BELFAST, Northern Ireland - Canadian Svein Tuft powered Orica Green-Edge to victory in the team time trial in Belfast in the opening stage of the Giro dItalia on Friday, taking the overall leaders pink jersey on his 37th birthday. Orica, which was the overwhelming stage favourite, clocked a time of 24 minutes, 42 seconds along the 21.7-kilometre course, which was lined by more than 140,000 fans. The Australian team benefited from starting second and avoiding most of the rain that fell later. "What an amazing day, I never in my life would have imagined something like this," said Tuft, a native of Langley, B.C. "Im so proud of my team and I just cant thank them enough for that. They gave me the gift, it was really a birthday present. This team is really selfless that way. I feel really fortunate to be given that gift on my birthday." Omega Pharma-QuickStep finished second, five seconds behind Orica, beating third-place BMC by just two seconds. Cadel Evans looked strong for BMC and is one of the favourites after last years third-place finish. With defending champion Vincenzo Nibali not competing, Tour de France runner-up Nairo Quintana is another of the race favourites and his Movistar team finished eighth, 55 seconds behind Orica. One of his rivals, Joaquim Rodriguez, had a poor start as his Katusha team struggled throughout and only finished 19th. Rodriguez is 1 minute, 33 seconds behind Tuft and 38 seconds behind Quintana. While it has become a tradition for the first Giro stage to be held outside Italy, this is the first time that the Grande Partenza — or the Big Start — took place outside mainland Europe. Despite the wind and rain, it was a festive atmosphere in the Northern Irish city, with large crowds lining the route and cheering the riders on. However, Irish rider Dan Martin crashed after just 15 minutes, leaving him with a suspected broken collarbone. Martin caused the crash when he caught his wheel on a drain cover and went down strongly on his right arm, bringing down several of his Garmin-Sharp teammates. The four cyclists who were able to continue had to wait for teammate Fabian Wegmann — who had been dropped early on — to catch up with them, as rules stipulate a team has to finish with at least five riders for its time to count. Garmin eventually finished last, 3:26 behind Orica. That means Ryder Hesjedals chances of repeating his 2012 Giro success are all but over. "Obviously there was a crash, and there was only four of us that stayed ahead," said Victoria native Hesjedal. "It was right before a corner and you hear something had happened, we were already through the corner, looked back and there was nobody there. "Obviously it was pretty scary because you dont know what the hell is going on. I dont know what happened, it was basically a nightmare." Belfast is also the start and finish point for Saturdays 218-kilometre leg, which takes in picturesque rock formation, the Giants Causeway along its coastal route. The Giro ends in Trieste on June 1. Trevor Booker Jersey . -- Golden State Warriors reserve centre Ognjen Kuzmic is expected to miss at least six weeks after undergoing surgery on his fractured right hand. Wilt Chamberlain Jersey . In their first meeting for six years, the Frenchmen dropped serve twice in the first set, but Giquel broke Simon two more times in the second. Gicquel moves on to face sixth-seeded Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, who advanced with a 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) win against wild card Pierre-Hugues Herbert, despite the Frenchmans 23 aces. http://www.76ersprostore.info/Cheap-Timo...u-76ers-Jersey/. -- Packers cornerback Tramon Williams has been fined $26,250 for contact with an official, per NFL guidelines. Zhaire Smith Jersey . Braden Calverts Winnipeg rink rallied to defeat Italy 8-7. After giving up three points in the second end, Calvert came back with a single, then stole two more points in the next two ends to tie it up at the fifth-end break. Shake Milton Jersey . It was a day that saw England slump off a World Cup field once again battered and bruised. This time there was no red card to wonder about, no goalkeeping error or individual mistake. They were thoroughly beaten by something they have nothing of – genuine world class ability.St. Paul, MN (SportsNetwork.com) - Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 25 shots to help the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Monday. James Wisniewski had a goal and two assists, while Scott Hartnell added a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets, who have won their past two. Brandon Dubinsky also scored in the win. It seems like when we stick with it, we get results, said Dubinsky. Weve got to find a way to keep climbing. Zach Parise had the only goal of the game for the Wild, who had a two-game winning streak snapped. Devan Dubnyk allowed all three goals on 23 shots in the loss. Im always a big believer in that you have to put pucks on the net if you want to score, said Minnesota head coach Mike Yeo. Weve got the bodies to create traffic and generate secondary opportunities, and we didnt have much of that tonight. The Blue Jackets took a 2-1 lead 5:35 into the third on the power play as Nick Folignos pass from the right side of the net found Wisniewski iin front and he snapped it in for his fifth of the season.dddddddddddd Columbus sealed the win with 3:03 to play when Wisniewskis wrister from the right point was tipped in by Hartnell. Bobrovsky made nine saves in the final period to hold on for the win. Columbus drew first blood at 7:57 of the first period as Wisniewski sent a lead pass for Dubinsky, who beat Dubnyk with a wrister for his third goal of the season. Minnesota tied the game on the power play with 1:17 to play in the opening frame as Mikko Koivu sent a hard shot on net from the high slot that Parise tipped in. The Wild had a chance to tie the game in the second when Parise was awarded a penalty shot at 9:02, but his shot was stopped by Bobrovsky and the game was tied going into the third. Game Notes Columbus plays in Winnipeg on Wednesday ... Minnesota plays in Detroit on Tuesday ... Columbus was 1-for-2 on the power play, while Minnesota was 1- for-4. 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