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CORNER BROOK, N. Kermit Washington Jersey .L. — Newfoundland and Labradors Greg Smith finished the opening day at the Canadian junior curling championships with an 8-3 win over Ontarios Mac Calwell on Saturday night. The 18-year-old skip from St. Johns, N.L. had a double-takeout in the sixth end to score three, before stealing one in the seventh and two in the eighth for the victory over Calwell (1-1). Its an amazing feeling to look up in the crowd and see the Newfoundland flags, and seeing the people from your province rooting for you and cheering their little hearts out, said Smith. Its an amazing feeling, it really is. I tried to feed off the crowd, said Smith, who improved to 1-1 in round-robin play. I was a little hungry. I only had a muffin and a coffee today, so I had to feed off something. In other mens action on Saturday evening, Prince Edward Islands Tyler Smith improved to 1-1 with a 12-9 win over Yukons Joe Wallingham (0-2). Albertas Karsten Sturmay (2-0) scored deuces in three separate ends for a 6-4 win over New Brunswicks Rene Comeau (1-1). And Saskatchewans Jacob Hersikorn beat Northern Ontarios Tanner Horgan (0-1) 8-6 to improve to 2-0. On the womens side, British Columbias Corryn Brown improved to 2-0 with an 8-6 victory over Nova Scotias Mary Fay (1-1). Brown, the 2013 champion, stole three in the second to gain an early 5-0 lead. P.E.I.s Veronica Smith (1-1) beat Newfoundlands Sarah Hill (0-2) 10-8 after losing earlier in the day. Defending world junior champion Kelsey Rocque (2-0) of Alberta slipped past Manitobas Beth Peterson (1-1) 5-4 in an extra end. Meanwhile, Saskatchewans Kristen Streifel (2-0) scored twice in the 10th to down New Brunswicks Justine Comeau (0-1) 8-6. Round-robin play will continue Sunday. Ron Brewer Jersey . Some members of the U.S. Congress arent so sure. They say Russia isnt doing enough to assure that athletes will be protected at the Feb. 7-23 games, happening not far from an Islamic insurgency that Russias huge security apparatus has struggled for two decades to quell. Russia may run greater risks in towns outside the tightly controlled Olympic zone. Suicide bombs last month a few hundred kilometres (miles) away have increased concerns, and an Islamic warlord has urged his followers to attack the Sochi Olympics, Russian President Vladimir Putins pet project. Blazers Jerseys China . – The RBC Canadian Open will return to Glen Abbey Golf Club next year, marking the 27th time that the national open championship will be played at the Oakville, Ont. BAGNERES-DE-LUCHON, France — Riding in his 10th Tour de France, three-time world champion Michael Rogers of Australia finally got his first stage victory in cyclings greatest race on Tuesday by leading a breakaway group to a downhill finish as the pack entered the Pyrenees. Italys Vincenzo Nibali, finishing about 8 1/2 minutes back, reined in his top challengers and retained the yellow jersey after Stage 16, the longest stage of this years race and the first of three days in the mountains on Frances border with Spain. Behind the Italian, the contest for podium places was shaken up: Thibaut Pinot of France rose to third in the standings, while compatriot Romain Bardet dropped to fifth. Tejay van Garderen of the United States lost more than 3 1/2 minutes, slipping from fifth to sixth and seeing his podium hopes dealt a serious blow. Rogers took a bow as he crossed the line alone after the 237.5-kilometre (147-mile) leg from Carcassonne to Bagneres-de-Luchon, which featured a tough climb up the mountain pass of Port de Bales. „Every cyclists dream is to win a stage at the Tour de France,“ said Rogers, who finished nine seconds ahead of Frances Thomas Voeckler — who had won two previous Tour stages at Bagneres-de-Luchon in 2010 and 2012. „I cant describe the joy I felt in the last 500 metres … I hope I dont have to wait another 10 years to experience it again.“ Rogers came close not to riding on this Tour for the Tinkoff-Saxo Bank team. In a ruling announced in April, the International Cycling Union accepted that meat Rogers ate in China last year probably caused his positive doping test at the Japan Cup shortly afterward. Rogers, a crucial teammate of two-time Tour champion Alberto Contador, convinced the UCI that he hadnt intended to cheat, and said the episode was „a very difficult time“ for his family. Following the UCI ruling, Rogers said he came back with „a different outlook on life.“ „It was certainly a lesson in life for me,“ he added. Rod Strickland Jersey. „Sometimes you need a lesson in life to see the silver lining in the cloud.“ Rogers said he might not have had the opportunity to win a stage if Contador — his team leader, who crashed out in Stage 10 — were still racing because his job would have been more of a support rider. Now that the Spaniard is out, the team came up with a Plan B: To try for stage wins. „I can be grateful, but Im also very heartbroken that Albertos not here,“ Rogers said. As the day began, a breakaway group of 21 riders came together over the first two hours and stuck together for much of the day, chiseling out a lead of more than 12 minutes. But their unity began to disintegrate along the 12-kilometre Port de Bales climb, which is ranked Hors Categorie because the ascent is so tough that its considered beyond classification. In its steepest patch, the gradient reached 11 per cent. Rogers was in a bunch of five riders that came together in the final descent, and he stepped on the accelerator with less than 5 kilometres (3.2 miles) left. Before the stage, the Lampre-Merida team said world champion Rui Costa of Portugal would not start due to pneumonia. The Portuguese rider had been in 13th place, about 13 minutes behind Nibali. After Tuesdays ride, Nibali leads second-place Alejandro Valverde of Spain by 4 minutes, 37 seconds, and Pinot is 5:06 back. French veteran Jean-Christophe Peraud is fourth, at 6:08, and Bardet is 6:40 behind. Van Garderen, while only losing a notch in the standings, is 9:25 behind the race leader. Stage 16 was just an appetizer for the Pyrenees, with uphill finishes to follow on Wednesday and Thursday. Aside from a penultimate stage time trial, Stage 17 starting in Saint-Gaudens will be the shortest this year at 124.5 kilometres (77 miles). It features three hard Category 1 climbs, and an ascent to the Saint-Lary Pla dAdet ski station. The three-week race ends Sunday on the Champs-Elysees in Paris. ‚ ‚ ‚