A funny thing about the Tour de France is that it can give its competitors the most fabulous terrain to ride over, but it cannot force them to race. Marco Gonzales Jersey . Instead of being the very tricky day full of traps and surprises that Tour teams feared and organizers hoped for, Stage Three of the 100th edition proved to be a bit of a dud: 10 out of 10 visually, with some of the most stunning coastal scenery ever visited by the 110-year-old race, but barely 2 out of 10 for drama. In fact, as pretty as Corsica -- Frances "island of beauty" -- was, riders were just as happy to whiz past it. "Twisty roads like that along the coast, stunning scenery, and Im sure it made for great shots from the helicopter," said race favourite Chris Froome. "But thats not what we were interested in." So be it. In a three-week test of endurance, its simply physically impossible for every stage to be a classic and provide great excitement. There are days, like on Monday, when the peloton decides the priority is to get from A to B safely, get back to the hotel, massage, eat and sleep. To have success at the Tour, you first have to survive it. "The race is always what the riders make of it," the Tour director, Christian Prudhomme, said philosophically. Jan Bakelants was happy. The Belgian rider started the day in the yellow jersey that he won with a clever and gutsy spurt of riding on Sunday, and he will wear it again for at least another day, during the team time trial on Stage Four on Tuesday. The teams will race against the clock, heading off one after the other in aerodynamic helmets, on a pancake-flat, 25-kilometre course in Nice, past the coastal towns airport and along its famous beachside avenue, the Promenade des Anglais. With that very technical and quick ordeal awaiting them, and because coastal headwinds slowed the riders, none of the 21 other teams could be bothered to really try hard to take the lead on Monday from Bakelants. His RadioShack teammates did a grand job of protecting him. They rode much of the stage at the front of the pack, not letting breakaway riders get too far ahead and discouraging other teams from any thoughts of making a concerted assault. Their management of the stage helped make for dull racing -- but it kept Bakelants in yellow. "We never panicked," he said. "We managed the gaps." But Tuesday will more than likely be his last day in the leaders precious jersey. There are 71 riders just one second behind him in the standings. One of them on a team that time trials better than RadioShack will be in yellow next. "We have good riders but havent really trained for the team time trial," said Bakelants. "It will be tough to keep the jersey, but Ive already had it two days and thats special ... Its extraordinary to have worn it." At the end of the stage, in the final 15 kilometres, the racing picked up. Several riders tried and failed to get away from the chasing pack. It came down to a sprint in the last 500 metres. Simon Gerrans, an Australian, threw his front wheel over the line just before Peter Sagan, a Slovakian. Ryder Hesjedal of Victoria is in 26th spot overall, while David Velleux of Cap-Rouge, Que., is 117th, and Svein Tuft of Langley, B.C., is back in 170th. On paper, Stage Three looked daunting: 145.5 kilometres of narrow roads as sinewy as a blood vessel, with very little flat. On television, the coves, the white beaches and cliffs plunging into turquoise seas looked incredible. The riders strung out like a necklace of coloured pearls as they sped along the coastline on a succession of bends so twisty that, among those who rode the route by car, they made queasy mush of iron stomachs. That is why Corsica paid the Tour to come here: To make it look good. The island gave three million euros to the Tours owners for the right to host the first three stages of the 100th edition, and paid another two million euros in other expenses, said Paul Giacobbi, who heads the regional government. That bought "hours and hours and hours" of worldwide television coverage and "one billion spectators," he said. The logistics were complicated. The Tour was transporting itself on seven ships back across the Mediterranean to the French mainland overnight on Monday so it could continue less than 24 hours later on Stage Four, in Nice. After Mondays trek from the port of Ajaccio, two planes whisked the riders quickly away from the finish in Calvi, so they would sleep in hotels on the French coast that same night. This was the Tours first visit to Corsica. Both came away happy. Prudhomme, the race director, said viewing figures in France for the Corsican leg of the race are the highest theyve been in a decade. "That is because of the 100th edition and the beauty of Corsica," he said. Not that Froome and the other contenders for overall victory much cared. They were happy simply to be heading back in one piece to the French mainland -- where the Tour will be decided on stages in the Pyrenees and Alps far more decisive than anything Corsica could offer. "Im quite relieved to be heading