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Throughout the Tour de France, Australian professional cyclist Richie Porte will be checking in. Here is his second entry, as told to ESPN contributor Rupert Guinness:Stage 2: Saint L? to CherbourgI could easily feel sorry for myself being almost two minutes down overall in the Tour de France after only two days due to the untimeliest of punctures. But I dont, and wont.Make no mistake, I am not glossing over the fact that my flat tyre?inside the final five kilometres of Sundays second stage from Saint L? to Cherbourg was the disaster that I said it was when I spoke to the media outside our team bus. It was a disaster, but not the end.Sure, its a bitter pill to swallow losing time like that. I was so well placed when it happened, on second wheel in the peloton behind the breakaway.I was not there to make a move. I just wanted to stay out of trouble ironically. Then my rear tyre flatted and just like that my Tour hopes were thrown into disarray. But you know what, as much of a disaster as I said it was, the fact is: a lot more people in the world are far worse off than I am.There was some good from it, too: at least my time loss was not because of poor form or being ill, or from crashing which in itself could have led to injuries and made my chances of a fight back harder. I was actually lucky not to have had someone ride into the back of me when I flatted at that speed downhill. It couldve been a lot worse than what many realise.I am not the only one on the BMC Racing Team who understands this. Everyone does, from Tejay van Garderen, with whom I came into this Tour as co-leader, to every rider and staff member.I had a great chat with Tejay after the stage in the bus on the way back to our hotel. He still sees us as being a good two-up front for the Tour, and I believe that we still can be. I am certainly not going to just give up hope. Sure, Ive lost time I really would not have wished for, but I have to take it as it is; and with so many stages ahead no way the Tour is over.There is still tomorrowI mean, look at poor Alberto Contador. There he is, two days in a row and he has crashed. We didnt even know he crashed again as we were near the front, but later when I saw him we had a glance at each other and he gave me a little shake of the head. He is a fighter, he wont give up. And I dont plan on it either; especially after all the work Ive put into this. It was also heartening to get the messages of support I got after the stage, not just from people following the Tour but also from a number of riders in the peloton racing here; and I have to say, I was not surprised that the first of them was my Aussie mate Michael Matthews from the Orica-BikeExchange team. We both live near each other in Monaco and while we are as different riders as we probably are people, we are good mates; and it was really nice for him to get in touch with me so soon after a hectic stage that he would have targeted [Matthews finished fifth on the stage won by Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) from Slovakia on an uphill sprint].Look, what happened sucked. But even now, when I look back on what happened, I cant really think of anything else that could have been done. It was a bad thing at a bad time.There was no way the team car could get to me ... it was stuck behind the riders already dropped. And I know some people were commenting about the neutral service taking a while, and it did take a bit of time; but no way was there any bad intentions on the mechanic there. He was doing his best in a really pressured situation. He is obviously pretty good at doing what he does. Were he not, no way would he have the position that he does.Similarly, I heard some people comment about not having teammates with me, but I did have Marcus Burghardt, then Ama?l Moinard and Damiano Caruso; but again, it was at such a bad time -- the race was going so fast so close to the finish -- there was little we could do.Then dont forget, we still had Tejay still up there [19th on the stage] and Greg Van Avermaet who was the rider we had down for the stage [Van Avermaet finished eighth on the stage].So how I see it all is that, OK the cards didnt fall in my favour today but there is still tomorrow and that means another opportunity. Ill be ready for it. Fake China Jerseys .Y. -- Jayna Hefford scored the winning goal Friday as Canada survived a scare with a 4-3 win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hockey tournament. China Jerseys Cheap .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. https://www.chinajerseyscheap.us/ .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore. China Jerseys Stitched . Breaking three of his own world records on his way to winning in Paris, Chan silenced the critics and left the audiences standing in appreciation and awe. China Jerseys Wholesale . Spiller left Week 3s 27-20 loss to the New York Jets with a thigh injury, but fully practiced with the team all week and expects to be ready to go on Sunday.Will Spurs beat Chelsea on Monday night to keep the title race alive? Paul Merson gives his prediction... Read on to see who Merse is tipping to come out on top... Mersons last predictions Result Merses prediction Man City 4-0 Stoke 2-0 Aston Villa 2-4 Southampton 0-2 Bournemouth 1-4 Chelsea 2-2 Liverpool 2-2 Newcastle 2-1 Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal 1-1 Leicester 4-0 Swansea 1-1 Tottenham 1-1 West Brom 3-0 Everton 1-2 Man Utd (FA Cup) 1-2 Crystal Palace 2-1 Watford (FA Cup) 1-0 Chelsea v Tottenham (Monday Night Football, 8pm, live on Sky Sports 1 HD) Im going to go for a Chelsea win and for there to be goals. I watched Chelsea at Bournemouth last week and they will let in goals for absolute fun, and Tottenham have to have a go and Chelsea are good going forward. Tottenham arent going to go there and lie down, dont worry about that. Even if Leicester have won they still arent going to go to Stamford Bridge and