If it looks like I am flying under the radar for this years Tour de France, that is fine with me.I can understand why thats the thought, especially looking at the calibre of favourites such as Britains defending and two-time champion Chris Froome, my old teammate on the Sky team and still a good friend; Colombian Nairo Quintana (Movistar), Spaniard Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) and even the Italian duo of Fabio Aru and Vincenzo Nibali (both Astana) are also strong contenders for the yellow jersey.Theyve all won grand tours, whether its the Giro dItalia, Tour de France or Vuelta a Espana, to illustrate their class.Me?Well, seventh overall on my grand tour debut, in the 2010 Giro, when I was not a team leader, is my best result; the only time I led a team for a three-week race, for Sky in last years Giro, I had to pull out due to crash injuries in a race that all in all was marred by problems.I have otherwise helped leaders win, such as Contador in the 2011 Giro [a win later stripped off Contador for doping in the 2010 Tour - ed], Briton Bradley Wiggins (Sky) in the 2012 Tour, and Froome in the 2013 and 2015 Tours de France. This years Tour will be my first with BMC, after leaving Sky, and my first as a leader ... or co-leader with American Tejay van Garderen.My goal? It is to be in contention for the podium. Why not? I believe I have the ability and form that includes four top-four finishes in World Tour stage races. Most important though is that I do the best I can possibly can without something outside of my control impacting it.Id be lying if I said there wasnt a bit of nervousness, but I have controlled everything I can to be ready. Im as in good condition as Ive ever been. Ive done the training and reconnaissance; Ive checked out nine of the 21 stages. I have had onlytwo hiccups. The first of those was the gastro that forced me out of the Tour de Romandie in May. Then I lost my podium place at the Criterium du Dauphiné on the last stage when Frenchman Romain Bardet (Ag2r) attacked on the left in the last 400 metres and Irishman Dan Martin (Etixx-QuickStep) went with him when I was on the right and caught in behind Froome and the Sky guys. Bardet and Martin moved up to second and third overall respectively, pushing me from second to fourth. But I still finished feeling very good about where I am for the Tour.Froome: A Mate But A Hard ReadI hear all the talk about how my Tour may be impacted by my friendship with Froomey.There was plenty of it during the Criterium du Dauphiné when people said I raced with him too much rather than against him. But the fact is, during the Tour the same may happen.We may face a situation where there is mutual gain to be shared by racing the same tactics.But that could happen with anybody. You still have to be one of the strongest to be up there in the overall race as I hope or plan to be so long as I can avoid incident or health issues.Even then, that does not mean I wont attack him. If I need to and can, I will. But being his mate doesnt mean I will be able to read his mind just like that. Even as a teammate, it was hard. He would say he is feeling good but you didnt know. It is difficult to read his body language. If others are having a bad day, you can tell; but Froomey is a hard book to read.Sure, at the Tour I will have to be a little guarded about what I chat to him about during quieter moments. But truth be known, the Tour is not the time to catch up with mates.Co-leading BMC With Tejay van GarderenAgain, a lot of people will be wondering how myself and van Garderen are going to go as co-leaders on BMC. But we have a good relationship. We have spoken and trained a lot together. We will just have to wait and see where we are placed by the third week.If we are both in the mix and strong, having two of us there should be a good thing.With Sky (Froome) and Movistar (Quintana) being so strong, it should not be BMCs responsibility to take the race on; but if we are both there after they do, it could help us.We like our team thats been selected, especially for the first week when it gets hectic in those early bunch finishes. We have riders like Switzerlands Micky Sch?r and German Marcus Burghardt to protect us from the washing-machine madness of it all. Another is American Brent Bookwalter, one of the most underrated riders who will also be good for the mountains -- where Frenchman Ama?l Moinard should shine. Think how Brent, Burgy, Micky and Ama?l all rode on the BMC team that helped Cadel Evans win the 2011 Tour, and you realise how much man and brain power is there to help Tejay and I. Add Italian Damiano Caruso for the climbs, and Aussie Rohan Dennis and Belgian Greg Van Avermaet, who will also get chances for stage wins, and we have every reason to be excited with our line-up.Nairo Quintana, Alberto Contador, Fabio Aru, Vincenzo NibaliSo, the other major contenders?I can understand why so much has been said of Quintana; I saw why first hand at the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya [that Quintana won]. He was so good. I just dont know how much better he can be other than that because he was flying.Its also been interesting to see Contador race so aggressively, but thats Alberto isnt it?However, I dont think you can gamble with your efforts that much in the Tour. You dont want to be in the red every day. So I think Alberto might have to ride a little more defensive. It doesnt make sense to attack when there are still three Sky guys and Movistar guys riding.I know there is a lot of talk about last years Vuelta winner, Aru; but his teammate Nibali, who won this years Giro, has also flown clean under the radar in Tour reckoning this year.Okay, he says he will be at the Tour to help Aru. But people forget Nibali won the Tour in 2014. He has now just won the Giro. He is coming in with no pressure. He will be dangerous. England Eric Dier World Cup Jersey .