BELFAST, Northern Ireland - Canadian Svein Tuft powered Orica Green-Edge to victory in the team time trial in Belfast in the opening stage of the Giro dItalia on Friday, taking the overall leaders pink jersey on his 37th birthday. Orica, which was the overwhelming stage favourite, clocked a time of 24 minutes, 42 seconds along the 21.7-kilometre course, which was lined by more than 140,000 fans. The Australian team benefited from starting second and avoiding most of the rain that fell later. "What an amazing day, I never in my life would have imagined something like this," said Tuft, a native of Langley, B.C. "Im so proud of my team and I just cant thank them enough for that. They gave me the gift, it was really a birthday present. This team is really selfless that way. I feel really fortunate to be given that gift on my birthday." Omega Pharma-QuickStep finished second, five seconds behind Orica, beating third-place BMC by just two seconds. Cadel Evans looked strong for BMC and is one of the favourites after last years third-place finish. With defending champion Vincenzo Nibali not competing, Tour de France runner-up Nairo Quintana is another of the race favourites and his Movistar team finished eighth, 55 seconds behind Orica. One of his rivals, Joaquim Rodriguez, had a poor start as his Katusha team struggled throughout and only finished 19th. Rodriguez is 1 minute, 33 seconds behind Tuft and 38 seconds behind Quintana. While it has become a tradition for the first Giro stage to be held outside Italy, this is the first time that the Grande Partenza — or the Big Start — took place outside mainland Europe. Despite the wind and rain, it was a festive atmosphere in the Northern Irish city, with large crowds lining the route and cheering the riders on. However, Irish rider Dan Martin crashed after just 15 minutes, leaving him with a suspected broken collarbone. Martin caused the crash when he caught his wheel on a drain cover and went down strongly on his right arm, bringing down several of his Garmin-Sharp teammates. The four cyclists who were able to continue had to wait for teammate Fabian Wegmann — who had been dropped early on — to catch up with them, as rules stipulate a team has to finish with at least five riders for its time to count. Garmin eventually finished last, 3:26 behind Orica. That means Ryder Hesjedals chances of repeating his 2012 Giro success are all but over. "Obviously there was a crash, and there was only four of us that stayed ahead," said Victoria native Hesjedal. "It was right before a corner and you hear something had happened, we were already through the corner, looked back and there was nobody there. "Obviously it was pretty scary because you dont know what the hell is going on. I dont know what happened, it was basically a nightmare." Belfast is also the start and finish point for Saturdays 218-kilometre leg, which takes in picturesque rock formation, the Giants Causeway along its coastal route. The Giro ends in Trieste on June 1. Case Keenum Youth Jersey .com) - Oregon wasnt going to let Arizona ruin its national title dreams for a second straight season. Montez Sweat Womens Jersey . Louis and Ryan Kesler have demanded to be traded. http://www.redskinsfansproshop.com/Redskins+Terry+McLaurin+Rush+Jersey.html?cat=1371 . Although Spain could still advance out of the group stage, the game may have signalled the end of the run by a generation of Spanish stars whose quick passing, "tiki-taka" style delighted the world and helped them win the last three major tournaments. Dexter Manley Youth Jersey .com) - The Chicago Blackhawks take aim at their longest winning streak of the season on Sunday when they host the Calgary Flames in a battle at the United Center. DaRon Payne Womens Jersey . The Flames are in the midst of a six-game slide (0-5-1), their longest losing streak since an 0-6-3 skid from Jan. 11-28, 2010. They havent won since Nov. 3 in Chicago and most recently went winless on a three-game homestand.SAN JOSE, Calif. -- With San Joses stars struggling to score goals of late, the Sharks needed to get some production from some of their lower-profile players. Tommy Wingels scored with 3:08 remaining in overtime to lead the Sharks to their second win in six games, 2-1 over the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night. "Im a big part of the group that the scorings kind of vanished from," Wingels said. "I got one tonight, but the numbers in the past games still arent where they need to be. Its something were working on, the group of guys that need to pick it up. We will. Were confident players and well get there." Marty Havlat scored in regulation and set up the game-winner in overtime to give the struggling Sharks a much-needed boost with just one game left before the Olympic break. Wingels had scored just one goal in the previous 23 games, while Havlat had one in the past 13 as the Sharks were held to 11 goals in the past seven games. "It was time for some others to step up and score," coach Todd McLellan said. "To see Marty and Tommy both do it in one game is a good thing for our team." Backup goalie Alex Stalock made 19 saves to improve to 8-3-0 with a 1.61 goals against average in 11 starts. Valeri Nichushkin tied the game early in the third for the Stars, who came up short in their attempt to sweep a three-game road trip and move into playoff position in the Western Conference. Dallas trails Vancouver by two points in the race for the final playoff spot. Kari Lehtonen made 19 saves. The Stars have closed ground on the Canucks by winning five of their previous seven games, allowing nine goals and posting three shutouts in that span. They were at their best defensively in the third period when they held the Sharks to two shots, including none in the first 14-plus minutes but ended up on the short side in overtime. "We were lucky to get a point out of it," centre Vernon Fiddler said. "It would have been nice to get two, but they made a play and we didnt.dddddddddddd" Havlat made a neat backhand pass from the side of the net to Wingels, who knocked it in for his 11th goal and first career overtime goal. The Stars have now lost six of seven games decided in overtime this season. "Its an area we have to improve in," coach Lindy Ruff said. "Thats not good enough. We lost coverage on the goal and they made us pay for it." The Stars tied the game early in the third as they capitalized on some sustained pressure in the offensive zone. Trevor Daley fed the puck to Nichushkin, who was all alone in the slot for a one-timer that beat Stalock. The Sharks had taken the lead late in the second period when Havlat deftly redirected a point shot from Scott Hannan past Lehtonen for his fourth goal this season. McLellan looked for a spark for his struggling team, which had scored just five goals in the previous five games. He moved Patrick Marleau to a line with Joe Thornton and Brent Burns, while using Joe Pavelski as the centre between Wingels and Matt Nieto. It failed to pay early dividends as the Sharks were held scoreless in the first period for the seventh time in the past eight games. Stalock made sure they didnt end the period with a deficit when he made a scintillating glove save to rob Jamie Benn late in the period. "It was kind of a desperation save where I had to make a big save," Stalock said. "Those are saves it would be nice to maybe look a little simpler. Its something to work on." NOTES: McLellan tied Darryl Sutter for most games coached in franchise history with 434. ... Hannan had two assists for his first two-point game since Nov. 19, 2010, for Colorado against the Rangers. ... The Stars fell to 3-4-0 on the second night of back-to-back games. ... Nieto did not return after blocking a shot by Trevor Dale8y in the closing seconds of the second period. ... F Adam Burish returned from a back injury to play for the first time this season for the Sharks. ' ' '