GERARDMER, France -- In a solo breakaway, Blel Kadri gave France its first stage winner at the Tour de France in the entree to the Vosges mountains on Saturday. Kevin Mchale Jersey . Meanwhile, Vincent Nibali extended his lead over his biggest rivals except an important one: Two-time champion Alberto Contador. Over two minutes back, an attacking Contador duelled with Nibali to capture second place at the uphill finish of a rainy 161-kilometre (100-mile) ride from Tomblaine to Gerardmer La Mauselaine ski resort. Contador gained only seconds on Nibali, and was still 2 1/2 minutes behind him, but the threat was loud and clear. The overall standings changed after Stage 8, with mostly strong climbers at the top. Kadri, sensing his looming victory in the last kilometre, clasped hands in joy with a staffer of his AG2R Mondiale team, who was alongside him in a team car. He kissed his fingers to the crowd and smiled broadly at the line. "Today was my day, and Im really, really, really happy," he said after his maiden Tour stage win. "We work all year for good performances in this race. ... Today it paid off." Kadri emerged from a five-man breakaway that chiselled out a lead of as many as 11 minutes. None of the breakaway riders threatened Nibalis yellow jersey: The highest-placed among them started the stage nearly 26 1/2 minutes back. Contador attacked as he and Nibali passed under the red flag marking one kilometre to go. But the Italian couldnt be shaken -- hewing right on the Spaniards back wheel except for Contadors final surge at the line. "Im not explosive, but I held my own," Nibali said. "I tried to respond as best I could to his attack ... he moved a lot, I really wanted to stick close to him ... in the last 100 metres he accelerated a lot." The ride featured three mid-grade climbs in the first of three days in the mid-sized Vosges range near the German border. 90. Christian Meier of Langley, B.C., was 90th, finishing in a peloton that clocked in at 4:7:19. Svein Tuft, also from Langley, was in the same group, finishing the stage 110th. Meier is 143rd in the overall standings, while Tuft is 146th. American Andrew Talansky had trouble and lost time in the title chase to other contenders. In the final ascent, he skidded off the wet road and fumbled -- with help from a fan -- to repair what seemed to be a problem with his bike. A race medical report said he had multiple contusions. Talansky, the Garmin-Sharp team leader, finished more than two minutes behind Nibali and Contador, and trailed the leader by 4 minutes, 22 seconds in 16th place overall. He started the ride in eighth, 2:05 down. Overall, Nibali led Astana teammate Jakob Fuglsang of Denmark in second by 1 minute, 44 seconds. Australias Richie Porte of Team Sky, who finished fourth on Saturday, was 1:58 back in third. Spains Alejandro Valverde was fifth, 2:27 adrift, and Contador was sixth, 2:34 behind. The breakaway five chiselled out their maximum lead with about 50 kilometres (30 miles) left, and the pack began to accelerate. With around 25 kilometres left, the lead dwindled to 4 1/2 minutes. Frances Sylvain Chavanel pressed the pace among the five in front, then Kadri overtook him, pedalling alone up the final climb. There were fewer crashes than in recent days. Before the stage, Swiss rider Mathias Frank, the leader of the IAM Cycling team, withdraw because of broken left femur in a crash on Friday. Frank, who was runner-up in the Tour de Suisse last month, underwent surgery in Geneva on Saturday. The toughest ride in the Vosges will come on Monday when cyclists face seven ascents, including an uphill finish to the storied ski resort La Planche des Belles Filles. The pack faces six ascents on Sunday with a 170-kilometre (106-mile) ride from Gerardmer to Mulhouse. Robert Parish Celtics Jersey .5 million, two-year contract with the San Francisco Giants on Thursday, a deal that covers his final two arbitration seasons. Walter Brown Jersey . -- Catriona Matthew remained atop the Airbus LPGA Classic leaderboard Friday, birdieing four of the last seven holes to take a one-stroke advantage over Charley Hull into the weekend. http://www.celticssale.com/kids-gordon-hayward-celtics-jersey/ . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. PITTSBURGH -- Trevor Rosenthal didnt panic and neither did his manager, Mike Matheny. Rosenthal, the St. Louis Cardinals closer, got into a major ninth-inning jam, allowed the Pittsburgh Pirates to draw within a run and then load the bases with none out. It seemed the Pirates, who lead the major leagues with five walkoff victories, were on the verge of doing it again. However, Rosenthal escaped the jam for his 10th save and Shelby Miller won his fourth straight start as the Cardinals held on for a 6-5 win Sunday night. "That felt like a walk-off win right there," Matheny said with a relieved smile. "That was beyond impressive what Trevor was able to do there at the end to get it back together. Thats why he is pitching at the end of games." Rosenthal survived an RBI single by Andrew McCutchen to notch his 10th save as the Cardinals avoided their first three-game losing streak of the season. He got Ike Davis to foul out for the first out then induced Jordy Mercer to hit into a 1-2-3 double play to end it. "I just wanted to throw a fastball low in the zone and either get him to hit it on the ground or strike out," Rosenthal said. "It couldnt have worked out any better, though Im sure the rest of the guys in this clubhouse wish I could have got the job done sooner." Allen Craig and Yadier Molina had two hits each, including RBI singles in a four-run first inning. Craig went 5-for-11 in the three-game series after entering with a .202 batting average. Molina was 0-for-12 in his previous four games. "Hopefully, this is a spark," Matheny said. "Weve been looking for that thing that can get us clicking." Miller (5-2) walked four and allowed four hits in 5 1-3 innings, but held the Pirates to just two runs -- which came on Mercers first home run of the season in the fourth inning. "I didnt have much but I gave it what I got and fortunately it was enough to help us get a win," Miller said. Reggie Lewis Celtics Jersey. Charlie Morton (0-5) was charged with only one earned run of the four he allowed over six innings but remained winless since Sept. 2, a span of 14 starts. He also fell to 2-10 in his career against the Cardinals. "I just tried to get back out there and put up zeroes after that first inning," Morton said. "We kept chipping away and we almost pulled it out but I cant give up four runs there, especially in the first inning. It put us in a bad spot from the start." Pittsburghs Pedro Alvarez had three hits. Jon Jay also has two hits for St. Louis as did Tony Sanchez for the Pirates, whose season-best four-game winning streak ended. Mark Ellis also had an RBI single in the first inning for St. Louis and Craig added a sacrifice fly. NOTES: McCutchen returned to the lineup after missing Saturdays game with soreness in his left ankle. ... Pittsburgh LF Starling Marte was not in the lineup because of lower back tightness, which caused him to leave Saturday nights game in the fourth inning. ... Pirates RF Travis Snider batted leadoff after missing the previous two games while serving a suspension from Major League Baseball for his actions April 20 in a benches-clearing brawl with the Milwaukee Brewers. ... Bourjos, who started the previous four games, did not start because of a cut on his right wrist that came as a result of getting spiked Saturday night while attempting to break up a double play. However, he entered the game in the game in the seventh inning as a defensive replacement. ... The Cardinals host the Chicago Cubs on Monday night in the opener of a four-game series with LHP Tyler Lyons (0-2, 3.45) facing LHP Travis Wood (2-4, 4.75). ... The Pirates are off Monday then begin a three-game series Tuesday night at Milwaukee. ' ' '