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. Jaromir Jagr Flyers Jersey . 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NEW YORK -- With the World Series over, Alex Rodriguez resumed his criticism of Major League Baseball and Commissioner Bud Selig for its investigation that led to a 211-game suspension that the New York Yankees third baseman is trying to overturn. In addition to a grievance filed by the players union, Rodriguez filed a lawsuit against Selig and MLB that accused them of engaging in a "witch hunt." "I am deeply troubled by my teams investigative findings with respect to MLBs conduct," Rodriguez said in a statement Thursday. "How can the gross, ongoing misconduct of the MLB investigations division not be relevant to my suspension, when my suspension supposedly results directly from that divisions work?" MLB suspended Rodriguez on Aug. 5 for violations of its drug agreement and labour contract, but he was allowed to keep playing pending a determination of the grievance. Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz has heard eight days of hearings, and the next session is Nov. 18. Speaking last weekend at the World Series, Selig praised MLBs investigative team, saying "Im very comfortable with what they did and how they did it." "Ive been in baseball now for 50 years," he said. "I thought Id seen everything, but I hadnt." Rodriguez waited to respond until after the World Series had ended. "It is sad that commissioner Selig once again is turning a blind eye, knowing that crimes are being committed under his regime," the three-time AL MVP said. "I have 100 per cent faith in my legal team. To be sure, this fight is necessary to protect me, but it also serves the interests of the next 18-year-old coming into the league, to be sure he doesnt step into the house of horrors that I am being forced to walk through." Rodriguez and MLB have publicly assailed each other for months. MLB accused Rodriguez of "possession of numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing substances, including testosterone and human growth hormone, over the course of multiple years." "This latest, sad chapter in Mr. Rodriguezs tarnished career is yet another example of this player trying to avoid taking responsibility for his poor choices. Given the disappointing acts tthat Mr.dddddddddddd Rodriguez has repeatedly made throughout his career, his expressed concern for young people rings very hollow," MLB chief operating officer Rob Manfred said in a statement. "Mr. Rodriguezs use of PEDs was longer and more pervasive than any other player, and when this process is complete, the facts will prove that it is Mr. Rodriguez and his representatives who have engaged in ongoing, gross misconduct." One of Rodriguezs lawyers, Joseph Tacopina, responded by calling for Manfred to be removed from the three-person panel, chaired by Horowitz, hearing the sluggers appeal. "Alex did not use PEDs and Rob Manfred knows it. The fact that Manfred has committed so zealously to prosecuting Alex for offences he knows he did not commit is why he persistently attacks Alexs character with baseless, cowardly allegations," Tacopina said in a statement. "With todays statements, Manfred clearly has hit a new level of desperation. He knows what his sworn testimony was on the subject of his and Commissioner Seligs approach to PEDs being dealt to children, and MLBs willingness to turn a blind eye to such criminal misconduct in support of its quest to get Alex. He knows he cannot run from his testimony forever. It will follow him the rest of his career -- however long that may be -- and he knows it is indefensible. Once it inevitably becomes public through other legal proceedings, he will have to answer for that. "Rob Manfred has gone so far over the line with his latest slanderous attack against Alex (which presumably was approved by Commissioner Selig) that we demand the other two arbitration panel members immediately remove Manfred from the panel hearing Alexs appeal. Indeed, we do not see how he can continue to hold any position of responsibility within Major League Baseball. But we will leave that to the conscience and judgment of the owners within the league." Major League Baseball, of course, responded with a statement that began: "Mr. Tacopinas latest rant is so delusional it doesnt warrant a response." "The fact that Mr. Tacopina has now asked for two of the three panel members to be recused tells you everything you need to know." Youth NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Throwback Jerseys Disocunt Football Jerseys China Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale NFL Gear Cheap Jerseys ' ' '