Der Fremde » in the game for so long and just

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Sailing past her crumpled teammate, Anna van der Breggen suddenly realized she was the only hope the Netherlands had of defending its gold medal in the womens Olympic road race.She did so in the most dramatic of fashions.Working with Swedens Emma Johansson and Italys Elisa Longo Borghini to track down American rival Mara Abbott in sight of the finish, van der Breggen swept to the lead and won the dash to the line along Copacabana Beach on Sunday in the biggest victory of her career.Van der Breggen was soon embraced by Dutch teammate Marianne Vos, who won gold at the 2012 London Games, and turned her thoughts to Annemiek van Vleuten, whose spectacular crash gave her a chance.We passed Annemiek on the road. It didnt look good, van der Breggen said. So after, Emma just said, `Do it for Annemiek, and I said `Yeah, thats right.Van der Breggen thrust her arms in the air as thousands of fans lining the course roared approval, and a light mist that had been threatening for hours finally began to fall.It would have taken a downpour to dampen her spirits.I would have put money on Anna to win this race, said world champion Lizzie Armitstead, who was fifth for Britain. Shes a phenomenal athlete and this course was designed for her.Abbott coasted across in fourth in another shattering disappointment for the United States, one of the strongest teams in the race. Shelley Olds was in a similar position to medal four years ago when a puncture on the run-in to the finish cost her.In Abbotts case, it was simply a matter of tired legs.I saw the 300-meters to go sign and I thought ... `Oh my goodness. I could actually win this, Abbott said. Then I looked under my shoulder and they were right there.The climbing specialist obliterated most of the field on the hard climb of Vista Chinesa, then stayed upright when van Vleuten crashed on the same ruthless downhill that claimed the leaders Vincenzo Nibali and Sergio Henao and allowed Greg van Avermaet to win the mens race.Van Vleuten was taken to the hospital for tests that revealed three small fractures in her spine, the Dutch team said. She will remain in intensive care for at least 24 hours.It was a horrendous crash, said Johansson, who added a second silver to the one she won in Beijing in 2008. The peloton is so small and we all know each other very well. We just hope shes OK.Borghini matched Imelda Chiappas performance at the 1996 Atlanta Games for the best finish by an Italian woman, while Vos finished ninth -- a strong performance after her 10-month injury hiatus.Unlike the mens race on Saturday, the women stuck together for the first 100 kilometers, each attack quickly shut down by the powerhouse teams trying to set up their leaders.Lotte Kopecky of Belgium spent time in front early, and Britains Emma Pooley tried in vain to animate the proceedings. But the field was together after two trips of the Grumari Circuit, where jarring cobblestones caused so much trouble for the men.Seven riders sprung away in sight of Vista Chinesa, the hard climb and descent that would decide the race. Among them was Vos, Trixi Worrack and former world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot.The Americans missed the break and were forced to work hard to bring it back.Abbott accomplished it almost single-handedly, the worlds top climber quickly catching them as the race tilted uphill. She also succeeded in splintering the peloton, pushing a tempo so strong that Vos and Armitstead -- the silver medalist at the London Games -- slowly dropped off.With stretches approaching a gradient of 20 percent, Abbott and van Vleuten shook loose of the survivors of the first part of the climb and turned it into a two-woman race on the slick downhill.On the last tight curve, van Vleuten locked up her wheels and crashed hard through the bend.I wasnt comfortable holding her wheel and the pace she was holding on the descent, Abbott said, and unfortunately she crashed. Hopefully it wasnt as bad as it looked.Abbott cautiously navigated the corner, then realized 10 kilometers of flats to Fort Copacabana stood in her way of gold. She got into her handlebar drops, sucked down one last energy gel and began to accelerate through streets lined with fans.Three riders, working together behind her, caught Abbott just before she got to the line.I cant imagine being in her shoes right now. Shes going to have a lot of sleepless nights, American teammate Kristin Armstrong said. Fourth is a wonderful position in the Olympics but also the hardest position. Derrick Nnadi Super Bowl Jersey . The Barrie Colts defenceman, who impressed many with his play for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, is the top-ranked skater in the February rankings. He has 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points in 45 games with the Colts this season. Mecole Hardman Super Bowl Jersey . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. http://www.officialkcchiefspro.com/Dorian-odaniel-chiefs-jersey/ . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. Tyreek Hill Super Bowl Jersey . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. Chris Jones Super Bowl Jersey A relieved Alan Richardson admitted the gap between St Kildas best and worst football is still too great after the Saints got out of jail against Essendon on Sunday.John Worsfolds side had all the momentum when they led by seven points midway through the final term at Etihad Stadium before Maverick Weller stepped up with two late goals as St Kilda broke Bomber hearts with a 17.7 (109) to 14.14 (98) win.Coming off a disappointing loss to Gold Coast, the Saints returned to the same venue where they shocked Geelong two weeks earlier, but the two performances were chalk and cheese.Weve been too inconsistent over the year so far, Richardson said.Were really confident that our best footy is heading the right way, we think our players are improving ... with the ball (in hand) weve been really positive, but that wasnt the case tonight.It was the worst weve been with the footy by a fair way.The Saints, at times, had the air of a side that just expected things to happen for them against the suspension-ravaged, last-placed Bombers.Richardson disagreed with that assessment, but conceded his side had left too much to too few in the patchy display.I thought our effort was reasonable, I thought our want to try and do the right thing was positive ... we just butchered the footy, he said..ddddddddddddWe overused the ball a lot by hand and they were able to strip us ... full credit to them but in the end its (a feeling) of relief.Tim Membrey kept St Kilda in it with four of his five goals coming in the second half, while Jack Steven was enormous with 41 possessions and 12 clearances, with Jarryn Geary and Tom Hickey also earning praise from the coach.But while Richardson sounded like a coach dissecting a tough loss rather than a hard-fought win, counterpart John Worsfold was delighted with his sides effort, if still disappointed not to get over the line to snap their 12-game losing streak.Were here to win and were striving unbelievably hard to win, Worsfold said.It was disappointing to be in the game for so long and just not grab a couple of opportunities late.But the players delivered on pretty much everything we asked them to do.Im really proud of how they went about that.Zach Merrett was outstanding for the Bombers with 36 possessions, while Adam Cooney, Brendon Goddard and James Kelly were all important.Worsfold was also pleased with the input of Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, Orazio Fantasia, Michael Hartley and Joe Daniher. 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