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LONDON -- At this point, the top Tour de France sprint star might be called Sir Marcel. Marcel Kittel, the German with a French first name, led a bunch sprint to win Mondays Stage 3 with a finish on the doorstep of Queen Elizabeths Buckingham Palace. Two days earlier, he courted royal attention as Prince William and Kate saw him win Stage 1 in Yorkshire in another sprint. The stage wrapped up the English debut to this 101st Tour edition, a rousing success among cycling-crazed British fans. Riders hopped on planes and bid "au revoir" to the UK before flying across the English Channel onto the races home turf. Rain in the City of London doused riders at the end of the 155-kilometre (96-mile) ride from the university town of Cambridge to a dramatic finish past landmarks Big Ben and Westminster. Italys Vincenzo Nibali retained the overall leaders yellow jersey with a 2-second lead over the most likely contenders to win the three-week race in Paris on July 27. Svein Tuft was the top Canadian in 138th place, 16 minutes 13 seconds off the lead. Christian Meier, also from Langley, B.C., was 17:31 back in 154th. Kittel, led out perfectly by Giant-Shimano teammates, made it look easy as he sped down a final wide approach on The Mall with Buckingham Palace behind him. Peter Sagan of Slovakia was second and Australias Mark Renshaw was third. "Im really, really happy I could win in front of Buckingham Palace," said Kittel, who won four Tour stages last year. "It was one of the greatest finishes Ive ever seen in front of this great scenery." FIRST PARIS, NOW LONDON The hulking German made it a tale of two cities. He added London glory to his record after also winning on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, in the Tour finale last year. His job in the sprints got a lot easier after Britains Mark Cavendish pulled out of the race after injuring his shoulder in a crash in Saturdays Stage 1. "Its one big opponent that is not in the race anymore," Kittel said. "Of course, that changes things for me, but also for the team." Kittel is no threat for the yellow jersey. Like many sprinters, he struggles on climbs and fell nearly 20 minutes behind Nibali in the overall standings in an up-and-down ride on Sunday through the hills and dales of Yorkshire. Nibalis biggest challengers for the prized leaders shirt remain title-holder Chris Froome of Britain and Spains Alberto Contador, who finished with the same time as the Italian and Kittel in an 84-rider bunch. On Monday, the pack cruised nervously and let two breakaway riders go free on Monday. The duo was caught with about 6 kilometres (4 miles) left. EUROPEAN UNITY AMONG FANS? Tour officials estimated fans made nearly 5 million individual visits -- some may have attended more than one stage -- to the route in the first three stages. In signs of cross-Channel comity, Tour chief Christian Prudhomme took English lessons before the race; Britons waved both French tricolours and their beloved Union Jacks. But the teeming curbs, sidewalks and roadsides again caused trouble for the riders. With about 30 kilometres (19 miles) left, 2010 Tour winner Andy Schleck of Luxembourg was among riders who crashed briefly, and French TV showed a fan on the ground. Schleck, who gingerly returned to the race, said he didnt hit a spectator. "I guess it was my own fault," said Schleck, who collided with another rider and hurtled over his handlebars. His Trek Factory Racing teammate Jens Voigt said: "I saw about 15 crashes today. In the end there were two guys on the ground but I dont know what happened exactly ... Thats the Tour de France. The first week is always nervous." In other spills, Ted King of Cannondale and Jan Bakelants, a Belgian rider on Cavendishs Omega Pharma QuickStep team who wore yellow jersey two days last year, each scraped up their right elbows and knees. Some fans got political. A few held up placards imploring Prime Minister David Cameron not to back a U.S.-European Union free trade pact. Three topless protesters bearing slogans condemning female genital mutilation staged a brief protest near the Houses of Parliament before police bundled them away in fluorescent vests. The course route Monday notably bypassed Trafalgar Square, whose landmark Nelsons Column commemorates a British hero of the Napoleonic Wars. Stage 4 takes riders over 163.5 kilometres (105 miles) from Le Touquet-Paris Plage to Lille Metropole on the border with Belgium. Froomes Team Sky floated the idea that the pack might well ride under the sea rather than fly over it one day, if the Tour ever returns to the UK. The team released a glitzy video Monday saying that last month he became the first man to cycle through the Channel tunnel. In the video, Froome quipped: "This could be a really, really cool stage of a race." Wholesale Basketball Shoes . The Twins announced Thursday the 28-year-old Albers cleared waivers. He will join the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization. Wholesalle