VITTORIO VENETO, Italy -- Stefano Pirazzi won the 17th stage of the Giro dItalia on Wednesday, the first professional victory of

VITTORIO VENETO, Italy -- Stefano Pirazzi won the 17th stage of the Giro dItalia on Wednesday, the first professional victory of his career while Nairo Quintana retained the overall leaders pink jersey. Air Max Plus Tn Canada . Pirazzi made an obscene arm gesture as he crossed the finish line and was reduced to tears following his win. "It wasnt a nice gesture, Im sorry, forgive me," Pirazzi said. "But its been five years of anger, five years of criticism. As the days went by, my moral was going down. I was here to get this victory finally, that was the target. "I was unleashing all that. Five years of criticism is a lot for a young guy. I really had to deal with a lot. Today I reached a goal that I wanted since I was a young boy watching the Giro. Im very happy. Ill enjoy it and never forget this moment." Pirazzi, who had led from the breakaway, made his move with little more than a kilometre remaining and edged out Tim Wellens and Jay McCarthy in a sprint at the end of the 204-kilometre (127-mile) stage from Sarnonico to Vittorio Veneto. The peloton crossed the line 15:36 behind Pirazzi as the top overall standings were unchanged. Quintana remained 1:41 ahead of fellow Colombian Rigoberto Uran and 3:21 ahead of Cadel Evans, with Pierre Rolland only five seconds further back. Victorias Ryder Hesjedal, the 2012 Giro champion, finished 33rd in Wednesdays stage and was in ninth overall, 4:16 back of Quintana. Svein Tuft of Langley, B.C., was in 158th after finishing 144th in stage 17. Quintana had moved into pink after Tuesdays tough leg, which was marred by confusion after some teams believed part of the route had been neutralized -- meaning the times for that section wouldnt count. "In reality there is no controversy," Quintana said. "I know what happened. Theyre creating a story which isnt there. "It would be unjust (if they took time away from me). The organization said the race wasnt neutralized so why remove an advantage that I won?" The peloton remained together for almost half the route before a group of 26 riders managed to get away. After the previous tough stage -- where the cyclists had to deal not only with both the legendary Gavia and Stelvio climbs, but with snow and rain as well -- the peloton was happy to keep a steady pace and let the escape go. The best-placed rider in the break was Damiano Cunego, who was more than 48 minutes behind Quintana, and so the pink jersey group allowed the gap to go out to more than 12 minutes. Thomas De Gendt attacked from the breakaway on the approach to the last of three classified climbs, the ascent up the Muro di Ca del Poggio. Pirazzi followed and caught the Belgian cyclist near the summit, and they were soon joined by Wellens, McCarthy and Matteo Montaguti. There were attacks off the chasing group but the quintets advantage continued to grow and it swiftly became apparent they would not be caught before the finish. The Giro returns to the mountains in Thursdays 18th stage, a 171km (106-mile) leg from Belluno, with a summit finish up to Rifugio Panarotta. The race ends on Sunday in Trieste. Vapormax Plus Mens Sale .J. -- Jaromir Jagr has hit so many NHL milestones this season for the New Jersey Devils that he is starting to downplay them. Vapormax Mens Canada . Thats how the Ravens won when Ryan was their defensive co-ordinator from 2005-08, and that is precisely the formula Baltimore used to beat Ryans New York Jets on Sunday. http://www.airvapormaxcanada.com/nike-vapormax-97-canada.html .Y. -- Florida Panthers captain Ed Jovanovski finally has something to show for all the pain he went through in overcoming a string of injuries that kept him sidelined for much of the past two years.BOSTON -- Manny Ramirez apologized Wednesday for his behaviour with the Boston Red Sox in his first public appearance since being hired as a minor league player-coach with the Chicago Cubs. His apology came before a pregame ceremony in which the team honoured its 2004 team that won Bostons first World Series championship since 1918. "I realize that I behaved bad in Boston," Ramirez said. "The fans were great. I also played great when I was here, but I realized I behaved bad. I apologize for that. Im a new man." He said he has been attending church for almost a year. During seven-plus seasons with Boston, Ramirez hit .312 with 274 homers and 868 RBIs before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008. While with Boston, he often jogged to first base and after fly balls, had a physical altercation with travelling secretary Jack McCormick and exhibited quirky behaviour that led to the phrase, "Manny being Manny." Ramirez was the last of more than 30 members of the 2004 team introduced before Bostons game against the Atlanta Braves. He was the MVP of that World Series sweep over St. Louis. He threw the ceremonial first pitch, but Johnny Damon cut it off, rolled to the ground and relayed the ball to catcher Jason Varitek behind the plate. It mimicked a play in 2004 when Damon fielded a ball off the centre-field wall and threw toward third base. But Ramirez inexplicably dove and cut it off rather than let it go through, allowing Baltimores David Newhan to get an inside-the-park homer. Ramirez received a warm reception as he entered the field through a door on the left field scoreboard in the Green Monster. He occasionally would use the door tto go into the cramped area behind the scoreboard during pitching changes. Vapormax Cheap Sale. On Wednesday night, the crowd chanted "Manny, Manny," when he was introduced and walked toward the infield. Current designated hitter David Ortiz is the only Red Sox player remaining from the 2004 team. "Now that I see David and the rest of the guys, I wish I could have done better," Ramirez said. "I wish it turned out better than it did." Now he hopes to make a good impression on players in the Cubs farm system. "Im looking forward to that," Ramirez said. "I can go over there and meet those kids and teach them what to do in the field and what not to do off the field. Its going to be a blast. Were going to have fun out there." Other players from the 2004 team who received loud ovations where pitchers Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling and outfielder Kevin Millar. Schilling, who has skipped other Fenway Park events this season while being treated for cancer, was accompanied by his son Gehrig as they walked in together from left field. Keith Foulke, who was on the mound for the final out of the 2004 World Series, carried the championship trophy as he made his way to the infield. "You work your entire career and you always dream of being on top for at least once," Foulke said before Wednesdays game. "Were honoured to be a part of something that, unfortunately, had been set up by a lot of failure. Were proud to be a part of it, Ill tell you that." Ramirez appeared with a haircut in which the sides of his head were shaved, leaving hair only on top. "Its Manny," Foulke said, with a laugh. ' ' '