Regeln » d Justise Winslow has missed 16 games and is stil

SAINT GERVAIS MONT BLANC, France -- As Chris Froome heads toward victory in the Tour de France with a trail of rivals fighting for the podium places next to him, further back in the field -- way, way back -- the little known or seen battle just to finish the race on Sunday continues.It is the race for those who will have little or no say in the final overall outcome, or who at best are sprinters or domestiques for the fast finishers who are saving themselves for one more crack at a stage win in Sundays flat 21st stage from Chantilly to the Champs-Elysees in Paris.But there are also a large number of them who are just struggling to survive and reach Paris for the honour of saying after three weeks of racing that they are a Tour de France finisher.Whatever category these riders fall into, this late in the Tour they will work together in the grupetto -- the group that forms after the overall contenders increase the ante up front, creating a pace that for most riders behind them is too hard to maintain.Its no matter that they may be from rival teams and on any other day intent on racing against each other. Now they race with each other at a pace calculated to finish within the days time limit, as as they did in Fridays 146-kilometer 19th stage from Albertville to Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc in the Alps and will do so again on Saturday in Stage 20, 146.5km from Megeve to Morzine.Survive that stage and the grupetto?-- barring disaster -- should all reach Paris on Sunday.Bernhard Eisel (Dimension Data), 35, an 11-time Tour rider from Austria and one of the key lead-out riders for British sprinter Mark Cavendish -- who left the race on Tuesday to focus on his Olympic Games preparation -- speaks of a special camaraderie within the grupetto.It is a spirit that grows especially in the third week when the suffering ramps up.It definitely started after the second rest day [on Tuesday], Eisel told ESPN in Albertville before Fridays start to Stage 19. These last two mountain stages [Thursday and Friday], this is where the pressure builds up and it gets a little bit more nervous. Will there be a grupetto? Will I get dropped before? Thats the crucial point.If you get dropped before the grupetto?is formed then it is a long long day for you.Eisel said the Tour is different in the first and second weeks for the peloton as most riders try to hang on as long as they can and the group forms really late; whereas in the third week the grupetto?usually forms early through accumulated exhaustion suddenly kicking in and the realisation that just finishing the stage within the time limit is the one real goal left.In the last week we try to look after each other, added Eisel, who as one of the senior riders is often tasked with setting the grupettos?pace. I try to look after the guys every day. It doesnt matter which team he is from or where he is from because I know how hard it is.Eisel began Fridays stage 174th overall from 177 riders, at 3 hours, 45 minutes, 21 seconds to Froome. By the end of a day marred by a crashes, Eisel was 172nd from 175 riders at 4:21:17 after placing 170th at 31:44 to French stage winner Romain Bardet (Ag2r-La Mondiale). Bardet is now second overall at 4:11 to Froome, with Colombian Nairo Quintana (Movistar) third at 4:27.Eisels result aside, the Tour has been a huge success for him in light of his role in helping Cavendish win four stages and enjoy a day in the yellow leaders jersey after his first win.With Cavendishs victories, Eisels South African-registered Dimension Data team can add a fifth, with Briton Stephen Cummings win in Stage 7. They have also been present in many breaks with the likes of Belgian Serge Pauwels and Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen.Five stage wins is incredible. We hoped for two, Eisel said. We had the [yellow] jersey for one day and pretty much managed everything on the first stage. There on it was a nice flow.We pretty much havent missed a breakaway. We are definitely showing the jersey.Regarding Cavendish, who has been selected for the Olympics in Rio to race in the omnium on the track and be Team GBs fifth rider for the team pursuit, Eisel said: He is on fire. We saw him creeping before the Tour.He was a little bit sick. He turned it over. It was probably good he had a rest before the Tour. He got his legs spinning and in the end he was definitely the strongest ... at least the fastest [here].At the same time, thats why I think it was a good decision to go home and concentrate on the Olympics ... [to] get a little rest before he goes back to the track. Wholesale Balenciaga Speed Trainer . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. Discount Balenciaga . