ran into a headwind and the pack was able to keep pace. "The first stages of the Tour: Everyones so keen to get going, and everyones so nervous," Evans said, and thanked his BMC teammates to help keep him near the front, and away from the jitters in the peloton. Mondays second stage takes the pack on a mostly flat 207.5-kilometre jaunt slicing west across Belgium from Vise to Tournai, which could favour a sprint finish. cheap jerseys . -- Salvador Perezs pickoff throw changed the momentum, and Jeremy Guthrie was unhittable after that. cheap jerseys us . In a game against Metallurg Magnitogorsk, the league said that Carle appeared to make contract with a referee during the game. He received the match penalty for abuse of officials and unsportsmanlike conduct. Toronto Blue Jays prospect Marcus Stroman, the No. 22 pick in this years amateur draft, was suspended 50 games Tuesday for violating baseballs minor league drug program. Stroman, a right-hander with Double-A New Hampshire, tested positive for Methylhexaneamine, a banned stimulant. Stroman, who played college ball at Duke, received a US$1.8 million bonus when he signed with Toronto last month. In a statement, the Blue Jays said Stroman tested positive while playing for class-A Vancouver. "Despite taking precautions to avoid violating the minor league testing program, I unknowingly ingested a banned stimulant that was in an over-the-counter supplement," Stroman said in the statement. "Nonetheless, I accept full responsibility and I want to apologize to the Toronto Blue Jays organization, my family, my teammates, and the Blue Jays fans everywhere. I look forward to putting this behind me and rejoining my teammates." Two more minor leaguers received 50-game penalties on Tuesday.dddddddddddd First baseman Mark Donato, who plays for Kansas Citys rookie-league team in Arizona, tested positive for an amphetamine. Tampa Bay outfielder Joshua Sale, who was at Class-A Bowling Green, was penalized for testing positive for methamphetamine and an amphetamine. The 21-year-old Sale was drafted in the first round (17th overall) in 2010. He was hitting .264 with 10 homers, 44 RBIs and a .391 on-base percentage in 74 Midwest League games this season. Each of the suspensions is effective immediately. Stroman, 21, was 3-0 with a 3.26 ERA in 15 combined relief appearances with Vancouver and New Hampshire. He had 23 strikeouts and nine walks in 19 1-3 innings. "This suspension is unfortunate and we are disappointed by this development. The Toronto Blue Jays however fully endorse Major League Baseballs drug testing policy and support the discipline taken today," general manager Alex Anthopoulos said in the statement. ' ' '
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