manager Terry Collins won a replay

[xsw96]

NIMES, France -- Almost at the line, Jack Bauer and Martin Elmiger were exhausted but could see it coming -- their first Tour de France stage victory. Those last 50 metres, however, got in the way. A bunch of sprinters leading the pack came speeding like a runaway train and plowed past the huffing breakaway duo in the final milliseconds. Stage 15 belonged to Norwegian speedster Alexander Kristoff, his second stage victory in this Tour. The 138-mile (222-kilometre) stage went smoothly for overall leader Vincenzo Nibali of Italy. He made sure his main rivals couldnt claw back any time, and he kept his yellow jersey by finishing in the trailing pack. After two days in the Alps, Sundays stage offered some relief over a flat course from Tallard, southeast Frances parachuting capital, toward Nimes, known for its Roman arena and bullfighting. More relief comes Monday -- a second rest day. This ride showed yet again on the Tour how mighty efforts so often go unrewarded. Bauer is a New Zealander who had a better shot of holding off the sprinters than Swiss champion Elmiger. Bauer dropped his bike after the finish line, sat on the ground and cupped his face in his hands, crying. They had led nearly from the starters gun. "Its a fantasy for any cyclist to win a stage at the Tour and especially for a Kiwi cyclist, not many of us turn professional and not many of us get a chance to start the Tour de France," Bauer said. The 29-year-old rider came to the Tour to help Garmin-Sharp leader Andrew Talansky, who dropped out before Stage 12 because of injuries from an earlier crash. The pack perfectly timed its move on the breakaway duo and proved too strong. Bauer was pedaling with his last remaining strength, and when he looked back a last time they were already zooming by. He finished in 10th place, with Elmiger 16th. "I really gave it absolutely everything, and as you can see from my meltdown at the finish I was pretty disappointed to come away empty-handed," Bauer added, noting hes usually a support rider. "I thought I had it, but then I realized in the last 50 metres that I had nothing." The Swiss rider with IAM Cycling took it more in stride. This, after all, wasnt the first breakaway to fail in this Tour. "I am not disappointed because I actually did not have the best legs today," Elmiger said. "Being caught by the pack is not so bad when you are convinced you have given everything. As I have already said three times this Tour after breaks have failed, one of these days the wheels will turn in my favour." Kristoff, a Katusha rider who also won Stage 12, sighed in relief. "It was a little bit late for comfort. It was very close," he said. "I thought I would be second. ... We turned on the gas." "Of course, thats a pity for them, but I dont feel sorry for them," he said. "Normally, the break should never have had a chance, but they did. They were really strong guys. ... That must have been really hard." With about 12 miles (20 kilometres) left, rain briefly doused the riders, though skies brightened by the end. A series of roundabouts and leg fatigue among the sprinters after the Alpine stages gave an advantage to the breakaway pair until the final seconds. Nibali kept his main rivals for the Tour title at bay. He leads Spains Alejandro Valverde by 4:37 while Romain Bardet of France is third, 4:50 behind. American Tejay van Garderen is fifth, 5:49 back. Nibali, the leader of Kazakh team Astana, is in good shape to take the yellow jersey when the three-week race ends next Sunday in Paris. Some of his closest rivals have already said the race is now for second place. The Italian has shown savvy -- gaining time on cobblestone patches in Stage 2 -- and nearly insurmountable dominance on high climbs. He won Stage 13s entree into the Alps and was second a day later, also in the snow-capped mountains. On Sunday, Nibali showed he wasnt leaving any chances to his rivals. With about 39 miles (65 kilometres) left, he sped out of the pack and briefly took the lead. "At that moment, there was a lot of side wind," he said. "I really didnt want to miss the good opportunity and try to move up into position ... because when theres wind, you have to be at the front." More grueling climbs loom in the Pyrenees this week before the only individual time trial of this Tour on Saturday. Keith Tandy Jersey .J. - The New York Jets have signed former Green Bay Packers backup quarterback Graham Harrell, giving them some added depth at the position. Warren Sapp Jersey .Y. - Everyone expected Clayton Kershaw to pitch a shutout, and he did — a unanimous choice for the NL Cy Young Award. http://www.shoptheofficialbuccaneers.co ... /.com) - Baltimore Ravens running back Justin Forsett is active for Sundays matchup with the Miami Dolphins. Demar Dotson Jersey .C. Lions. The clubs former starting quarterback, assistant and head coach returned Thursday as its receivers coach. Joe Hawley Jersey . Alexander was released last week by the Edmonton Eskimos, where he spent the past three seasons at safety. He had 121 defensive tackles, five special teams tackles and seven interceptions in 51 regular-season and three playoff games.NEW YORK -- With a handful of boppers in their new-look lineup, these Miami Marlins are a legitimate comeback threat. Jarrod Saltalamacchia homered leading off the 10th inning, Giancarlo Stanton also went deep and Miami rallied from four runs down to beat the New York Mets 7-6 on Saturday night. Stanton hit a two-run shot and Miami climbed out of a 5-1 hole with a five-run sixth capped by pinch-hitter Reed Johnsons two-run double. Stantons seventh home run of the season gave him 29 RBIs, most in the majors. "There wasnt any point we thought we were out of this game," Saltalamacchia said. "With our lineup, theres no doubt were going to put up runs." Bobby Abreu hit his first major league homer since 2012 and Lucas Duda had a two-run single for the Mets, who had won three straight and five of six. New York was trying to move four games over .500 for the first time since July 14, 2012. Mike Dunn (2-3) struck out four in two hitless innings and Steve Cishek earned his fifth save, one night after coughing up a ninth-inning lead for his first blown save since June 4, 2013. Cishek had converted a team-record 33 straight chances before Friday. "These guys have a lot of fight in them. I wasnt worried that they were going to get down on themselves," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. "Definitely something to build off of tonight." Saltalamacchia, who hit a tying homer Friday, sent a 2-2 pitch from Kyle Farnsworth (0-1) off a railing just above the left-centre fence. The ball caromed back onto the field and Saltalamacchia initially stopped at second base, but the umpires quickly waved him home without looking at a replay. "It was supposed to be a fastball away, came over the middle," Farnsworth said. "If Im going to get beat, Im going to get beat with my best pitch and he put a good swing on it, went opposite field." "Hes trying to do one thing -- hit the ball out of the park. Im looking to be aggressive," the reliever added. "Just one of those cases of old-fashioned hardball." Miami is 2-9 on the road and 3-11 against NL East opponents. But the offence is certainly dangerous; the previously punchless Marlins began the day third in the NL in runs and batting average. Mets starter Jenrry Mejia, backed by two outstanding plays from shortstop Omar Quintanilla, took a 5-1 lead into the sixth, when the first tthree Marlins batters swung at the first pitch and hit the ball hard.dddddddddddd. "It caught me by surprise, thats for sure," Mets catcher Travis dArnaud said. Marcell Ozuna doubled, Stanton homered to right-centre and Casey McGehee singled as rain began to fall. Two outs later, Adeiny Hechavarria chased Mejia with an RBI single. Johnson went after Carlos Torres first pitch and sliced a high fly that landed just fair in the right-field corner to give Miami a 6-5 advantage. "We saw what we can do in one inning. We have to keep that confidence up tomorrow," Stanton said. Mejia was charged with six runs and eight hits. New York starters had gone straight 11 games without allowing more than three runs. Saltalamacchias passed ball and Hechavarrias throwing error from shortstop let the Mets tie it in the bottom half. Five hitters in New Yorks lineup entered batting .375 or better with at least one home run against Marlins starter Kevin Slowey. One of those was the 40-year-old Abreu, who made his second start for the Mets since getting called up Monday from Triple-A Las Vegas. Abreu, who didnt play in the majors last season, hit a two-run shot in the first inning to give New York a 3-0 lead. It was his first big league homer since Sept. 28, 2012, with the Los Angeles Dodgers against Colorado. "Feels good, man. A relief, Id say, after one year off," Abreu said. Shoddy defence by the Marlins led to New Yorks first run, on David Wrights sacrifice fly. Derek Dietrich hit an RBI single in the second, snapping Mejias scoreless streak at a career-best 14 2-3 innings. NOTES: Sloweys previous outing at Citi Field was a memorable one. He struck out eight over seven shutout innings, setting club records for strikeouts and innings in a relief appearance, to earn the win in Miamis 20-inning victory last June 8. ... New York native Tom Koehler (2-1, 2.13 ERA) faces Mets RHP Dillon Gee (1-1, 3.58 ERA) in the series finale Sunday. ... Abreu is 8 for 20 (.400) with four home runs against Slowey. ... Mets manager Terry Collins won a replay challenge in the top of the ninth after Christian Yelich was called safe at first on a bunt. The ruling was overturned following a review that lasted 2 minutes, 8 seconds. ... Mets 2B Daniel Murphy was ejected by plate umpire Seth Buckminster for protesting a called third strike in the bottom of the 10th. Wholesale Authentic Jerseys Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Store Cheap Jerseys 2018 ' ' '