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. http://www.balenciagacheapshoes.com/balenciaga-triple-s-sale.html . The lawyers filed a 33-page amended complaint Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan, expanding on the suit originally filed Oct. 3 in New York Supreme Court. Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz last week refused to compel Selig to testify in the grievance, and Rodriguez then walked out of the hearing without testifying. Balenciaga Sandals Discount . The return match will take place next Wednesday. Udinese leads Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semifinal. Napoli staged a second-half comeback from two goals down after Gervinhos opener and a stunning strike from Kevin Strootman. Balenciaga Triple S Neon Green For Sale . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason. MIAMI -- The team that bonds together wins together -- or so the Miami Heat hopes.One day after the team sat in a luxury suite -- as guests of forward Udonis Haslem -- and watched the Miami Dolphins defeat the Arizona Cardinals on a last-second field goal, the Heat players enjoyed a home victory of their own.The Heat snapped a five-game losing streak by defeating the Washington Wizards 112-101 on Monday night. Point guard Goran Dragic led the way with 34 points, the most he has scored in his two years with the Heat.Next up, Miami (8-17) plays host to the Indiana Pacers (13-12) on Wednesday night.As for Dragic, who was plus-25 on Monday, the Sunday outing was the first time he has watched an NFL game in person.I prefer soccer more, said Dragic, who grew up in Europe, where the other kind of football is king. But this is my ninth year in the U.S. I like watching (American) football. I understand the rules a lot better now than before. Its an interesting game.The only Heat player who did not attend the Dolphins game was guard Dion Waiters, who was given a pass, Haslem said, because he had made previous plans to celebrate his 25th birthday.Haslem, a native of Miami whose son is a high school senior offensive lineman for local power St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the 10 best teams in the nation, is a huge football fan.Every time there was a touchdown scored in Sundays Dolphins game, Haslem made sure to find Dragic.Thats American football baby! Haslem yelled to Dragic.Besides all the jokes, there was a business side to bonding over food and football at the Dolphins game.Haslem, a veteran of the three Heat NBA championship teams, said that those previous squads all had great chemistry.That type of trust is a work in progress on the current Heat team, which has gotten together a couple of times this season in ways similar to the Dolphins game.For example, in Portland, the team met for a meal at Hoyt23, a restaurant thats owned in part by Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.Of course, team chemiistry will only take you so far.dddddddddddd A playoff team needs sufficient talent, and the Heat is clearly lacking in that area at the moment.Part of the problem has been injuries.Center Hassan Whiteside is the only member of the team who has played in every game this season.Dragic has missed five games -- and its a major loss any time hes out. Forward Justise Winslow has missed 16 games and is still not back due to a wrist injury. Wayne Ellington, one of the few pure shooters on this team, missed the seasons first 16 games. Waiters has missed nine games and is still out.In addition, Josh Richardson missed 10 games to start the season, Josh McRoberts missed nine games, and James Johnson, who has become a key player off the bench, missed four games.Add it all up, and the Heat may be one of the most injury-riddled team in the league so far this season.But the Heat, even though not at full strength with the injuries to Winslow and Waiters, will try to handle the Pacers, who won both games of their mini-homestand in the past week, beating the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday and the Charlotte Hornets on Monday.Paul George led Indiana with 37 points against Portland and 22 against Charlotte.Indiana will be without starting guard Monta Ellis (groin), who has been ruled out for this three-game road trip. Reserve guard Rodney Stuckey (knee) is questionable after being hurt against the Hornets.The Stuckey loss could be even more difficult for the Pacers to overcome than the one to Ellis. Pacers coach Nate McMillan had been using Stuckey to close out games recently.Stuckeys been doing a great job on both ends of the court, McMillan told reporters. He guards well on the perimeter, and he can initiate offense.Indiana has lost its past three games in Miami.Of course, this is a much different Heat team. In fact, the Heat are just 3-8 at home this season. ' ' '