cars into the first corner with nothing in front of him but pavement. But its a moment tha | Forum

PARIS -- Bradley Wiggins will not defend his Tour de France title after a knee problem forced him to pull out of the biggest race in cycling -- giving teammate Chris Froome the chance to win it after finishing a frustrating second last year. Originals Adidas NMD Heren Zwart/Wit/Grijs High Top Sneaker . The British rider withdrew before the 13th stage of the Giro dItalia two weeks ago due to a chest infection and has not been able to train properly. Team Sky said Friday that Wiggins also has "an ongoing knee condition," and would not be included in the squad for the Tour. "Its a huge disappointment not to make the Tour. I desperately wanted be there, for the team and for all the fans along the way -- but its not going to happen," Wiggins said in a team statement. "I cant train the way I need to train and Im not going to be ready. Once you accept that, its almost a relief not having to worry about the injury and the race against time." Wiggins became the first British rider to win the Tour last year. In an astonishingly successful season, he also won the Paris-Nice stage race, Tour de Romandie, the Dauphine Libere and took Olympic gold in dominant fashion in the time trial. "Its a big loss but, given these circumstances, we wont consider him for selection," Skys team principal Dave Brailsford said. "Its incredibly sad to have the reigning champion at Team Sky but not lining up at the Tour. But hes a champion, a formidable athlete and will come back winning as he has before." With Wiggins out, last years runner-up Froome will become the undisputed team leader when the race starts on June 29. Sky had already said that Froome would be its team leader at this years Tour, although Wiggins had indicated that he may have tried to ride for victory if he was in contention toward the end of the race. Relations between the two were frosty during last years Tour, with the 28-year-old Froome sometimes looking much the stronger rider in the climbs but being thwarted by team orders to support Wiggins rather than try and attack him. This started off a spat between Wiggins wife and Froomes girlfriend, as they took to show support for their partners by exchanging barbs on Twitter. Froome finished second at the Spanish Vuelta two years ago and got a bronze medal in the Olympic time trial. He has shown good form this year by winning the Criterium International and Tour de Romandie. Wiggins was looking to follow up his Tour success with a Giro win until his bid was derailed by illness. Although his chest infection has cleared up, team doctor Richard Freeman says there are still concerns over his knee problem. "However, further medical investigations on the knee injury that we were managing at the Giro showed the condition was more significant than we thought," Freeman said. "It has needed intensive treatment and, whilst it will be fully resolved, Bradley now needs to rest completely for five days before a gradual, return to full training over a period of two to three weeks." Wiggins had to withdraw from the 2011 Tour early on after breaking his collarbone in a crash. He has vowed to come back stronger from this latest setback. "Ive been through this before, when I broke my collarbone, so I know how it works. Ill get this sorted, set new goals for this season and focus on those," Wiggins said. "This team has so many riders in great shape, ready for selection and we set incredible standards for performance which shouldnt be compromised. We need to have the best chance to win." http:///...adidas-schoenen.html . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. http:///...hoenen-roze-wit.html . Its 1987 and a Brazilian playmaker, known as Mirandinha, is being paraded around St James Park to the passionate Newcastle fans. http:///...boost-350-grijs.html .com) - Following a late-game loss to the reigning NBA champs, the Toronto Raptors will look to sustain their recent high-level play as they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers.INDIANAPOLIS -- Hes the hometown hope, the Butler University alum and die-hard Indiana Pacers fan who has put his modest, one-car program on the pole for the Indianapolis 500 ahead of powerhouse programs from Penske Racing and Andretti Autosport. Theres more, though, and it runs as deep as blood. The unflappable Ed Carpenter is also the stepson of series founder Tony George. That means his family tree has roots tracing all the way back to Tony Hulman, who bought Indianapolis Motor Speedway after World War II, and includes Mari Hulman George, who still serves as speedway chairman and on Sunday will proclaim once more, "Gentleman, start your engines!" So to say that much of Carpenters life has been lived in Gasoline Alley, where he spent his formative years, is about as fitting for him as the maxim that "haste makes waste." It also means that the Carpenter is carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. "I started racing quarter midgets when I was 8 years old, and at that point, I was already part of the Hulman family. Thats the way its always been for me," said the 32-year-old Carpenter, whose quiet voice and disarming smile belie a fierce competitive streak. "I dont feel the pressure," he insisted moments later, as if driving home the point. "As far as the local fan base and support, its fun. I dont think that translates into pressure." Perhaps its not that Carpenter feels pressure, but that he no longer recognizes it. Hell be making his 10th start in the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing," but his first from the pole. And while peering eyes have been trained on him most of his life, Carpenter insists that the pressure he endures on a daily basis has never managed to overwhelm him. "I dont like to say it means more to me because Im from here," Carpenter said, "but it does mean a lot because of how much I love this place." His first memories of Indianapolis go back to 1991, when he sat in the balcony overlooking the track and watched Rick Mears qualify for the pole. Even then, Carpenter knew that he wanted to one day drive over the hallowed ground that has been in his family for decades. He proved at a young age that he could find victory lane, too, winning national championships in midgets and sprint cars. He graduated to Indy Lights and made his IndyCar debut in 2003, when he was hailed as part of the next wave of young American drivers who might someday wrestle the series back from a surge of foreign stars such as Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti. But things got sidetracked along the way, as they often do in racing, and Carpenter became an after-thought. http:///...es-loopschoenen.html. . He started to bounce around to different teams, trying to find magic once more. It wasnt until 2011, when he hooked up with Sarah Fisher Racing, that he won his first IndyCar race. And last year, after founding his own team, he surprised everyone but himself when he took the checked flag at the series finale at California. "Hes really a talent, and hes been developing for a long time, and hes become a special driver," said veteran Buddy Lazier, who also has a single-car team for this years Indy 500. "Its a huge inspiration," Lazier added. "Absolutely." That success would eventually come to Carpenter didnt come as a surprise to those closest to him. Time after time, they point out that he never gets too high or low -- that he keeps an even keel in the roughest of waters, and remains grounded during the best of times. "We all look at sports and talk about sports like its the end-all, be-all, right? But when youre in it, you realize theres a lot more to life," said Butler basketball coach Brad Stevens, whos known Carpenter for about six years. "I think hes got a great perspective on it." It was that perspective that stood out to former Masters and U.S. Open champion Fuzzy Zoeller, whose spirits company sponsors the No. 20 car that Carpenter will be driving on Sunday. "He doesnt run hot and cold, like 90 per cent of athletes do. Hes very, very calm," Zoeller said. "He doesnt get too fired up, he doesnt get too down, and thats very impressive. "Its a difficult thing," Zoeller added, "because they only have one car. But hey, dreams are made, right? You have to start with something." While he insists that pressure seems to run from his shoulders like water, Carpenter admits that hell be anxious when Sunday dawns. Hes not immune to the pageantry of the Indianapolis 500, the fly over and Jim Nabors and everything else that makes it such an iconic event. This is in his blood, after all. Its part of his very fabric. Nor does he know what his emotions will be like when the green flag drops, and he leads the field of 33 cars into the first corner with nothing in front of him but pavement. But its a moment that he intends to relish. "I mean, if someone out there tells you they dont get butterflies or dont get antsy, theyre flat-out liars," Carpenter said with a smile. "Theres no way people dont walk out from driver intros and see the crowd and dont feel that. I get goose bumps just thinking about it." Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '