SHEFFIELD, England -- Italys Vincenzo Nibali displayed his riding smarts at the Tour de France, winning Stage 2 on Sunday and ta

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. Brian Dawkins Jersey ." 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. Dallas Thomas Jersey . LOUIS -- Russell Martin wanted a better fate for his starting pitcher and helped deliver a happier ending. Darren Sproles Jersey . The last team in the NBA that will have any sympathy for the Thunder is the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are showing signs of putting everything together after two years of devastating injuries. http://www.eaglespromart.com/fletcher-cox-eagles-jersey/ . "It was a little weird looking over and seeing all the green uniforms," he said of his first game against the Boston Celtics.AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had enough responsibility trying to contain James Harden at the defensive end.That made the Detroit guards offensive contribution that much more impressive.Caldwell-Pope scored a season-high 28 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, and the Pistons held off Harden and the Houston Rockets 114-101 on Saturday night. D.J. Augustin added 28 points and 12 assists for Detroit.I felt good, Caldwell-Pope said. I got myself going with my energy on the defensive end, ran the floor to get easy baskets and that opened up my outside shooting.Harden scored 21 of his 26 points in the second half, returning from a bruised left knee to help the Rockets nearly rally from a 21-point, third-quarter deficit.Houstons Josh Smith was booed throughout his return to the Palace, just more than a month after the Pistons waived the high-priced forward. He had seven points and seven rebounds, shooting only 3 of 11 from the field. Detroit snapped a four-game skid and ended Houstons four-game winning streak.We didnt defend the 3-point line and we didnt defend the paint. They just played a lot harder than we did, and we just let them kick our tails, Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. We couldnt stop Augustin in any part of the floor. I tried a couple different lineups because I just wanted someone to get in front of him for a couple possessions.The Pistons played well initially after cutting Smith, winning seven straight, and fans gave him an unfriendly welcome in his return, booing him when he went to the scorers table to check in for the first time and also when he touched the ball.Detroit led 59-46 at halftime and 86-69 at the start of the fourth quarter.Harden led a 19-6 run to start the fourth, but Caldwell-Pope made enough big shots down the stretch to help the Pistoons hold on. Brandon Graham Jersey. The second-year guard capped the victory with a shot from well behind the 3-point line with 3.1 seconds remaining and the shot clock expiring.___BOUNCING BACKThe Pistons were coming off an embarrassing 20-point loss at Philadelphia, and they were sharp throughout against Houstons normally tough defence. Greg Monroe had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Andre Drummond had 11 and 16. Detroit won for the first time since losing point guard Brandon Jennings last weekend to a ruptured Achilles tendon.Augustin, the starting point guard with Jennings out, had one of his best games of the season.Yeah, I thought he was decent, coach Stan Van Gundy joked. No, he was tremendous. He really was. He was on the attack, right from the start of the game on, and thats big for us.DEFENSIVE PROBLEMSHouston was without star centre Dwight Howard, who has been sidelined because of swelling in his right knee. Harden left toward the end of the second quarter with his knee injury but came back and played almost the entire second half.No matter who was in, the Rockets couldnt slow down the Pistons.Terrible defence. They had 69 points in their last game against Philly and we let them have 60 at halftime, Harden said. Thats terrible. We didnt play at all until the fourth quarter, and that was too late.The Rockets lead the NBA in 3-pointers, but Detroit held its own from beyond the arc, going 10 of 25. Houston shot 11 of 32 on 3s.TIP-INSRockets: Donatas Motiejunas scored 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting. ... Harden had nine assists and seven rebounds.Pistons: Augustins 12 assists were his season high. ... Caldwell-Pope fell two points short of his career high in scoring. He made six 3-pointers.UP NEXTThe Rockets host Chicago on Wednesday night.The Pistons host Miami on Tuesday night. Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Discount NFL Jerseys Jerseys NFL China Discount NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Stitched Jerseys ' ' '