Clan-Members » om the pioneers, but still had to scrap f

Owen Farrell took centre-stage as Saracens claimed a record-equalling 13th straight European Champions Cup win which meant Denny Solomona suffered a losing debut for Sale.Farrell scored a late try and kicked 14 points as the reigning European champions matched Munsters record of successive wins with a hard-fought 26-10 victory.For the second match in succession, Sale had three players sin-binned against Saracens, but this was a vastly improved display from last weeks 50-3 hammering at Allianz Park.Solomona played 80 minutes on the right wing but could not find the whitewash as Saracens produced a typically clinical display to underline their class.Nathan Earle scored a second try late on for Saracens before Sale lock Bryn Evans grabbed a last-gasp consolation for the hosts, who slipped to their sixth straight defeat.Solomona was announced as a Sale player earlier this week before Castleford responded by issuing High Court proceedings for damages against the player.The Super League outfit are also seeking damages against Sale and Solomonas agent Andy Clarke for allegedly inducing a breach of contract.Sale confirmed on Tuesday that prolific try-scorer Solomona had signed a three-year contract with them, despite still having two years left on his Tigers deal.He was facing a Saracens outfit who were crowned European champions last season and who thrashed the Sharks 50-3 last week. Sale were significantly improved during the first half but Saracens established a slender 6-3 lead courtesy of two penalties from Farrell.The hosts created the first opening in the eighth minute when Josh Charnley collected possession inside his own half and showed impressive pace to advance into the right channel.The former Wigan man then found full-back Mike Haley but he could not find Solomona lurking on the right touchline and the ball went into touch.Farrells first penalty then put Saracens ahead after Sale were caught offside, and then midway through the first half Solomona was presented with a golden opportunity.Brad Barritts wayward pass found Solomona on the edge of Sales 22 but the league convert spilled the ball and the opportunity was lost. Saracens began to probe but Sales defence was impressive as they continually kept their visitors at bay.After AJ MacGinty kicked a penalty to draw Sale level in the 28th minute, Saracens went close when Farrell orchestrated a fine counter-attack which saw Barritts kick to the corner sail into touch.Another penalty from Farrell restored the visitors advantage before the break while Sale lost hooker Rob Webber to a yellow card four minutes after the restart.Farrell then uncharacteristically missed two penalties in quick succession but he found his range for another three-pointer after Sale lock Evans was penalised for a deliberate knock-on.After Solomona failed to take MacGintys cross-field kick in his stride in the right corner, Sale then lost number TJ Ioane to a yellow card in the last 10 minutes after Farrell had escaped punishment for catching Haley late.Farrell then went over late on from Will Skeltons pass and Earle touched down a grubber kick before Evans crashed over late on for Sale. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Its long past time to debate whether the worlds top women cyclists can deliver a spectacle equal to the men. The greatness forged on empty roads revealed itself to a global audience Sunday in a way that should call the question forever.They raced ferociously, balancing risk and reward on their slender tires as they navigated a course whose varied microclimates made it half torment, half travelogue. Dutch rider Annemiek van Vleuten of the Netherlands, leading down the damp and treacherous descent of the Vista Chinesa, lost traction in a horrifying wreck that left her with three cracked vertebrae.Two gallant messages would appear on van Vleutens Twitter feed hours later, expressing gratitude and disappointment, saying she would be fine. But the four other women with a shot to win didnt know that when they passed her crumpled and frighteningly inert form seconds later.The superlative American climber Mara Abbott was closest. She had backed off van Vleutens wheel not long before, trusting the same instincts that have twice delivered her the championship of the Giro Rosa, the most demanding and prestigious womens stage race on the calendar.Abbott saw the wreckage by the side of the road, spared a thought for van Vleuten and refocused ahead. She nearly soloed to the line, but it was a three-on-one drag race in the flats.Her pursuers reeled her in with less than 200 meters to go. Another Dutch rider, Anna van der Breggen, won the sprint in what could hardly have been a more theatrical finish. Abbott came in fourth.The 30-year-old Abbott spoke afterward with the calm of an athlete conscious she was in competitive shock. Rios grueling, decisive climb played to her strength, and there is no guarantee that kind of topography will be a feature on the 2020 course or that she will even be in Tokyo to contest the race.Its going to take a lifetime to process, she said. Youll never have that chance again in your entire life. But you never know what comes out of what.Abbotts three U.S. teammates -- Kristin Armstrong, Evelyn Stevens and Megan Guarnier -- executed near-flawlessly and unselfishly to put her in position to win, which was notable for a couple of reasons.As has been the norm in recent Olympic lead-ups, the U.S. team was only finalized after two other riders challenged the selection in arbitration. That, in turn, has ledd to the back-channel perception of the American women overall as a squabbling pack who would have trouble coalescing on competition day -- a condescending, sexist and unfounded stereotype.ddddddddddddThe choice of two-time defending Olympic time-trial champion Armstrong was particularly controversial in part because of the demanding nature of the road race course. But Sunday, the 41-year-old Armstrong put in a huge effort on the front of the race in the flat and undulating sections before pulling out at the base of the final climb.Kristin did a fantastic job taking us in -- she was just awesome today, said Stevens, who along with Guarnier worked for Abbott until it was time for her to attack.Armstrong came up behind Abbott in mid-interview and embraced her. Both women cried.Im heartbroken for Mara, Armstrong said. I really wanted to come back for a lot of reasons. I have my time trial goals on Wednesday, but I also really wanted to contribute to history in the road race and I really believed in this team.I cant imagine being where she is right now. Shes gonna have a lot of sleepless nights.This is a distinctive group who are a step removed from the pioneers, but still had to scrap for survival in their economically unstable sport. They all came to it relatively late and will exit it with other passions in their hip pockets. Guarnier intends to pursue graduate work in neuroscience. Armstrong is a converted triathlete, the mother of a young son and works as a community liaison for a large hospital. Stevens, who also will race the Olympic time trial, discovered cycling while working on Wall Street.An interesting combination of blunt and ethereal, Abbott teaches yoga, works at a farmers market in her longtime base of Boulder, Colorado, and has long felt a tug toward environmental causes. She has characterized her very public and painful battle with an eating disorder as a climb that never really levels out.Three years ago, Abbott told me her biggest challenge was owning her athletic talent. If you hold back, you dont have to take responsibility for who you are, she said.Its long past time to debate whether she and her contemporaries have done that. If anyone needs convincing, all they need to do is watch. ' ' '