back to day one or the day before the race when youre nervous and like, I dont k | Forum

CHERBOURG-EN-COTENTIN, France -- Strangely, Peter Sagan did not celebrate his first Tour de France yellow jersey with his trademark wheelie. Clearance Running Shoes Canada .He did not even pump his fist or raise his arms as he crossed the finish line on Sunday to end a three-year winless run at cyclings showpiece race.That wasnt because of the misfortune endured by his teammate Alberto Contador, who fell off his bike for the second consecutive day and lost precious time in the battle among the race favorites.The world champion simply didnt know he had won the stage.Im very surprised I won, because I was thinking there were still two guys in front, said Sagan, who made the most of a steep, short climb in a frenzied finale to win the second stage of the Tour in Normandy.It was Sagans fifth stage win on a Tour, and his first since 2013.Having been criticized sometimes for poor tactics -- he has been a runner-up in 16 Tour stages, Sagan used his raw power on the 1.9-kilometer Cote de la Glacerie leading to the finish line to claim the win.He waited patiently in the wake of Julian Alaphilippe, who started the final sprint, before timing his acceleration to perfection to overtake the Frenchman and win by a bikes length.A debutant at the Tour, Alaphilippe was second in the 183-kilometer stage between Saint-Lo and Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, with Spaniard Alejandro Valverde in third place.Sagan, who already has four best sprinters green jerseys to his name and won the Tour of Flanders classic earlier this season, also claimed the lead in the points standings.In big races, experience counts, he said. I did a lot of sacrifices to come to the Tour de France in good form but its never easy to win, even if it looks easy sometimes.On a day of mixed fortunes for the Tinkoff team, Contador crashed again and was dropped in the final climb, losing 48 seconds.Im physically hampered, Contador said. I cannot pedal as I would as the result of the crashes. The important thing is to keep my morale, not fall apart, which is sometimes complicated. Both legs are very roughed up.After just two days of racing, the Tour has already been marred by several crashes, a problem that Sagan likened to the all-risk approach in the peloton.Nobody cares, it looks like riders have lost their brains, he said. When I started in cycling in 2010, there was respect, and when somebody was doing something stupid we would throw bottles at him. Today nobody brakes. So Im in yellow, but tomorrow I can go home.Belgian Jasper Stuyven, who was part of an early breakaway group that formed after the start of the stage, almost thwarted Sagans plans when he tried to go for a solo win, but was reined in with 500 meters left.Overnight leader Mark Cavendish finished just behind BMC co-leader Richie Porte, who was among the big losers of day, crossing the finish line 1 minute and 45 seconds behind Sagan after a puncture.Cavendish started the day with a four-second lead over Marcel Kittel, with Sagan in third place, six seconds behind. The Slovak rider now has an 8-second lead over Alaphilippe, with Valverde in third place 10 seconds back. Chris Froome, last years Tour winner, is fifth overall after Sundays stage, 14 seconds behind Sagan.All 198 riders took the start in Saint-Lo under grey skies but Cavendish brought a splash of color to the scene.Wearing yellow for the first time, the Briton marked the special occasion with a customized bike featuring yellow handlebar and pedals.Stuyven and three other riders immediately broke away from the peloton on slippery roads near the English Channel as rain started to fall. A crash split the main peloton in two after 60 kilometers. Spaniard Joaquim Rodriguez and Contador, who suffered cuts and bruises on his right shoulder in a crash during Stage 1, were among the riders caught up in the incident.Contador fell on the same shoulder and was forced to change bike. He was helped back into the pack by five Tinkoff teammates as the pace slowed down at the front.There were some broad smiles on the riders faces as the sun finally broke through the clouds with 100 kilometers left, drying the roads and warming bodies in the peloton.The pace in the bunch barely moved until 55 kilometers to go when Cavendishs Dimension Data outfit started to push forward.The pelotons chase started a bit late, as the final battle shaped up with rain falling again and Stuyven almost upseting all the favorites.I felt a little bit empty on the steep part, said Stuyven, who made his breakthrough last year when he won a stage at the Spanish Vuelta. Unfortunately, I was 450 meters short.---AP Sports writer Andrew Dampf contributed to this story. Running Shoes Canada Online .Y. -- Jayna Hefford scored the winning goal Friday as Canada survived a scare with a 4-3 win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hockey tournament. Discount Running Shoes Online . -- Jakob Silfverberg is making himself right at home with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals in his first four games. http://www.discountrunningshoescanada.com/ . 