GLASGOW -- When Catharine Pendrel bumped into Canadian cycling teammate Raphael Gagne at the Commonwealth Games, Gagne made a po

GLASGOW -- When Catharine Pendrel bumped into Canadian cycling teammate Raphael Gagne at the Commonwealth Games, Gagne made a point of thanking her. Patrick McCaw Raptors Jersey . It seems not only is Pendrel one of the worlds best mountain bikers, but one of the most generous as well. The 33-year-old from Kamloops, B.C., led Canada to a 1-2 finish in cross-country mountain biking at the Commonwealth Games on Tuesday, taking the lead from the opening lap and never looking back. Pendrel absolutely crushed the field to cross in one hour 39 minutes 29 seconds, a minute and 10 seconds ahead of silver medallist Emily Batty of Brooklin, Ont. Australias Rebecca Henderson was third. Max Plaxton of Victoria was fourth in the mens race. "Everyone whos watched me race knows I just like to go hard from the start. . . When you get some space between you and other riders, you just go for it," Pendrel said. "It feels amazing to win the gold for Canada." The reigning world champion decided this year to decline Sport Canadas funding -- the $1,500 a month she would normally receive as part of the athlete carding system. The money was split into three development cards of $500 apiece. Gagne told Pendrel he thought he was one of the three recipients. "That was really cool to feel like I was helping one of those guys," Pendrel said. "I felt that it could make a bigger impact in one of the up-and-coming riders life," she added, pointing out that she is a semipro athlete -- she rides for Luna Pro Team. "I just knew just how big it was to receive that carding the first time, not just financially but emotionally, to know that youve reached that level where your country wants to invest in you. And thats really special. "I wanted another athlete to have that experience." Gagne finished seventh in the mens race Tuesday, and praised Pendrel for her gesture. "Catharine did that so thats really generous from her," he said. "That opens up other spots for younger athletes like me so obviously thats super cool from her." The last time many Canadians saw Pendrel was at the 2012 London Olympics where she went in as a favourite but faded to ninth, tearfully apologizing to fans back home. The two-time world champion said the disappointment of that performance stung for some time. "But what it comes down to: I didnt have a good day. Theres so much more to look forward to and opportunities to do well for Canada," she added -- particularly, next summers Pan American Games in Toronto and the 2016 Rio Olympics. "I got so much positive feedback that I realized, even a bad day for me can still be inspiring, and Ill just keep inspiring people to ride their bike and to reach for big goals, and not be afraid to risk failing to be incredible." On Tuesday, Pendrel, wearing earrings made from links of a bike chain -- a gift from a young girl from New Brunswick -- led from the outset. She was already more than a minute ahead after the first lap of the 31.95-kilometre course that twisted and turned around Cathkin Braes Country Park. A coach handed her a Canadian flag near the finish line, and she waved it as she crossed for gold, keeping intact a gold-medal streak for Canadian women. Canadas Chrissy Redden won the title in 2002 in Manchester, England, where the sport made its Commonwealth debut, and Marie-Helene Premont took the title in 2006 in Melbourne, Australia. There was no mountain bike four years ago at the Games in New Delhi, India. "I was trying to ignore the fact that Canada has never not gotten gold in mountain bike at the Commonwealth Games," Pendrel said, laughing. "I really didnt want that pressure before coming into this, but I knew with how quick Emily was going as well, that we had a strong chance." The 26-year-old Batty battled Henderson for the entire race until the Canadian pulled away on the final lap. "I was feeling strong, I knew Catharine was up the road and I knew it as going to be hard to catch her," Batty said. "I came here for gold, but silver is the next best thing." Batty, who narrowly lost to Pendrel at the recent Canadian championships, said shes benefited from the tradition of strong female mountain bikers in Canada. "It really helps. Weve always been a top-ranked country for the womens cross-country mountain biking and it puts the bar really high for our development program and it is really inspiring," she said. "Not long ago I was looking up to the top Canadian women and now being one is really inspiring. "I just gave myself goosebumps saying that," she added, laughing. "We really feed off each other, and push each other." Hundreds of fans turned out to watch the mountain bike racing, despite dark clouds, periodic rain and blustery winds. The riders had to negotiate a tricky course that featured the Brig ODoom, Broken Biscuits, and Clyde Climb -- all named by local schoolchildren. Anton Cooper of New Zealand won the mens 37.15-kilometre race, followed by teammate Samuel Gaze. Daniel McConnell of Australia won the bronze. Fred VanVleet Jersey . Canada Day is here and with it comes Free Agent Frenzy as the NHLs 30 teams storm out of the gate for signing season. Toronto Raptors Jerseys .Mihajlovic was sent off minutes from the end of Thursdays 2-0 win over Brescia and has been punished for using a disrespectful expression toward the fourth official and throwing the contents of a bottle of water at him, thus assuming an intimidating attitude. http://www.nbaraptorsonline.com/Authentic-OG-Anunoby-Jersey/ . -- Derek Jeter says the New York Yankees have no choice but to move forward now that Alex Rodriguez has accepted his suspension for the 2014 season.LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Two years ago, Kevin Harvick was evaluating his life. He and his wife, DeLana, had welcomed a son, their only child. Theyd sold their race team and began to prioritize what really mattered to their growing family.Harvick wanted two things: to be happy, and to race for championships.So he took a gamble and left Richard Childress Racing, the only NASCAR team hed ever known, and agreed to drive for good friend Tony Stewart in 2014.Now, he is the new Sprint Cup champion, with his family, Stewart and a dedicated crew chief helping him reach racings summit. Harvicks first career Cup title was celebrated Friday night at NASCARs annual season-ending awards ceremony.The weeklong celebration in Las Vegas gave Harvick a chance to again reflect on the decisions that got him to the head table at Wynn Las Vegas.That evaluation of our lives, my job falls into that, Harvick said this week. DeLana and I, since we knew we were going to have Keelan, we had always talked about What its going to take to be great parents? One of those things in that category is What is it going to take to make you happiest at work?We knew that I wasnt over-the-top excited about everything that I was dealing with at that particular time.In courting Harvick, the driver signed by Richard Childress and then thrust into the firestorm when he was given Dale Earnhardts team one week after the seven-time champions fatal accident in the 2001 Daytona 500, Stewart promised his friend he could win a championship at Stewart-Haas Racing.Stewart was coming off his own 2011 title for SHR when discussions began with Harvick. With more than a year left on his contract, Harvick decided to make the leap. He waited out one final season on his deal with RCR, where hed spent 13 years of his NASCAR career but simply tired of the ebbs and flows of an inconsistent race team.By figuring out his 2014 plans so early, Harvick had almost a year to find a crew chief he believed would guide him to that coveted Cup championship. He set his sights on Rodney Childers, who was content at Michael Waltrip Racing even if that organization wasnt championship calibre.But Harvick wanted Childers — badly — and wouldnt give up his recruiting.It was a lot of conversations, Harvick said. Hes one of those guys that just has to have that feeling of being comfortable and knowing that hes dotted all his Is and crossed all his Ts. Its still business for him, and he has to support his family, and the decisions that he mmade will affect his life for the next few years and the contract that he was signing. Vince Carter Raptors Jersey. It definitely has been a lot of big decisions for really everybody on our team, and the team itself made the commitment to me to get everything started.It took a meeting between Childers and team co-owner Stewart to sway Childers decision. Stewart wont reveal what he said in that meeting.These are combinations that are just as valuable as marriages, so to have Kevin have somebody that he really wanted, its my job to seal the deal, said Stewart, who recognized during that meeting why Harvick so badly wanted Childers.Getting a chance to spend that time with Rodney, I saw what Kevin was seeing. Those are meetings and those are steps that are necessary to make sure you are putting that right package and chemistry together.Still, Childers had no prior relationship with Harvick and knew only the reputation of a hot-headed driver who is tough on his crews.All I knew was a reputation, what other people had said. Id never even had a conversation with him before, Id never carried on a conversation with DeLana or anybody, Childers said. In the beginning, it was all I could think about: Is he going to eat me up? Is he going to yell at me? But the thing Ive learned with him is hes none of those things that everybody says. Nobody has a clue who he really is.What Childers learned about Harvick was that, at 38 years old, with a young son now helping him find some balance, he was a driver committed to doing whatever it took to win a championship. With Childers building the team from scratch, relentlessly working the crew to build a new fleet of cars, Harvick flipped a switch and once again found passion in his job.I needed to make a change and get something that rejuvenated me to get up in the morning and go to the shop and go to work and really take the time to be as good as I can, he said.They were good from their first on-track session and led the series with eight poles and 2,137 laps led.But under a revised elimination-style format for the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, Harvick and the No. 4 team had to step up and deliver. They succeeded with victories in the final two races of the season.Now, with the entire industry on hand to celebrate their success, Harvick and Childers are finally enjoying their achievement.Being able to fulfil your lifelong dream is something that a lot of people cant really say that theyve ever done, Harvick said. ' ' '