SILVER CITY, N.M. — Although Lance Armstrong still has improvements to make in his buildup to next week’s Giro d’Italia, he said his decision to race in the Tour of the Gila was a good move.
After several weeks of training in Aspen, the climate has been more favorable in New Mexico.
“Similar elevations, but a little lower, warmer and sunnier,” Armstrong said Thursday. “It’s a good continuation because we’ll have a whole month at elevation before the Tour of Italy. It works well.”
Astana general manager Johan Bruyneel said Armstrong is at the level he showed before breaking his collarbone last month during a crash in Spain.
“No more crashes and just time,” Bruyneel said when asked what Armstrong needs. “. . . He needs to get some speed in the legs for the start of the Giro.”
Armstrong got plenty of speed during the finish of the second stage of the five-day Tour of the Gila. The 80-mile race ended in a mass sprint, won by Colavita team racer Lucas Sebastian Haedo.
Armstrong crossed with the large pack, along with teammates Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner.
Patriots obtain former Mullen star
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots obtained tight end Alex Smith from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Patriots gave up an undisclosed pick in next year’s NFL draft for the former Mullen High School athlete, who was drafted by the Buccaneers in the third round in 2005. He has 129 receptions for 1,252 yards and 11 touchdowns in 58 games.
• The Seattle Seahawks and outside linebacker Leroy Hill reached agreement on a multiyear contract.
• Comcast Corp. said it will continue carrying the NFL Network as contract negotiations continue. Without an agreement, the nation’s largest cable TV operator had said it would be required to pull the plug on the football network starting today.
Red Wings lose Draper to injury
DETROIT — Detroit Red Wings forward Kris Draper will miss Games 1 and 2 (tonight and Sunday) against the Anaheim Ducks because of an upper-body injury.
• Detroit’s Chris Chelios, the NHL’s oldest player at 47, joined Nashville’s Steve Sullivan and Florida’s Richard Zednik as finalists for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which is given for “perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.” The winner will be announced June 18.
• Dmitri Kalinin scored with 56 seconds left in overtime to lift Russia to a 6-5 victory over Sweden, and Avalanche defenseman Ruslan Salei scored with 25 seconds left in overtime to give Belarus a 3-2 victory over Norway at the hockey world championship.
In other second-round games, Canada routed the Czech Republic 5-1 and Latvia earned a shootout win over Switzerland after the host forced a 1-1 tie with 1:13 left.
Footnotes.
A new rule approved by the NCAA’s Board of Directors requires early entrants to withdraw from the NBA draft by May 8, rather than its current June 15 deadline.
• U.S. pairs skater Derek Trent retired, ending his partnership with Tiffany Vise. The Associated Press