24 Baylor in a Big 12 clash between teams trending in opposite directions. Andrew Wiggins made 10-of-12 from the foul line and scored 17 for Kansas (14-4, 5-0 Big 12), which capped a stretch of four straight games against ranked opponents unscathed. In one of the most riveting road racing finishes in recent history, Desiree Linden (then Desiree Davila) nearly became the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon since 1985. Over the final kilometer of the 2011 race, she found herself dueling sprint-for-sprint with Caroline Kilel of Kenya -- only to lose by a slim two seconds. Linden went on to make two U.S. Olympic marathon teams and crack the top five in Boston (again), Berlin, and New York City. On Sunday, shell race alongside fellow Americans Shalane Flanagan and Amy Cragg in the Olympic marathon in Rio de Janeiro.In short, she has learned from that mental error in Boston five years ago. And now shes not only tenacious; Linden is smarter, too. When youre redlining it for 2 hours 22 minutes 38 seconds or longer, theres plenty to think about. How does she outwit her opponents over the long haul? Heres what she had to say.Start smart, then end with heartThe general rule for the marathon is to run the first 20 miles with your head and the last 10K with your heart. So I plan for everything. The night before a race, Ill hash through all the scenarios and figure out how to respond to almost anything that can happen. The plan is very individual -- whats the best race for me? Dial into that plan for 20 miles, then race the last 10K on guts and grit and inspiration. You can still be smart within that last 10K, but to me, thats the dividing line. First 20 miles in your head; last 10K in your heart.Use that watch early onFor those in the head miles, Im very aware of my watch. I know what Ive been able to do in workouts and what pace Im ready for, so I take splits and think, At some point, this type of mile is way too fast for me. I cant maintain that, lets bring it back. Or, This is too slow and theres a bunch of kickers here so start picking up the pace.?But its all individual on what your workouts indicate youre ready for. So its being logical in that way. What do my workouts say that I am able to do for this marathon, and use that to get to that 20-mile mark.Let your mind wanderIts such a long time to be out there, so at certain points, you just have to kind of let the mind relax because you can overthink it. Paralysis by analysis is absolutely real. So for me, Im always noticing fans signs. That stuffs kind of fun. Also, if youre in a really big marathon, you have to appreciate that -- like in Boston, youre running down the center of Boston. The roads are closed for you to have tthis running parade. Running Shoes Online Canada. Its an incredible feeling. Theres always a point where I have to smile because its really cool and very rare. Not a lot of sports get to go out in the city and stop traffic.Go through every scenario beforehandIn Boston 2011, I pictured myself winning that race for so long and it was always like I would pull away with three miles to go or something. I never, ever envisioned a sprint finish so I was like, Whoa, this is not what I expected to be experiencing right now and I didnt have a picture for what that would look like. So visualize everything.And visualize what you want, tooFigure out what you want from the race. Whats your motivation? Do you want to get across the finish line and not care what the clock says? Do you want to stop at every mile and drink a beer with a buddy? Whatever youre trying to accomplish, picture yourself doing that. So for your first marathon, visualize that point when you cross finish line and go, Im a marathoner! Picture the crowd and what its going to smell like and sound like and feel like -- and have that moment ready so when you get tired or you start to hurt in the race, you can think about that, Oh yeah, this is why Im doing this.Its also the idea of acting as if you are the thing you want to become. Just act like that every day. Im a marathoner, Im going to do the training because I have this picture in my mind of what its going to be like.Above all, be patientThe marathon all boils down to patience. The first 20, you have to keep yourself in check. Youre going to feel amazing and youre going to want to bank time, but you have to be patient. Its the same in training. Youre not going to be the New York City marathon winner on the first week of training. Or the second week. Or the third. For us, it takes years. But youre going to get better.It truly is a journey. You start, and youre like, The first 10 days are horrible. I dont know why Im doing this. Then you look back 10 days later and youre like, Im in shape! Each week you can look back at your training log, see how far youve come, and realize theres so much more to grow. Its incredible when you look back to day one or the day before the race when youre nervous and like, I dont know how Im going to do. Am I ready for this? Then you cross the line and youre a marathoner. Its kind of cool. ' ' '