~TheFuriousX~ » in the overall classification after four stages in 1

Dubai, United Arab Emirates (SportsNetwork.com) - Henrik Stenson birdied the final two holes on Sunday en route to repeating as champion at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai. Stenson closed with a 2-under 70 in the final round to end at 16-under-par 272. Stensons 70 broke his string of 12 consecutive rounds in the 60s on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates. The win was Stensons ninth on the European Tour. Im delighted with the day of course and the week, said Stenson. Its sweet to go on a break with this win. It was a winless season, but still a good one. This was the icing on the cake. World No. 1 Rory McIlroy nearly rallied to victory. He posted a 4-under 68 to end in a tie for second at minus-14. McIlroy was joined there by Justin Rose (69) and Victor Dubuisson (68). The day started a little slowly, but I sort of got it going on the back nine, but Henrik deserved it the way he played the last few holes, McIlroy said. I didnt have my best stuff this week, but Im proud of myself that I still gave myself a chance to win the tournament. Shane Lowry matched the low round of the day with his 6-under 66. That helped him grab fifth place at 13-under-par 275. Former Open champion Louis Oosthuizen matched Lowrys 66 to move into a tie for sixth at minus-12. Oosthuizen was joined there by Robert Karlsson (69) and Tyrell Hatton (70). Stenson got his round going with a birdie on the second. He dropped his approach shot inside five feet at the fifth and converted that birdie effort to move to 16-under. The Swede got up and down for birdie on the par-5 seventh. Stenson was one clear of his partner, Rafael Cabrera-Bello, at that point. However, Stenson 3-putted for bogey on the eighth to slip into a share of the lead. Cabrera-Bello had three birdies and a bogey on the front nine to make the turn at minus-16. Stenson hit his tee shot out of bounds on the par-4 11th and that led to a double-bogey. Cabrera-Bello was suddenly in control of the tournament, but trouble loomed. It was a horrible shot and a horrible club selection really. One of the worst shots Ive hit for a long, long time and I hit it out of bounds, Stenson stated. After that, I had to dig deep and I came back with a good par save on 12 to stay in it. Cabrera-Bello found a greenside bunker at the 12th and he failed to get up and down for par. Cabrera-Bello remained one shot ahead as he parred three in a row from the 13th. The Spaniards second at the 16th trickled inside a hazard line, but he had a shot. The 2012 Dubai Desert Classic winner blasted that shot over the green and into the water. That led to a double-bogey, which dropped Cabrera-Bello from the lead. He fell further down the leaderboard with another double-bogey at 17, where he again found water. Stenson, who parred five in a row from the 12th, was now tied for the lead with Rose and McIlroy. Rose birdied three in a row from the 14th to get to minus-14, but he parred the final two holes to end there. McIlroy, the 2012 winner, birdied the 14th and 15th to join Rose at 14-under. At the par-5 closing hole, McIlroys tee shot caromed off a rock and into the middle of the fairway. He hit the grandstands with his approach shot and would walk off with his third par in a row. That left it to Stenson. He stuffed his tee shot at the par-3 17th within two feet and he kicked that in for birdie and a 1-shot lead. Stenson closed the tournament in style as he drained a 6-foot birdie putt for the 2-shot win. It was good numbers for me. It was about 205, 210 yards into the wind and I played a nice 5-iron, and the outcome was perfect, Stenson explained of his tee shot at 17. That set me up for 18 where I needed a 5 to win it, but I managed to trickle in a 4 in. Dubuisson needed an eagle at the last to possibly force a playoff. His bunker shot got within a foot of the hole, but it spun back away from the cup. NOTES: Stenson earned 1,666,600 euros for the win ... This marked the first time in Stensons career that he has won three straight years on the European Tour ... Stenson joined Charl Schwartzel, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Oosthuizen, Stephen Gallacher and Graeme McDowell as the six players that successfully defended a title on the European Tour this season. Best Custom Shirts . Colorado came up big against Chicago last spring, and repeated that performance Tuesday night. Varlamov stopped 36 shots and Paul Stastny had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche in a 5-1 victory over the Blackhawks. Custom Shirts Outlet . According to the sportsbook BoDog, the Stampeders are 8/5 favourites to take home the Grey Cup at Mosaic Stadium in Regina on November 24. http://www.shirtscustom.us/ . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell while figuring out which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Cheap Custom Shirts . -- Nelson Cruz has only two hits in 15 at-bats against the Kansas City Royals this season. Custom Shirts Fast . But qualifying for her first Scotties Tournament of Hearts after years of falling short in tough Manitoba provincial championships is as good as consolation prizes get for the 29-year-old from Winnipegs Fort Rouge Curling Club. NICE, France -- At the Tour de France, it really isnt a cliche to say that every second counts. As a former winner, Cadel Evans knows that better than most. The 2011 champion was one of the losers Tuesday in the team time trial. Even riding bikes that cost as much as a good second-hand family saloon car, with sharp edges to slice through the air and fancy electric gears, Evans and his teammates still couldnt keep up with two of his main rivals -- Chris Froome and Alberto Contador. Evans surrendered 23 seconds to Froome and 17 to Contador. So early in the Tour -- the team race against the clock was only the fourth of 21 stages -- such small losses are by no means fatal to Evans hopes of finishing on the podium in Paris on July 21. Riders who have bad days in the Pyrenees, in the second week, or on Mont Ventoux and in the Alps, in the third week, could lose far more than that on just one steep climb. Still, Evans was the first to acknowledge that handing this early edge to the big favourites for the overall victory was far from ideal. Somewhere, somehow, Evans now has to make up that lost time if he can. Depending on how the race unfolds, the deficit could force the Australian to try to attack Froome and Contador in the mountains. That will be risky because both are better climbers than Evans. Contador, 30, and Froome, 28, are also a good bit younger than the 36-year-old Australian. "You look to gain every second at this point in the Tour and losing a lot of seconds certainly isnt what I hoped for today and it isnt what I expected," he said. "Weve been put on the back foot and well have to see what opportunities come our way. "The simple analysis is we werent fast enough." That wasnt true of Orica-GreenEdge. The team of six Australians, a Swiss rider, a South African and time-trial specialist Svein Tuft of Langley, B.C., made itself at home on the Promenade des Anglais -- "the promenade of the English" -- with the quickest ever team time trial on the 15.5-mile route that went out and back along the famous beachside avenue in the Mediterranean city of Nice. Racing past the palm trees Orica beat Omega Pharma-Quick Step by less than 1 second and Froomes Team Sky by 3 seconds. Oricas average speed of 35.9 mph was the fastest ever for a team time trial at the 110-year-old Tour. According to the race organizers history guide, the previous fastest team time trial was by Discovery Channel, with Lance Armstrong. It averaged 35.6 mph on a course nearly three times as long in 2005. This 100th Tour is the first since Armstrong was last year stripped of his wins from 1999-2005 for serial doping. Setting aside that tainted result, Garmin-Cervelo rode an average speed of 34.5 mph on a 14.3-mile course in 2011. The team event is as much about rhythm and the nine riders working smoothly together as it is about raw speed. In their aerodynamic tear-drop shaped helmets that wouldnt look out of place in Star Trek, the teams set off one after another at four-minute intervals. The riders take turns at the front, pedalling as hard as they can, while their teammates follow in a line, catching their breath in the slipstream before theey go back to the front again.dddddddddddd Mastering the choreography is an art. The strongest riders must make sure not to leave teammates behind. "It was just smooth. When youre going really high speed, its all about keeping it smooth. You know, no champion efforts, no big individual efforts, it is about riding to the strength of the team," Orica rider Stuart OGrady said. Another Orica rider, Simon Gerrans, took over the race lead and the yellow jersey that goes with it. Orica has so far been the standout team at this Tour -- mostly for good reasons but also for bad. Its bus got stuck at the finish line of Stage 1, causing momentary mayhem and making the team the butt of jokes. But it wiped the smile off rivals faces with Gerrans winning Stage 3 and now in yellow thanks to the time trial victory that gave him and two teammates the top three spots in the overall standings. Gerrans took up cycling to help rehabilitate knee injuries he got racing motorbikes. He was introduced to the sport and coached by Phil Anderson, the first Australian to wear the yellow jersey, back in 1981. One of Oricas directors is Matt White -- a former teammate of Armstrong. White last year admitted to involvement in doping when he rode with Armstrongs U.S. Postal Service team. White was banned for six months. The punishment was reduced from two years because White is helping the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority investigate cycling. White wouldnt get into detail on this Tuesday. "I think everythings been said," he said. "So obviously with ongoing investigations theres nothing more to say about that." After four stages, the Tour has now had three different proud bearers of the yellow jersey. Marcel Kittel and Jan Bakelants wore it before Gerrans. In 2012, the Tour had just two leaders -- Fabian Cancellara and then eventual winner Bradley Wiggins, who took the jersey on Stage 7 and never gave it back. Victorias Ryder Hesjedal was the top Canadian in the overall classification after four stages in 16th place, 17 seconds behind Gerrans. Quebec Citys David Veilleux, riding with Team Europcar, was in 117th place, 15:20 off the pace. Tuft was in 152nd, 26 minutes back. Froome, Wiggins lieutenant last year on Team Sky but now its leader, was buoyant after the time trial. He is starting to sound more comfortable with the mantle of race favourite. "Im feeling like Im really coming into some good form now ahead of the mountains," the Briton said. His aim, of course, is to get the yellow jersey eventually, but not quite yet. The Tour swings westward through Provence to Marseille and then Montpellier on Wednesday and Thursday. Those predominantly flat stages are for sprinters or riders who will be allowed to breakaway because they arent a threat for overall victory. Froome, Contador, Evans and other main contenders will probably be happy to sit safely in the pack before they do battle in the more decisive mountain climbs and two individual time trials later in the race. "It gives us a few more days to be in the peloton and wait until the mountains come, where I feel the team will really excel," Froome said. ' ' '