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RIO DE JANEIRO -- Its long past time to debate whether the worlds top women cyclists can deliver a spectacle equal to the men. The greatness forged on empty roads revealed itself to a global audience Sunday in a way that should call the question forever.They raced ferociously, balancing risk and reward on their slender tires as they navigated a course whose varied microclimates made it half torment, half travelogue. Dutch rider Annemiek van Vleuten of the Netherlands, leading down the damp and treacherous descent of the Vista Chinesa, lost traction in a horrifying wreck that left her with three cracked vertebrae.Two gallant messages would appear on van Vleutens Twitter feed hours later, expressing gratitude and disappointment, saying she would be fine. But the four other women with a shot to win didnt know that when they passed her crumpled and frighteningly inert form seconds later.The superlative American climber Mara Abbott was closest. She had backed off van Vleutens wheel not long before, trusting the same instincts that have twice delivered her the championship of the Giro Rosa, the most demanding and prestigious womens stage race on the calendar.Abbott saw the wreckage by the side of the road, spared a thought for van Vleuten and refocused ahead. She nearly soloed to the line, but it was a three-on-one drag race in the flats.Her pursuers reeled her in with less than 200 meters to go. Another Dutch rider, Anna van der Breggen, won the sprint in what could hardly have been a more theatrical finish. Abbott came in fourth.The 30-year-old Abbott spoke afterward with the calm of an athlete conscious she was in competitive shock. Rios grueling, decisive climb played to her strength, and there is no guarantee that kind of topography will be a feature on the 2020 course or that she will even be in Tokyo to contest the race.Its going to take a lifetime to process, she said. Youll never have that chance again in your entire life. But you never know what comes out of what.Abbotts three U.S. teammates -- Kristin Armstrong, Evelyn Stevens and Megan Guarnier -- executed near-flawlessly and unselfishly to put her in position to win, which was notable for a couple of reasons.As has been the norm in recent Olympic lead-ups, the U.S. team was only finalized after two other riders challenged the selection in arbitration. That, in turn, has led to the back-channel perception of the American women overall as a squabbling pack who would have trouble coalescing on competition day -- a condescending, sexist and unfounded stereotype.The choice of two-time defending Olympic time-trial champion Armstrong was particularly controversial in part because of the demanding nature of the road race course. But Sunday, the 41-year-old Armstrong put in a huge effort on the front of the race in the flat and undulating sections before pulling out at the base of the final climb.Kristin did a fantastic job taking us in -- she was just awesome today, said Stevens, who along with Guarnier worked for Abbott until it was time for her to attack.Armstrong came up behind Abbott in mid-interview and embraced her. Both women cried.Im heartbroken for Mara, Armstrong said. I really wanted to come back for a lot of reasons. I have my time trial goals on Wednesday, but I also really wanted to contribute to history in the road race and I really believed in this team.I cant imagine being where she is right now. Shes gonna have a lot of sleepless nights.This is a distinctive group who are a step removed from the pioneers, but still had to scrap for survival in their economically unstable sport. They all came to it relatively late and will exit it with other passions in their hip pockets. Guarnier intends to pursue graduate work in neuroscience. Armstrong is a converted triathlete, the mother of a young son and works as a community liaison for a large hospital. Stevens, who also will race the Olympic time trial, discovered cycling while working on Wall Street.An interesting combination of blunt and ethereal, Abbott teaches yoga, works at a farmers market in her longtime base of Boulder, Colorado, and has long felt a tug toward environmental causes. She has characterized her very public and painful battle with an eating disorder as a climb that never really levels out.Three years ago, Abbott told me her biggest challenge was owning her athletic talent. If you hold back, you dont have to take responsibility for who you are, she said.Its long past time to debate whether she and her contemporaries have done that. If anyone needs convincing, all they need to do is watch. Nike Air Vapormax Plus Rea . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night. Vapormax Flyknit Herr . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. http://www.airvapormaxsverige.com/vapormax-plus-rea/herr.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. Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 35 Dam . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. Nya Vapormax . Halifax beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-5 on the strength of two goals apiece from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Murphy and Brent Andrews. Jonathan Drouin also scored and had three assists while Zachary Fucale made 17 saves for the Mooseheads (16-8-0), who led 6-1 after two periods. WASHINGTON -- If the Washington Wizards are going to win their first game of the season, avoiding another late collapse would be a good step.Also on the to-do list? Trying to slow down Toronto Raptors scoring star DeMar DeRozan when the Eastern Conference foes meet in Washington on Wednesday night.The Wizards opened the season with back-to-back losses, including Sundays 112-103 overtime setback at the Memphis Grizzlies after leading 96-88 with under four minutes remaining. Grizzlies center Marc Gasols 3-pointer with 15.7 seconds remaining tied the game at 100 and Washington faded as Memphis opened the extra session with 12-0 run.We let it slip out of our hands. We didnt play a great game, guard Bradley Beal said after Washington fell to 0-2 in Memphis. I think weve just got to figure out a way to close out games. We had a chance to win. In overtime the first couple minutes are crucial and once youve got that momentum, its pretty much a gut check. They got a big lead on us and we couldnt score and they won.Washington fell at Atlanta on Thursday 114-99 after the Hawks outscored the Wizards 33-19 in the fourth quarter.DeRozan hasnt trouble scoring in Torontos first three games, including depositing 33 points in Mondays 105-102 home win over the Denver Nuggets. Signed to a five-year, $139 million contract this summer, DeRozan became the first player in Raptors history to open the season with at least 30 points in each of the first three games.Point guard Kyle Lowry added 29 points and put Toronto (2-1) in the lead for good with his first of two field goals over the final 96 seconds.dddddddddddd.DeMars been great. His offensive (game) right now is unreal, Raptors coach Dwane Casey told the Toronto Star. Kyle stepped up (Monday) and gave him a little boost.DeRozan is averaging 36.0 points while shooting 52.7 percent from the field.Weve got to maintain that and not wear that out, but hes been doing a great job, Casey said of DeRozan.Thats not something many are saying about the Wizards perimeter defense. Washington is allowing opponents to shoot a league-high 47.4 percent from beyond the arc. Memphis sank 15 of 31 3-pointers.We have to guard the 3-point line, first-year Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. Thats what the league is about. You have to be able to do two things. You have to guard the 3-point line and protect the paint. The good teams do that every night.We are building to be a good team and we have to be able to do that. I have a lot of confidence in our guys to do that but its just going to take some time but nobody waits for you. We have to expedite that as soon as we can, but we have to be able to guard the line and the paint. DeRozan averaged 26.5 points against the Wizards as the Raptors swept the 2015-16 season series 4-0. Washington knocked Toronto out of the 2015 playoffs in four games.Three-time All-Star John Wall, who had two knee surgeries this offseason, leads the Wizards in scoring (17.0) and assists (11.5), but is averaging 5.0 turnovers per game. ' ' '