TRIESTE, Italy -- Nairo Quintana showed why hes considered as cyclings next star by winning the Giro dItalia on Sunday to follow his runner-up finish in last years Tour de France.
[b]Cheap Oilers Jerseys[/b] . The 24-year-old climbing specialist with the Movistar team won two stages and finished with a 2 minute, 58 second advantage over fellow Colombian Rigoberto Uran for his first Grand Tour victory. "Its really emotional," Quintana said. "I didnt think there would be so many Colombians here today. It was incredible seeing how much support and how many banners there were." One such banner held aloft during the podium celebration with the Colombian flag on it read, "The Giro is ours. Gracias muchachos." Fabio Aru, a 23-year-old Italian who is also considered a top rider for the future, finished third overall, 4:04 back. Quintana took the pink jersey by winning the grueling 16th stage over the Gavia and Stelvio climbs then also took the 19th leg, a mountain time trial. Quintana finished second to Chris Froome in last years Tour. While he isnt planning to enter the French race this year, he has designs on winning it next year. "We need to look at our plans carefully," Quintana said. Slovenias Luca Mezgec won the final stage in a mass sprint. The Giant-Shimano rider clocked 4 hours, 23 minutes, 58 seconds over the mostly flat 172-kilometre (107-mile) leg from Gemona del Friuli to Trieste, which concluded with eight laps of a city circuit. "It couldnt be a better day than this. Were close to Slovenia," Mezgec said. Giacomo Nizzolo of Italy finished second and Tyler Farrar of the United States was third, both with the same time as Mezgec. Dressed entirely in pink, Quintana finished safely in the middle of the pack and pumped his fist as he crossed the line then hugged his teammates when he got off his bike. "I can finally say Ive won the Giro," Quintana said. "I have to thank my teammates and my family here supporting me." During the playing of the Colombian anthem, Quintana held his pink-clad daughter Mariana, who was born in February. Quintana faced controversy after the 16th stage, in which he attacked on the descent from the Stelvio then powered up the final climb in the lead. There had been some confusion over whether the descent on a wet road was going to be neutralized but race officials declared afterward that his victory was legitimate. Quintana is the first Colombian to win the race -- and with Uran, it was a sweep of the top two spots. Another Colombian, Julian Arredondo, won the mountains classification. Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos travelled to Quintanas hometown of Combita to watch the final stage with dozens of friends and neighbours of the cyclist, who was raised in the high Andean town of 16,000 by a family of peasant farmers. Dressed in the pink colour of the tour leaders jersey and surrounded by fans holding signs like "Nairo: all of Colombia loves and thanks you," Santos said the Quintanas victory was an inspiration to millions of Colombians. "I feel like the entire country is supporting me," Quintana said numerous times during the three-week race.
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[b]Edmonton Oilers Gear[/b] . Finlands Kari Lehtonen made 26 saves to lead Dallas over the Phoenix Coyotes 2-1 Saturday night. He received plenty of help from the Stars defence and got goals from Ray Whitney and Russias Valeri Nichushkin. BERLIN -- Kevin-Prince Boateng scored late for Schalke to beat Wolfsburg 2-1 and move fourth in the Bundesliga on Saturday, while Hamburger SV slipped further into crisis with a 3-0 loss at Hoffenheim. Boateng scored in the 81st minute following some good interplay between Leon Goretzka and Roman Neustaedter, restoring the home sides lead after Maximilian Arnold equalized for 10-man Wolfsburg in the 65th. Felipe Santana opened the scoring in the ninth, when Boatengs effort rebounded off his shoulder and squirmed inside the post after a corner. Wolfsburgs task was made more difficult when midfielder Daniel Caligiuri was sent off in the 50th. TV replays suggested he had made a remark to the linesman. "Im delighted with the win," Boateng said. "It was hugely important. The fans got to see a good match, they had to fret for a little bit, but that keeps us all young." Borussia Moenchengladbach lost 3-1 at Hannover in the late game, missing out on the chance to reclaim fourth place. "Its not undeserved, the 3-1," Moenchengladbach coach Lucien Favre said. "We lost the ball too often, didnt move enough. They played well, countered well, theyre very dangerous here." Artjoms Rudnevs opened the scoring in the 57th when Szabolcs Huszti crossed to the far post. It was the Latvian strikers second goal in as many games since switching from Hamburg. Huszti also created Hannovers second in the 82nd, with another precise cross for Mame Biram Diouf. Peniel Kokou Mlapa pulled one back two minutes later to set up a frenetic finish, but Diouf sealed the result in the 89th to maintain new Hannover coach Tayfun Korkuts winning start. Earlier, Bayer Leverkusen left it late to come from behind and beat Stuttgart 2-1 and consolidate second place. Eren Derdiyoks 84th-minute header condemned Stuttgart to its fourth successive defeat. Moritz Leitner opened the scoring for Stuttgart with a fine strike to the top left corner in the 12th, 14 minutes before Stefan Kiessling equalized by beating a defender and curling his shot inside the far post. "Its like Groundhog Day for me," Stuttgart coach Thomas Schneider said. "Wee take the lead like in the last games and then give the game away.
[b]Wholesale Oilers Jerseys[/b]. Altogether a bitter afternoon for us." Mainz defeated Freiburg 2-0, and Augsburg beat 10-man Werder Bremen 3-1. Hamburg, the only side to have played every season of the Bundesliga, offered little to suggest it would escape its first relegation in slumping to its fifth successive loss. "Our biggest problem is that were conceding goals too easily," said Hamburg coach Bert van Marwijk, whose side has the worst defence in the league. Roberto Firmino fired Hoffenheim ahead in the fourth, though TV replays suggested a hint of offside when Kevin Volland played him through. Poor defending allowed Niklas Suele to make it 2-0 with a header from Sejad Salihovics cross at the end of the first half, and the visiting fans began leaving when Andreas Beck made it 3-0 on the hour. Hamburg is in the relegation playoff place and will end the weekend in a direct relegation place if Nuremberg beats Hertha Berlin on Sunday. "Were facing criticism, were playing catastrophically. The coach cant do anything about that," Hamburg midfielder Rafael van der Vaart said. "We understand his system. Its the quality thats lacking at the end of the day." Goals from South Koreans Park Joo-ho and Koo Ja-cheol in the 25th and 86th respectively were enough for Mainz to give Freiburg its 10th defeat of the season and leave it just one point ahead of Hamburg. Augsburgs seven game unbeaten run is a club record. It started badly against Bremen when Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker headed Zlatko Junuzovics corner into his own net in the third minute, but Tobias Werner equalized with a deflected shot in the 11th, and the visitors were reduced to 10 men before the break when Santiago Garcia received his second yellow card for a lunge. The Argentine was incensed with the decision after appearing to make no contact with Matthias Ostrzolek. Halil Altintop gave Augsburg the lead with a fine volley in the 49th and Andre Hahn capitalized on a defensive mix-up to secure the win six minutes later. Runaway league leader Bayern Munich hosts Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday. ' ' '