get embarrassed. It will be an entertaining football match.PAUL PREDICTS: 3-2 (28/1 with Sky Bet) Will Tottenham still be in the title race on Monday? Everton v BournemouthI know theres nothing to play for but this is a big game for Roberto Martinez. I dont think he can afford to lose this at home. You like to think the players are going to produce for him, and if they dont I think that will be it. Hes got to win this game, and show a little bit.The thing with Bournemouth is that theyve got where they needed to get so they are going to take their foot off the gas, because theyve had to work hard every single week for a result. What theyve achieved is phenomenal, so I can understand whats happened with them, but this is still a dangerous game for Everton.PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1 (15/2 with Sky Bet)Newcastle v Crystal PalaceIve got to go for Newcastle, theyve got too much to play for. Palace have just had a hard game at Wembley and are in the final of the FA Cup, whereas Newcastle are fighting for their lives. If Newcastle can just start well I think theyll win the game. Im going to for a massive three points for Newcastle.PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1 (15/2 with Sky Bet)Stoke v SunderlandAbout four weeks ago this was a hard game for Sunderland. Now I look at it and think Sam Allardyces side have a real chance. Stoke have let in four goals three games on the trot, and have to be careful theyre not complacent. But they do have some players who can hurt youu, whoever theyre playing.dddddddddddd This is the hardest game to call because Sunderland are playing for their lives, but surely Stoke are going to get better. I think it will be a bad result for Sunderland.PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1 (5/1 with Sky Bet)Watford v Aston VillaWatford are gone. They put all their eggs in one basket and lost in the FA Cup semi-final. People will think Im going mad because Villa are absolutely shocking, but I dont think there are a million miles between these two teams, just one has two good strikers and the other team doesnt.But how many games have Watford won in the last 10? The semi-final result was a kick in the teeth for them, but I think Villa still have to score first. If Watford score first theyll run away with it.PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1 (11/2 with Sky Bet)West Brom v West HamWest Brom are a hard team to beat, you hear all these West Brom fans say: Oh, its boring Tony Pulis football, but look where they are in the league. How many teams go to Tottenham and get a result?They are also in the middle of the table. If Pulis was the manager of any of the three teams in the relegation scrap theyd be where West Brom are, which tells you everything. West Brom fans need to be careful what they wish for.Having said that, I think West Ham will win this game because they have to, and itll be quite an entertaining game.PAUL PREDICTS: 1-2 (15/2 with Sky Bet)Swansea v LiverpoolLiverpool dont need this game. Swansea were atrocious against Leicester last week and really Liverpool should win 5-0. Jurgen Klopp has a big game against Villarreal to prepare for and its bigger than this.Swansea will have a go and Liverpool, whoever they put out, will have a go as well. Theyre not going to go there and bore everyone to death, theyll go out and enjoy themselves. Swansea have got Gylfi Sigurdsson, who can put the ball on a sixpence, and Liverpool arent exactly going to be working on their set-pieces so Ill also go Ashley Williams first goalscorer as well.PAUL PREDICTS: 2-2 (12/1 with Sky Bet)Arsenal v NorwichNorwich will know what they have to do, if Newcastle and Sunderland have got results then they need to get something out of this game.At the same time, Arsenal are fighting now. Theyve gone from trying to win the league to fighting for the top four. I expect Arsenal to win this game, Im one of those people who think theyll keep winning and most of the time they let you down. But they need to win, because if Manchester United and West Ham win they could soon be out of the top four. PAUL PREDICTS: 3-0 (13/2 with Sky Bet)Manchester United v LeicesterIf youre a Manchester United fan you dont want Leicester winning the Premier League on Sunday, that would be the last thing you need. If youre the manager of Manchester United and that happens youre in severe trouble.Louis van Gaal is under pressure as it is. I know theyre in the FA Cup final, but if this team get beat at home and Leicester win the league in front of 75,000 of their fans? They arent going to be happy with that. No disrespect but if little Leicester go to big Manchester United and win the league - its embarrassing Im afraid. The story of winning it is unreal, but to put the icing on the cake and go and win it at one of the biggest football clubs in the world? Honestly, Ive already thrown the book Im reading into the sea because of Leicester.But I dont think it will happen, though, and Manchester United will win this game. I was very impressed with them in the first half of the FA Cup semi-final, and with Wayne Rooney playing a bit deeper theyre a better team.PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1 (8/1 with Sky Bet)Southampton v Manchester CityIts a dodgy game for Manchester City this. They are fighting to get into the Champions League and have a big game next week against Real Madrid. Southampton are a good team and this game could open the top-four race right back up. I like Southampton, Manchester City will have to rest players and take a chance, and theyre not playing Stoke. Southampton have to score first but if they do they could go on and win the game.PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1 (5/1 with Sky Bet) Win a t-lab Peloton t-shirt We have five of these awesome t-shirts to give away in our free prize draw - enter now! Also See: Premier League questions What can happen this weekend? Super 6 Up to ￡30 free matched bet ' ' '