nd hold the tiebreaker advantage over Tampa Bay. They are trying for their first winning record since finishing 13-3 with the loss to the 49ers in the NFC championship game

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Its long past time to debate whether the worlds top women cyclists can deliver a spectacle equal to the men. The greatness forged on empty roads revealed itself to a global audience Sunday in a way that should call the question forever.They raced ferociously, balancing risk and reward on their slender tires as they navigated a course whose varied microclimates made it half torment, half travelogue. Dutch rider Annemiek van Vleuten of the Netherlands, leading down the damp and treacherous descent of the Vista Chinesa, lost traction in a horrifying wreck that left her with three cracked vertebrae.Two gallant messages would appear on van Vleutens Twitter feed hours later, expressing gratitude and disappointment, saying she would be fine. But the four other women with a shot to win didnt know that when they passed her crumpled and frighteningly inert form seconds later.The superlative American climber Mara Abbott was closest. She had backed off van Vleutens wheel not long before, trusting the same instincts that have twice delivered her the championship of the Giro Rosa, the most demanding and prestigious womens stage race on the calendar.Abbott saw the wreckage by the side of the road, spared a thought for van Vleuten and refocused ahead. She nearly soloed to the line, but it was a three-on-one drag race in the flats.Her pursuers reeled her in with less than 200 meters to go. Another Dutch rider, Anna van der Breggen, won the sprint in what could hardly have been a more theatrical finish. Abbott came in fourth.The 30-year-old Abbott spoke afterward with the calm of an athlete conscious she was in competitive shock. Rios grueling, decisive climb played to her strength, and there is no guarantee that kind of topography will be a feature on the 2020 course or that she will even be in Tokyo to contest the race.Its going to take a lifetime to process, she said. Youll never have that chance again in your entire life. But you never know what comes out of what.Abbotts three U.S. teammates -- Kristin Armstrong, Evelyn Stevens and Megan Guarnier -- executed near-flawlessly and unselfishly to put her in position to win, which was notable for a couple of reasons.As has been the norm in recent Olympic lead-ups, the U.S. team was only finalized after two other riders challenged the selection in arbitration. That, in turn, has led to the back-channel perception of the American women overall as a squabbling pack who would have trouble coalescing on competition day -- a condescending, sexist and unfounded stereotype.The choice of two-time defending Olympic time-trial champion Armstrong was particularly controversial in part because of the demanding nature of the road race course. But Sunday, the 41-year-old Armstrong put in a huge effort on the front of the race in the flat and undulating sections before pulling out at the base of the final climb.Kristin did a fantastic job taking us in -- she was just awesome today, said Stevens, who along with Guarnier worked for Abbott until it was time for her to attack.Armstrong came up behind Abbott in mid-interview and embraced her. Both women cried.Im heartbroken for Mara, Armstrong said. I really wanted to come back for a lot of reasons. I have my time trial goals on Wednesday, but I also really wanted to contribute to history in the road race and I really believed in this team.I cant imagine being where she is right now. Shes gonna have a lot of sleepless nights.This is a distinctive group who are a step removed from the pioneers, but still had to scrap for survival in their economically unstable sport. They all came to it relatively late and will exit it with other passions in their hip pockets. Guarnier intends to pursue graduate work in neuroscience. Armstrong is a converted triathlete, the mother of a young son and works as a community liaison for a large hospital. Stevens, who also will race the Olympic time trial, discovered cycling while working on Wall Street.An interesting combination of blunt and ethereal, Abbott teaches yoga, works at a farmers market in her longtime base of Boulder, Colorado, and has long felt a tug toward environmental causes. She has characterized her very public and painful battle with an eating disorder as a climb that never really levels out.Three years ago, Abbott told me her biggest challenge was owning her athletic talent. If you hold back, you dont have to take responsibility for who you are, she said.Its long past time to debate whether she and her contemporaries have done that. If anyone needs convincing, all they need to do is watch.Fake Jerseys For Sale . 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Fake Jerseys 2019 . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason.ATLANTA -- Four years after losing to San Francisco in the NFC championship game at the Georgia Dome, the Atlanta Falcons finally are moving closer to a return to the playoffs.The 49ers are far from the playoffs as they try to end a franchise-record 12-game losing streak in Sundays game against the Falcons.The Falcons (8-5) are tied for the NFC South lead and hold the tiebreaker advantage over Tampa Bay. They are trying for their first winning record since finishing 13-3 with the loss to the 49ers in the NFC championship game to end their 2012 season.Quarterback Matt Ryan says hes not following other scores, including the Buccaneers, during games.I dont worry about it too much, Ryan said Wednesday. At the end of the day, we have to play our best. ... What everybody else does, if we handle our business it doesnt matter.Despite playing without injured wide receivers Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu, the Falcons rolled to a 42-14 win at the Los Angeles Rams last week.Atlanta may be without Jones , who has a sprained toe, for the second straight week. Sanu is expected to return from a groin injury.The Falcons average a league-leading 32.9 points per game as Ryan already has his sixth straight season with 4,000 yards passing. Its a tough test for the reeling 49ers (1-12), who are allowing the most points (30.2) per game in the league.Theyre as good of an offense as there is right now in the NFL, said Niners defensive coordinator Jim ONeil, who added Ryan is as good of a quarterback as you have right now in the NFL.The Falcons offense has strong balance. Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman each have seven rushing touchdowns. Ryan has thrown scoring passes to 11 targets, including to Justin Hardy and Taylor Gabriel last week.Theyre probably the most complete offense that weve faced all year, ONeil said. So itll be a challenge. Were going to have to play really good football.It was a confidence-building week for the Falcons.I think its always hard anytime you have your top two wide receivers down, Ryan said. Its tough to replace that. Our guys stepped up great.Here are some things to watch as the Falcons face the 49ers:NO FUMBLES: Freeman and Coleman have no fumbles in their combined 269 carries and 62 receptions. Freeman leads the team with 791 yards rushing. Coleman has 328 yards rushing.I have a ton of respect for them and the fact they havent fumbled the ball this year, thats incredible, left tackle Jake Matthews said. That goes to show you how hard theyve been working at it.dddddddddddd In my mindset, that means you just keep giving them opportunities to make plays. Theyre really special players.FAST STARTS, SLOW FINISHES: Starting fast hasnt been a problem for the Niners, who have scored first in 10 of their 13 games. The problem has been San Francisco lost nine of those, tying the NFL record for most losses when scoring first, according to Pro Football Reference.The Niners blew their third 14-point lead of the season last week to the Jets. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been a big part of the problem. Kaepernick leads all qualifying QBs in passer rating (119.5), completion percentage (71.7) and yards per attempt (9.4) in the first half, while ranking last at 42.9 percent completions and 4.6 yards per attempt, and second worst with a 61.3 rating the rest of the game.If there was one thing we could do that we could change it, we would, Kaepernick said. There are a lot of things that play into that. But, once again, we have to be able to be better in the second half.BEASLEYS BREAKOUT: Atlanta second-year linebacker/defensive end Vic Beasley continued his breakout season with three sacks last week. He has 13 + sacks to share the NFL lead with Denvers Von Miller. Beasley leads the league with six forced fumbles, including one against the Rams he returned 21 yards for a touchdown.BUCKNERS BOOST: One of the rare bright spots for San Francisco has been the play of first-round defensive lineman DeForest Buckner. Buckner had two sacks against the Jets. Buckner has played the third-most defensive snaps of any defensive lineman in the league this season and has missed just six defensive plays the past five games, according to Pro Football Focus.Theres just no way you can take that guy out and theres no way he wants to be out, ONeil said.RUN AND HYDE: Carlos Hyde is coming off the best day of his career, having rushed 193 yards on just 17 carries last week against the Jets. Hyde had four runs of at least 20 yards, including 47- and 43-yarders, and also caught a 7-yard touchdown pass. Hyde needs just 121 yards over the final three games for his first career 1,000-yard season.---AP Sports Writer Josh Dubow in San Francisco contributed to this report.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '