. » by the speedway to check out the festivities.

PLA DADET, France -- On the last of four Pyrenees ascents, Rafal Majka winked at a French TV camera and tugged playfully at a motorcycles antenna. Even this late in the Tour de France, the Polish rider made winning look easy as he took Stage 17 on Wednesday. For Vincenzo Nibali, the second ride in the mountains on Frances border with Spain was more serious. "The Shark" nibbled yet more seconds away from several of his closest challengers, and the yellow jersey that he has worn for all but two days of the race seemed to fit just a little more tightly ahead of the finish Sunday in Paris. Nibali was even businesslike with his own prime minister, imploring him not to get too ahead of himself in celebration. "Its true that I received a text message from Matteo Renzi, who invited me to Chigi Palace to celebrate my victory," the cautious Sicilian said about the premiers official residence. "I replied that only after winning -- if I do so -- Ill be able to say that Ill be present." The 124.5-kilometre (77-mile) trek Wednesday was the shortest stage in this years Tour. It covered three hard Category 1 ascents from Saint-Gaudens and a final push up to Pla dAdet ski station above the town of Saint-Lary-Soulan. Majka, who also won Stage 14 in the Alps, again showed hes the best climber in this Tour and tightened his grip on the polka dot jersey awarded to the races King of the Mountains. Giovanni Visconti got the action going on the last climb with a solo breakaway with about nine kilometres (5 1/2 miles) left, but could not hold off Majka. Visconti, who also is Sicilian, was second, 29 seconds back, and Nibali was third, 46 seconds behind. With a last Pyrenean day ahead Thursday, Majka could ensure that he takes the red-dot jersey home. His closest rival for it when the stage started was Spains Joaquim Rodriguez, who swatted the air in frustration at Majka when the Pole broke away on the last climb. Majka said he felt "comfort" in the last five kilometres in part because hed been saving up energy a day earlier by riding easier. He finished in a bunch 24 1/2 minutes behind Australian teammate Michael Rogers, who won Stage 16. By Wednesday, "I felt really, really good in the last climb," Majka said, after tapping his chest, thrusting his arms skyward and shouting in joy at the victory. "For me, when there are a lot of climbs, its the best." There was a time when seemingly effortless victories smacked of something more sinister at the Tour: the use of performance-enhancers. Few know the scars of cyclings doping past more than Majkas own manager at the Tinkoff-Saxo Bank team, Bjarne Riis. Once a national hero in Denmark after winning the 1996 Tour, he admitted to using blood-booster EPO more than a decade later -- and was vilified for it. He laid low for a while, but then returned to the pro cycling world. "I promised Bjarne today that I would win the stage," said Majka. The echoes of doping resonated Wednesday on the grassy Pyrenean mountainside: The last times that Saint-Lary-Soulan hosted Tour stage finishes were in 2001 and 2005 -- won by Lance Armstrong and teammate George Hincapie. Those wins were later stripped because of doping. Their names have been crossed out in the official Tour history book. Cycling has made great strides in fighting doping with enhanced blood and urine testing, along with the biological passport program, but few experts would claim that the peloton today is entirely clean. Nibali, who has called himself a "flag-bearer of anti-doping", made his latest case to become the first Italian to win cyclings showcase race in 16 years -- since Marco Pantani, who was once convicted for doping. Nibali gained just under a minute on four of his closest rivals. Second-placed Alejandro Valverde of Spain, who made a valiant recovery on the last ascent to avoid even more damage, now trails by 5 minute, 26 seconds. The exception was Jean-Christophe Peraud of France, who hugged closely on the leaders back wheel and finished fourth. With his performance, the 37-year-old Frenchman made it an even closer race for the podium spots. He is fourth overall, 6:08 behind Nibali, but just eight seconds slower than fellow Frenchman Thibaut Pinot, in third. American Tejay van Garderen, in sixth, also lost about a minute to Nibali and trails by 10:19. It came a day after his hopes for a podium spot were dealt a big blow when he lost several minutes to the other aspirants for a top-three finish in Paris. "Yesterday was a pity, it was an off day," the BMC leader said. A podium spot is still possible, he added, "but it will be hard." Stage 18s finale in the Pyrenees takes the pack on a 145.5-kilometre (90-mile) loop from Pau to Hautacam, featuring two ascents that are so hard that they defy cyclings ranking system -- one of them an uphill finish. Then its a flat stage heading northward Friday before an individual time-trial a day later, and then whats likely to be the largely ceremonial ride for the yellow jersey in Stage 21 on Sunday to the Champs-Elysees in Paris for the finish of the races 101st edition. While well-positioned to be in yellow then, Nibali was still attacking Wednesday. "I preferred to go and gain a few more seconds and to be even more serene, just in case something could happen," he said. Nike Huarache Günstig Ebay . Assistant coach Glen Gulutzan said Thursday that Edler, who played Tuesday in Nashville, is out indefinitely. Nike Air Force 1 Deutschland . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. http://www.airforce1gunstig.de/air-force-1-schwarz-deutschland.html . The 7-foot-1 Hawes, who is in the final year of his contract, is averaging 13 points and 8.5 rebounds, both career highs, and shoots 40 per cent from 3-point range. The 25-year-old Hawes is in his seventh NBA season. Nike Air Force 1 Herren Deutschland . Especially after he got ejected. "How many innings was that?" he wondered. Nike Air Presto Off White Kaufen . Mueller is the grandson of the late Ron Lancaster, the Hall-of-Fame quarterback and longtime head coach in the CFL. Last season, Mueller was quarterbacks coach of the University of Regina Rams, his alma mater. INDIANAPOLIS -- Scott Dixon insists that Ganassi Racing wasnt trying to bamboozle anybody. After struggling last week and failing to put a car in the fast nine for qualifying, the team led by defending Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan staged a rally on Carb Day. Kanaan was left atop the leaderboard Friday with a lap of 227.838 mph, while Dixon was next-fastest at 227.773 mph. "We definitely didnt do it on purpose," said Dixon, who will start in the middle of the fourth row Sunday. "We would like to roll out straightaway and be quick. I think we are normally." Kanaan will start on the inside of the sixth row as he attempts to become the first back-to-back winner since Helio Castroneves in 2003. Teammate Charlie Kimball will start in the ninth row. "We feel good about it," Kanaan said. "We worked pretty hard together to make up for our Saturday qualifying. We have great people back in the engineering office at Target Chip Ganassi Racing, and it really showed a little bit after qualifying and today." The turnaround by the Ganassi stable brought back memories of 2012, when the team struggled throughout the month of May. But by the time Carb Day rolled around, Dario Franchitti had posted the fastest lap of the day, and Dixon was close behind in second. That was how they would finish on Sunday. Franchitti went on to win his third Indy 500, and Takuma Satos last-lap spin into the Turn 1 wall allowed Dixon to finish second. Townsend Bell, three-time winner Helio Castroneves and rookie Mikhail Aleshin joined Kanaan and Dixon among the five fastest laps Friday. Andretti Autosport teammates Ryan Hunter-Reay and Marco Andretti were next on the speed chart, while Juan Pablo Montoya was ninth-quickest. Kurt Busch stepped into Andrettis backup car and climbed to 15th on the chart. Busch wrecked his primary car in practice on Monday, forcing his team to convert a car that Andretti had planned to use at Detroit from a road-course setup to an oval setup. "Just had to get back on my horse," said Busch, who will attempt to run the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte on Sunday. "As the NASCAR guys always say, Got to thank my crew, but honestly, this is a thank-the-ccrew moment from Andretti Autosport.dddddddddddd" On a busy Carb Day at Indianapolis, here are five more things that happened: ANOTHER DOUBLE: As Busch becomes the fourth driver to attempt double duty, theres been speculation more NASCAR drivers may someday try the grueling feat. Buschs younger brother, Kyle, has said hell make an attempt if he ever wins a Sprint Cup championship. "I dont know why more NASCAR guys dont do it," former IndyCar champion Ryan Hunter-Reay said. "You only live once. Its two of the biggest races in the world, so why not do it?" BLOCKING RULES: An unofficial poll of drivers indicated very few want to be the leader in the closing laps of Sundays race. But Dixon and Kanaan believe murky rules mean the leader could potentially block attempts at a pass for the win without risking a penalty from race control. "We havent gotten clarification on that. You can defend now," Dixon said. If blocking occurs, Kanaan hopes it is fair. "I dont think its fair enough sometimes to be the leader that hell be exposed and hes going to lose the race because he was in the lead. It does not make any sense," Kanaan said. "There is a certain amount of defending that should be allowed." INDY IN (SLOPE)STYLE: Olympic snowboarder Nick Goepper, who took home the bronze medal at the Sochi Games, stopped by the speedway to check out the festivities. Goepper grew up near Cincinnati in Lawrenceburg, just on the Indiana side of the state line, and plans to watch Sundays race from the infield pagoda. "I remember the movie Rush that came out, the whole racing atmosphere. These guys are incredible drivers," Goepper said. "They have so much composure. Its amazing." GETTING COMFORTABLE: Paul Tracy still wants to be in a race car, but his time appears to have passed. Now, the popular Tracy has landed a part-time gig with NBC Sports Network. The original deal called for Tracy to work in the booth for six races, but it was expanded to include NBCs limited coverage of preparations for the Indianapolis 500, as well as two additional events later this season. Tracy said he struggled initially, and but "Ill get it figured out." ' ' '