OROPA, Italy -- Enrico Battaglin sprinted to victory on a tough uphill finish to claim the 14th stage of the Giro dItalia on Sat

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OROPA, Italy -- Enrico Battaglin sprinted to victory on a tough uphill finish to claim the 14th stage of the Giro dItalia on Saturday as the race hit the first of the high mountains. Salvador Perez Jersey . The Italian came from behind to overtake Jarlinson Pantano in the final 50 metres and edge out Dario Cataldo on the line after a climb to the sanctuary of Oropa, the scene of Marco Pantanis memorable victory in 1999. Pantano finished seven seconds behind. "I didnt believe I could do it until the last kilometre. My legs were at their limits, I was tired too," Battaglin said. "Then I saw that others too were breaking down. Then I gained some meters immediately, I gritted my teeth and I passed them in the last 20 metres. It is a superb win for me, what a fight." Rigoberto Uran of Colombia retained the overall lead but saw his advantage cut on the 164-kilometre (102-mile) route from Aglie. Cadel Evans -- who wore the pink jersey earlier in the race -- gained five seconds and is now 32 seconds behind Uran. Rafal Majka is third overall, 1:35 behind. "We lost a few seconds, but its no worry," Uran said. "The team is doing well, Im calm. But the Giro is still very open." It was the second of three stages dedicated to Pantani, the Italian cyclist who won both the Giro and Tour de France in 1998. He was found dead in a hotel room on Valentines Day in 2004, and a coroner ruled he died from cocaine poisoning. As the Giro entered the final week, the race entered the mountains and Fridays route had four categorized climbs including the steep final ascent. The breakaway of the day was formed of 21 riders but the peloton were happy to let them go, with none of the escapees less than half an hour behind Uran in the overall standings. The first two weeks of the Giro had been littered with crashes on wet roads, and even though the day was dry there was another crash with around 102K (63 miles) remaining as the peloton went through a roundabout. No one was seriously injured but Kanstantsin Siutsou later quit the race. Pieter Weening -- who won the ninth stage -- also retired during the day. The gap to the breakaway group went up to more than 10 minutes because of the crash but was back down to 9:29 at the start of the category 2 climb up to Alpe Noveis. And the peloton had gained more than two minutes at the top of the ascent after a gradient of up to 16 per cent. Nicolas Roche escaped from the break on the highest climb of the day, up the Bielmonte, which has a ski station at the summit. As he crested the top, he had 10 seconds on the remainder of the original break, which was down to 12 cyclists. The Irish cyclist was caught on the descent and Albert Timmer and Manuel Quinziato took over the lead before the latter had a mechanical problem at the start of the final climb. Timmer made an attempt to stay in front but was caught with 2K (1.2 miles) remaining by Cataldo and Pantano and dropped shortly after. Battaglin powered to catch the lead group inside the final kilometre and he surged forward again on the cobbled ramps up to the finish. Strong climbers Nairo Quintana and Domenico Pozzovivo will be looking to gain more time on Uran as the Giro stays in the mountains. Sundays 15th stage is mainly flat before another tough climb up to the finish of the 225K (140-mile) leg from Valdengo to Montecampione. Alcides Escobar Jersey . Hawkins severely sprained his left ankle while making a diving catch during training camp and went on injured reserve with a designation he could return midway through the season. He was back at practice Wednesday. Kendrys Morales Jersey . Helwani said that Weidman has been dealing with recurring swelling and pain in his knees related to torn meniscus he suffered as a teenager and the problems came to a head last week when he suffered prolonged swelling and pain in his left knee, resulting in the decision to undergo an arthroscopic scope procedure to clean up the tear in both knees. http://www.authentickcroyalsprostore.us/Alex-Gordon-royals-jersey/ . On Saturday, the paths of Drew Tate and Kevin Glenn cross again as opposing quarterbacks.Melbourne, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - Serena Williams is again the Australian Open champion. The top-seeded American earned her sixth Aussie Open title and 19th career Grand Slam championship with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) triumph over Maria Sharapova on Saturday at Rod Laver Arena. Williams won in Melbourne for the first time since 2010, finishing the match with an ace in the second-set tiebreaker on her third championship point. She now owns the second-most womens Grand Slam titles in the Open Era, surpassing legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. Only Steffi Graf has more with 22. Sharapova was trying for a second Australian Open title. She fell to 2-17 lifetime against Williams and has lost the last 16 meetings. The 33-year-old Williams notched her 65th career title and has captured the last two Grand Slam events, taking the U.S. Open crown last September. Williams had a break point opportunity in the opening game of the match when Sharapova fired a backhand wide. A double fault quickly gave Williams the early advantage. The players were locked at 30-30 in the sixth game when rain forced the closing of the roof. Williams hardly seemed affected by the delay, following an ace with a strong forehand winner to complete the hold for a 4-2 lead. A double fault gave Williams three break points in the next game, but she only needed one as Sharapova fired a backhand long. Sharapova broke back, but Williams responded to the poor service game with a break at love to take the first set. Williams continued her strong play into the secondd set with a hold at love, then had two more break points in the next game. Omar Infante Royals Jersey. Sharapova, though, regrouped and managed to save both before holding. Each player had a break chance midway through the second set, but Williams failed to convert her opportunity with a wide backhand in the sixth game and Sharapova sent a forehand wide in the seventh game. Another Sharapova forehand error gave Williams her first championship point in the 10th game, but the Russian came up with a big serve that Williams barely returned. Sharapova followed with a blistering forehand that drew applause from the American. After Williams held with an ace, Sharapova held at love to force the tiebreak. Sharapova won the first point of the tiebreak with a forehand return winner, but Williams won the next four to take control. At 6-4, Sharapova came up with a forehand that Williams could not return to save a second championship point. Williams then blasted what appeared to be an ace to win the title, but it was ruled a let. She dropped her racket in disbelief, then followed with the same serve. This one did not tip the tape and she dropped her racket again, but in exultation. Sharapova fell to 5-5 all-time in Grand Slam finals, including 1-3 against Williams. The only victory came in the 2004 Wimbledon title match. Williams also beat Sharapova for the 2007 Australian Open crown and for the 2013 French Open title. The 27-year-old Sharapovas lone Australian Open championship came in 2008 against Ana Ivanovic. She also lost the 2012 final against Victoria Azarenka. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '