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VAL MARTELLO, Italy -- Nairo Quintana moved into the overall lead in the Giro dItalia after winning a tough and controversial 16th stage, in difficult weather conditions across the legendary Gavia and Stelvio climbs on Tuesday. Quintana, who is famed for his climbing skills, finished eight seconds ahead of Ryder Hesjedal. Pierre Rolland was third, 1:13 slower, on the 139-kilometre (86-mile) route from Ponte di Legno to Val Martello -- half of which was uphill. The 24-year-old Quintana -- one of the race favourites -- started the day 2 minutes and 40 seconds behind former leader Rigoberto Uran but beat his fellow Colombian by more than four minutes. Uran slipped to second, 1:41 behind Quintana, who showed he has recovered from a difficult opening two weeks, in which he suffered badly from a crash and also had to take antibiotics to fight a chest cold and fever. "It was raining a lot. We couldnt see any motorcycle. We all knew it was very dangerous," Quintana said. "We climbed the Stelvio together, and we all started to descend. There were four or five of us who pulled clear of the group. "I went at my rhythm. I gave everything today. I was climbing well in the end." Cadel Evans was third, 3:21 behind Quintana, and only five seconds ahead of Rolland, with other rivals also gaining time on the Australian. It was the first time both the Gavia and the Stelvio had been climbed on the same day and the stage was an exact copy of one of the legs in last years Giro, which had to be altered because of bad weather. There were fears the weather would again affect the stage this year and there was brief confusion as it was wrongly reported the route down the Stelvio had been neutralized with blizzards and rain making the technical descent even more treacherous. Some teams as well as the person responsible for the Giros official twitter account misinterpreted instructions to be careful on the descent, with riders slowing down at the top, wrongly understanding it to have been neutralized. "The communication was badly interpreted by some teams," race director Mauro Vegni said. "The indications only highlighted the danger of several curves in a risky part of the descent. It was never said that the race was neutralized or that they shouldnt race." Several team directors continued to insist they had been told by the race radio to tell their cyclists the descent had been neutralized. That came after the cyclists had already dealt with heavy fog and snow on the Gavia. There was a group of 10 cyclists in the break which led up up the Stelvio and although, they had a lead of over two minutes, that started to come down on the climb. Dario Cataldo attacked 2km (1.2 mile) from the summit and went on to claim the Cima Coppi prize, awarded to the cyclist who crosses the highest point of the race first. He sped down the descent, as confusion appeared to reign in the peloton, with some cyclists sitting up and taking time to put on warmer clothing. Quintana went clear of Uran, and his chasing group was 1:20 behind Cataldo as the latter started the final climb up Val Martello, with the maglia rosa group more than two minutes further back. The Colombian and Rolland attacked with 18km (11 miles) remaining and caught Cataldo shortly afterward. Hesjedal caught up with the leading trio and Cataldo was then dropped as the leaders upped their pace. They continued to distance the overall leaders and Quintana accelerated with 7.5km (4.6 miles) to go, as the gradient ramped up to 14%. Rolland and Hesjedal managed to stay with Quintana, but had no response when the Movistar rider upped the pace yet again on an equally steep part just inside the final kilometre. Vans Shoes Sale Uk . -- Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run homer, Colby Rasmus drove in two runs and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers 9-4 on Saturday. Cheap Vans Shoes Uk . Martin Reway and David Griger both recorded four points with a goal and three assists each. Mario Lunter, Daniel Gachulinec and Stanislav Horansky also scored for Slovakia (1-0). Dominik Kahun had both goals for Germany (0-2), who lost its opening match to Canada 7-2 on Thursday. http://www.wholesalevansuk.com/ .com) - Nathan MacKinnon scored the winning goal in the shootout as the Colorado Avalanche rallied for a 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins on Wednesday. Vans Shoes Clearance Sale Uk . His Chicago Blackhawks teammates werent shocked when he found it. Kanes career has been defined by his brilliance in the Blackhawks biggest moments, and his tiebreaking goal with 3:45 to play in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals will rank among the best. Vans Shoes Clearance Uk . Right-hander Ricky Nolasco and the Twins agreed to terms on a free-agent contract Wednesday, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press.PHILADELPHIA -- The Flyers turned the worst start in team history into a playoff berth. They forced Game 7 after a 3-2 series deficit. The Flyers simply ran out of comebacks. Just as it has in every season since winning it all in 1975, Philadelphia heads home without a Stanley Cup. The New York Rangers eliminated the Flyers with a 2-1 win in Game 7 in the first round on Wednesday, extending their championship drought to 38 seasons, the sixth-longest streak in the NHL. There was one sliver of consolation Thursday when team captain Claude Giroux was selected as a Hart Trophy finalist, the leagues MVP award. Giroux matched a career high with 28 goals and finished third in the NHL scoring race (86 points), helping the Flyers rally from a 3-9-0 start. Hes the fifth Flyer to be a finalist, joining Bobby Clarke, Eric Lindros (who both won), and goalies Pelle Lindbergh and Bernie Parent. Individual award nominations are nice, and this one was sweet for Giroux after Team Canada bypassed him for the Olympics. But they simply dont compare to the thrill of hoisting the Stanley Cup. "We do have to be proud of what we did," Giroux said. "Last place and being able to come back and get everybody back on the same page. We had a lot of fun doing it. But right now, it stings a lot we cant be in the second round." Giroux had his chance in 2010 when the Flyers reached Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals. But since that tantalizing run, theyve shown few signs of establishing themselves as a perennial contender. As they rallied from the bottom of the East all the way to the playoffs, the Flyers found two key cogs to their future are already in place: Coach Craig Berube and goalie Steve Mason. General manager Paul Holmgren made the right call when he fired Peter Laviolette after an 0-3 start and promoted the coach known as "Chief." After a small adjustment period, he had the Flyers playing as one of the top teams in the conference, leading to a 42-30-10 (94 points) finish.dddddddddddd "We were stuck in a hole for a while and they battled out of it," Berube said. "They stuck together and went to a Game 7." Mason, the NHLs rookie of the year in 2008-09, pushed aside the doubts that lingered from Columbus that he could become a No. 1 goalie and blossomed into their goalie of the future. His mix of sensational saves and easygoing personality helped the Flyers start to erase the memories of Ilya Bryzgalov from their consciousness. "This teams a lot of fun to play with and Im looking forward to growing them in the future," Mason said. Giroux, Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek form a nice offensive nucleus. Veteran defenceman Kimmo Timonen may decide to retire, though of the rest of the D was a sore point for the Flyers, especially in the post-season when Mason faced tough shot after tough shot with little break. The Flyers might not have made the playoffs without Mason. They might have beat the Rangers with even a solid defensive effort. "At no given time were we feeling we were out of the series, or out of it this season, for that matter," Mason said. This year, the Flyers celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Broad Street Bullies team that left a lasting mark on the league, but has done nothing to get them closer to holding that third championship parade down Philadelphia. The Flyers havent advanced past the second round since the surprising Stanley Cup finals run in 2010. But a year after missing the playoffs, the Flyers at least stabilized themselves and proved that an addition or two on the blue line can push them deeper into the post-season. "Game 7. Lose 2-1. Cant get closer than that," Giroux said. "For a young team, I think its great. Its only going to make us stronger." ' ' '