Basketball Shoes China .Michael Briscoe is serving a life sentence for sexual assault, kidnapping and first-degree murder in the death of 13-year-old Nina Courtepatte in 2005. http://www.wholesalebasketballshoes.us/.Mateo Kovacic and Andrea Ranocchia scored for Inter, which had goalkeeper Samir Handanovic to thank for several crucial saves.Its an important victory against a Chievo side which plays well, Mancini said. Cheap Basketball Shoes China .com) - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quickly found themselves a new offensive coordinator, and one thats quite familiar with the NFC South. Cheap Basketball Shoes Free Shipping . The Flames announced Monday that Treliving, a former assistant general manager with the Coyotes, will take over the vacant GM spot in Calgary. "Im ready for this,"Treliving said.JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars are moving from tarps to pools. The Jaguars provided a hard-hat tour of their $63 million stadium renovation Tuesday, showing off the worlds largest scoreboards, a pair of wading pools and a two-story party deck that will include 20 all-inclusive cabanas. Jacksonville removed 9,500 chair-back seats to make room for the new construction in the north end zone. That allowed the team to remove 12 of 16 tarps around EverBank Field. The tarps have been an eyesore for years and essentially made the Jaguars the brunt of jokes. Maybe more importantly for a small-market franchise trying to change perception after years of futility, the covered sections wont be seen on television. The Jaguars will unveil the scoreboards and cabanas at a Carrie Underwood concert July 26. Already, the team has sold 65 per cent of its cabanas for the 2014 season. Cabana seating is sold out for three home games: against Pittsburgh (Oct. 5), against the New York Giants (Nov. 30) and against Houston (Dec. 7). "Were trying to give fans a compelling reason to leave the comfort of their homes and to come and watch the Jaguars in person," Jaguars president Mark Lamping said. "We have to make sure the experience, when people spend their hard-earned money, is really good. But more importantly, it is unique and distinctly different than what you can get at home." The Jaguars are selling 12 upstairs cabanas for $3,000 a game, with a maximum of 20 people in each suite. The price includes all-you-can-eat food and all-you-can-drink beer, wine and soda. The eight downstairs cabanas -- the only tickets that include pool access -- are going for $12,500 a game, with a maximum of 50 people in each suite. Those also are all-inclusive. Throw in 120 bar-rail seats located in the north end zone and adjacent to the pools, and the Jaguars have completely changed the look and feel of their 20-year-old stadium. Those bar-rail seats cost $150 a game and include food and drinks. "This starts to give our building character, gives our building a personality that fits this market," ssaid Chad Johnson, the teams senior vice-president of ticket sales.dddddddddddd "Were in a great warm-weather market where water, beaches, the river are all part of it. So this incorporates not only whats local, but it incorporates a high-end beach resort. You go to a high-end beach report and sit in a cabana, what do you have there? You have the luxury of the beach but the ability to pull away from it with comfort of shade, fans, televisions that you cant get with your chair parked in that sand. "It gives a mix of the two experiences. At the end of the day that football game is what were here to see, but they can experience it in a different way." Jacksonville increased capacity inside its "fan cave" from 400 to more than 600, giving anyone with a ticket access to the Internet and televisions in an air conditioned area overlooking the south end zone. The team also redesigned a section of club seats, adding tables and four swivel chairs to create a sports-bar atmosphere. Finally, the team added 180 field-level seats, providing fans an up-close look that closely resembles basketball or hockey. "Were trying to make sure we have a sustainable franchise here in Jacksonville, a team that is sustainable from a financial standpoint, a team that is sustainable from an on-field performance standpoint, which means a consistently competitive team." Lamping said. "And everything were doing is designed to support that." The pools have gotten the most attention. They are 25 feet long, 12 feet wide and 3 1/2 feet deep. Lifeguards will be in attendance, and the pools will have a glass front that overlooks the field. "From inside the seating bowl, youll be able to see into the pool," Lamping said. "This has been probably the most talked about of our enhancements. Its just one small part of what were doing, but its pretty meaningful. What weve really tried to do is give EverBank Field a unique personality and a personality thats legitimately north Florida, legitimately Jacksonville, and how do you do that without integrating water?" ' ' '