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee. England Ashley Young World Cup Jersey . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. http://www.cheapworldcupenglandjerseys.com/england-fabian-delph-world-cup-jersey/ . Once again, DeLaet finished tied for second at a PGA Tour stop on the weekend, this time at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The pride of Weyburn, Sask. England Trent Alexander-Arnold World Cup Jersey . Houston won 3-0 to advance to face New York in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Last in the game, Di Vaio and Romero got into a shoving match with several Houston players. Romero appeared to elbow and kick Houston defender Kofi Sarkodie. England Raheem Sterling World Cup Jersey . What general manager Dave Nonis called "short and productive" negotiations ended with Kessel signing a US$64-million, eight-year contract on Tuesday. SALT LAKE CITY -- To say Rodney Hood was eager to return to the court after a hamstring injury sidelined him for three games might be an understatement.The third-year guard knocked down basket after basket from the opening tip and finished with 25 points as the Utah Jazz defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 109-89 on Wednesday night to break a tie between the teams atop the Northwest Division.These last few games have been so tough to watch, Hood said. My teammates have been out there just battling and playing and you cant do nothing but watch. It was good to be back out there.Utah led from start to finish behind 58.3 percent shooting and showed why its one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, holding the Thunder to 36.6 percent from the field.Gordon Hayward scored 17 for the Jazz, who have won nine of 11. Rudy Gobert added 12 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.Russell Westbrook paced the Thunder with 27 points, six rebounds and five assists. He shot 7 for 25 from the floor.When he has an off shooting night, you dont take credit for it with your defense, Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. You just try to make sure you do as good of a job as you can, not giving up offensive rebounds when he drives and try not to give him layups. Sometimes thats hard to do.The guys that were guarding him worked hard. And thats really all you can ask.Enes Kanter scored 19 for Oklahoma City against his former team.The Jazz took a 55-41 lead into halftime thanks to a 15-6 run in the second quarter. Hood sank a pair of 3-pointers to highlight the stretch.The Thunder shot just 32.5 percent in the first half and had little offense outside of Westbrooks 14 points on 3-for-11 shooting.I know Gobert is a great rim protector, but I thought we had some shots around the basket that we normally could have made, Thunder coach Billy Donovan saidd.dddddddddddd I thought that bled into our struggles scoring.TIP-INSThunder: Victor Oladipo missed his second consecutive game with a right wrist sprain. Jerami Grant started in place of Oladipo for the second straight night. The Thunder had the same starting lineup for the first 24 games of the season.Jazz: George Hill missed his sixth straight game with a sprained left big toe, but is no longer in a walking boot. ... Utah is 15-2 when leading at halftime.A LITTLE RESTThe Jazz played their first game in four days after a stretch of eight games in 13 days. The injury-ravaged roster got Derrick Favors (knee) back after a 13-game absence, and Hood (hamstring) returned after missing three games. Snyder said the injuries didnt allow the team to practice much, but the Jazz tried to be smart and efficient in the things they could do. They also tried to get some rest and get healthy.Theres always a fine line between, you want to rejuvenate and recharge, but then you also dont want to lose timing and things like that, Snyder said.OVER ITWestbrook failed to get a triple-double for the third consecutive game and is starting to get annoyed with all the talk about him averaging a triple-double for the entire season.Honestly, people with this triple-double thing, is kind of getting on my nerves, he said. People think if I dont get it, its like a big thing. When I do get it, its a thing.If I get it, I get it. If I dont, I dont. It is what it is. I really dont care, not for the hundredth time. I dont care. All I care about is winning.UP NEXTThunder: Oklahoma City hosts Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns on Saturday.Jazz: Utah hosts a Mavericks team Friday that has lost 11 of 12 games on the road. China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Stitched Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Authentic Jerseys ' ' '