Talk » more this season and help guide the younger players

ANNECY-SEMNOZ, France -- Chris Froome retained his big race lead Saturday to ensure that he will become Britains second successive Tour de France champion after Bradley Wiggins. Only an accident or other freak mishap on Sundays largely ceremonial final ride to Paris could stop Froome from winning the 100th Tour. Froome finished third in a dramatic Stage 20 to the ski station of Annecy-Semnoz in the Alps that decided the other podium placings. Nairo Quintana from Colombia won the stage and moved up to second overall. Joaquim Rodriguez from Spain rode in 17 seconds behind Quintana. He moved up to third overall. Froomes lead is more than five minutes over both those two. Alberto Contador, who had been second at the start of the day, struggled on the final climb and dropped off the podium. The 125-kilometre trek was the last of four successive stages in the Alps and the final significant obstacle Froome needed to overcome before Sundays usually relaxed ride to the finish on the Champs-Elysees in Paris. That 133-kilometre jaunt starts in Versailles. Froomes dominance at this Tour was such that this victory could very well be the first of several. At 28, he is entering peak years for a bike racer. He proved at this Tour that he excels both in climbs and time trials -- skills essential for those who want to win cyclings premier race. He also handled with poise and aplomb questions about doping in cycling and suspicions about the strength of his own performances. He insisted that he raced clean. Froome first took the race lead and the yellow jersey that goes with it on Stage 8, when he won the climb to the Ax-3 Domaines ski station in the Pyrenees. On Sundays Stage 21, he will wear the yellow jersey for the 13th straight day. Froome told French television that when he passed the sign showing 2 kilometres to go on Saturdays final climb, "for the first time I realized that it was almost won." "It was hard today," he said. "Rodriguez and Quintana raced very strongly." Sunday "will be a day for sprinters on the Champs-Elysees. For us, it is done." Saturdays stage did a big loop south of Annecy, through the mountains of Savoie between the lakes of Annecy and Bourget. This is cheese-making country, with lush Alpine pastures and dense, naturally cool forests. Quintanas win also secured him the spotted jersey awarded to riders who pick up the most points on mountain climbs. He also retained the white jersey as the Tours best young rider. He wiped away tears in his news conference as stage winner. "I couldnt ask for more," he said. "I got nearly everything. It was fabulous." "Its a very special day in Colombia. A big party and the whole of Colombia is celebrating." Unlike on Friday, when storms drenched the pack, the sun shone and the skies were blue on Sataurday. When a motorbike-borne television camera focused on Spanish rider Alejandro Valverde, he motioned that riding in such conditions was hot, tiring work. The ride took the racers up six climbs. The last two of those were particularly tough. The last steep climb to Annecy-Semnoz, past ski lifts and ski slopes, was rated HC or "Hors Categorie", meaning its considered too hard to classify. It was the last really tough climb of this Tour. The riders have just two small humps to climb on their leisurely Sunday ride from the Versailles Palace to the Champs-Elysees cobbles, where sprinters including Mark Cavendish will battle for the stage win. Uniquely for the 100th Tour, Stage 21 will set off in the late afternoon, so the race finishes more or less as the sun is setting behind the Arc de Triomphe. For a chunk of Saturday, the race was led by its oldest rider, Jens Voigt. The 41-year-old German was part of a group of 10 riders that broke away fromn the pack early in the stage. "Since Im almost sure that this was my last Tour, I wanted to say a proper goodbye," said Voigt. "I gave eveything," he said. "Im happy and now it is over for me." He was caught in the battle on the final climb. Quintana, Froome and Rodriguez rode off, leaving Contador to labour behind. The winner of 2007 and 09 who was stripped of his 2010 victory and banned for a failed doping test ran out of legs. Contador placed 7th in the stage, coming in more than 2 minutes behind Quintana. That dropped him to 4th overall, more than seven minutes back from Froome. Canadas Ryder Hesjedal is 69th overall after finishing the stage in 85th. David Veilleux of Cap-Rouge, Que., is 122nd overall while Svein Tuft of Langley, B.C., is last at 170th. Steve McMichael Jersey . Isner, ranked No. 14, won his eighth career singles title and took the title in New Zealand for the second time after his victory in 2010. The match was similar to Isners quarterfinal victory over fifth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber which went to three sets, all tiebreaks and contained no breaks of serve. Paddy Driscoll Jersey . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. http://www.custombearsjersey.com/custom-isaiah-irving-jersey-large-3146t.html .com) - Following a late-game loss to the reigning NBA champs, the Toronto Raptors will look to sustain their recent high-level play as they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers. Robbie Gould Jersey . -- Running backs Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings were back at practice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday despite being hampered by hamstring injuries. Allen Robinson II Jersey . -- Ty Montgomery had 290 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, and fifth-ranked Stanford held on to beat No. COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Texas A&M returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011 last season and reached the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in school history with a veteran-laden team that coach Billy Kennedy had been building for years.This year, the Aggies will try and sustain that success despite losing four starters from a team that was the co-Southeastern Conference champion.Were excited about the young guys we have, Kennedy said. Were going to be big, have a great front line. If we can get some solid guard play I think well be able to compete for another SEC championship.Texas A&Ms only returning starter is sophomore center Tyler Davis, who had a great freshman year to help the Aggies to a school-record 28 wins. Davis was selected by the media to the SEC preseason first team, after averaging 11.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks a game last season.The 6-foot-10 Davis is a major reason why the Aggies are expected to be solid again and why they were predicted by the media to finish third in the SEC behind Kentucky and Florida.Davis has high expectations for the team despite all of the players the Aggies lost.Last year we had a great run and this year were looking to go even farther, he said.In order for that to happen, the Aggies will need some young players to take another step this season. D.J. Hogg, a high school teammate of Davis, appeared in every game as a freshman last season with three starts. The 6-9 forward averaged 6.2 points and 2.9 rebounds last season but will be counted on for more scoring this season in taking over for star Danuel House.Texas A&M is also looking for a big year from fellow sophomore Admon Gilder. The guard will move into the starting lineup this year after averaging seven points a game in a reserve role last season.Some things too know about the 2016-17 Aggies:YOUTH RULESThe Aggies will be very young this season after having four senior starters a year ago.dddddddddddd This team has 13 freshmen and sophomores, just two seniors and one junior and will likely start only one player that isnt a freshman or sophomore. Its a change for Kennedy, who hes not used to playing with a team filled with freshman and sophomores like teams like Kentucky are.This is new territory for me, he said.SIZE AND LEADERSHIPSix-foot-10 junior Tonny Trocha-Morelos will pair with Davis to give A&M great interior size. Trocha-Morelos contributed seven points a game last year in a reserve role, but is looking to do more this season and help guide the younger players.Im one of the older guys so I need to be more of a vocal leader and be there to encourage my teammates to bring everything theyve got, he said.NEW FACESThe Aggies have several new players who could play important roles this season led by forward Robert Williams, who was rated as the top recruit in Louisiana last season. They also added ESPN top 100 recruit guard J.J. Caldwell and graduate transfer J.C. Hampton, who made 92 starts in three seasons at Lipscomb. Another intriguing addition is 6-11 forward Eric Vila, who passed up a chance to play professionally in his native Spain to join the Aggies. Vila could create problems for defenses with his ability to play inside paired with an ability to sink 3-pointers.HOME COOKINGTexas A&M opens the season with three straight home games. They Aggies will host Northwestern State to begin the season on Nov. 11, followed by a game against American and then USC before hitting the road for their next three games. ' ' '