off Corsica now," said Froome. "Hopefully, the race will settle down a little bit." Omar Vizquel Mariners Jersey . The Montreal Canadiens goaltender has won three of his four games since returning from a lower-body injury that kept him out from the end of the Olympic break until March 15. Jake Fraley Mariners Jersey . That was OK with him. He was just happy his team came away with two points. Letestu redirected Jack Johnsons shot from the point with 2:38 left, lifting the Blue Jackets past the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Monday night. https://www.cheapmariners.com/125k-gorman-thomas-jersey-mariners.html . Auld made 37 saves in a 5-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday. It was Ottawas first game without starter Anderson, who is out indefinitely after cutting his hand Wednesday night, and it was evident the team wasnt sure how to deal with the change in goal.BALTIMORE - Orioles third baseman Manny Machado began serving a five-game suspension Monday, nearly three weeks after Major League Baseball initially levied the sentence and five days after his appeal hearing. Machado was suspended and fined on June 10 for intentionally throwing his bat on the field during an at-bat in Baltimores game against Oakland on June 8. Machado immediately appealed the suspension, and spoke for about an hour Wednesday in an appeal hearing in Baltimore with MLB official Joe Garagiola Jr. The initial decision was upheld, meaning Machado will miss the Orioles four-game series against visiting Texas that began Monday, along with Friday nights game in Boston. "When we went in for an appeal I thought we had a good case, we had a great case," Machado said Monday afternoon. "We said what we had to say. It didnt come out how we wanted it to, but going into the appeal you know its going to be 50-50. Its something you cant control. I think we did the right thing, its a flip of the coin and we came up short. ... So now were just going to have to deal with the consequences." So will the Orioles, who will be forced to play with a 24-man roster. Chris Davis, who usually plays first base, was at third base on Monday night. "Thats the worst part about it. Were down a man," Machado said. "Obviously I dont want to put my team in that situation, especially five tough games." Machado tossed his bat in the direction of third base during a plate appearance in which Oakland reliever Fernando Abad threw successive high-and-tight pitches. After the bat went soaring, both benches emptied. Machado and Abad were ejected. Abad was fined but not suspended. "I didnt throw the bat at the pitcher. I didnt harm anybody. And Im going to get five games," Machado said. "I didnt charge the mound. I didnt get in a fight. ... This is an unfortunate event and Im going to have to deal with it." Orioles executive vice-president Dan Duquette said: "Obviously, we were disappointed. We were hoping the suspension would be reduced, and we thought there were good reasons it should have been reduced. Brandon Brennan Jersey. " In the opener of that series against the Athletics on June 6, Machado yelled in the face of Oaklands Josh Donaldson after the third baseman tagged him on the chest and caused him to lose his balance. Both benches emptied, but there were no ejections. "It sounded like they were giving him four games for the bat and they were also giving him an additional game for the Friday night," Duquette said. "I hadnt heard of a case where they went back and retroactively apply a suspension. ... The umpires didnt recommend any discipline; Manny stayed in the game. So that was kind of puzzling." Machado, 21, said he learned a lesson from the experience. "Dont do it again," he said. "You dont want to be in this situation. No one wants to be in it. Well just go from here and try to put this behind me and just go on playing baseball." Orioles manager Buck Showalter hoped the five-game sentence would be lowered after the appeal, but was ready to move on after the punishment remained in place. "It was surprising," Showalter said. "Were not going to dwell on it. We understand the rules and why things are in place for different reasons. There are repercussions for actions in baseball as there are in life in general. Hopefully, there will be some positive that comes out of it where Manny is concerned in the future and for all players, managers and coaches." Machado missed the first month of the 2014 season recovering from off-season knee surgery and got off to a slow start at the plate. Just before Mondays suspension, however, he had 10 hits over an eight-game span to raise his batting average 15 points to .239, and he also hit three home runs in his previous four starts. That made the timing of the suspension even tougher to take. "Definitely. It just (stinks)," he said. "I was starting to feel a little better at the plate and here they come with that bomb, five games. It was going to come. It was just about time to come. Unfortunately it came in the wrong spot, but hey, nothing you can do about it." ' ' '