AX 3 DOMAINES, France -- Chris Froome used the first tough mountain stage to take command of the Tour de France on Saturday, leaving two-time champion Alberto Contador and other challengers in his wake on a grueling climb in the Pyrenees to seize the leaders yellow jersey with a dominant win on the eighth stage. Charlie Conacher Jersey . Froome entered the Tour as the favourite after finishing second last year behind countryman and Sky teammate Bradley Wiggins, who isnt defending his title because of an injury. And after Froomes performance on Saturday, the race looks like its his to lose. "I must be among the happiest men in the world today," Froome said. "Theres a long way to go until Paris. There are two weeks left but we want to keep the yellow jersey." Froome leads Contador by nearly two minutes, with former champions Andy Schleck and Cadel Evans much further back, ahead of another tough mountain stage on Sunday. "More than anything today weve got a bit of a psychological advantage over the others," Froome said. "Its quite hard to think about this, standing in yellow today. This is incredible. Weve worked for months to be in this position." In the overall standings, Froome is 51 seconds ahead of teammate Richie Porte and leads third-place Alejandro Valverde by 1:25. Meanwhile, Contador is 1:51 behind in seventh spot; Schleck is 4:00 back in 21st and Evans is 4:36 adrift in 23rd. Victorias Ryder Hesjedal finished the stage in 39th and is 35th overall. David Veilleux of Cap-Rouge, Que., and Svein Tuft of Langley, B.C., are 138th and 179th, respectively. This is the 100th edition of the Tour -- and the first since Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven straight titles (1999-2005) for doping. Froomes ride on Saturday resembled Armstrong at his best, when the American used to punish his opponents early in the race to take control. Froome was asked after the stage to vouch that he is riding clean. "One hundred per cent," he responed. "Its normal that people ask questions in cycling," he said. "I certainly know the results Im getting, theyre not going to be stripped ... I think the sport (has) changed. If you look at it logically the sport is in a better place now than it has been." The 28-year-old Froome attacked early into the days second big climb up to Ax 3 Domaines and only Porte, who finished the stage 51 seconds behind in second, was anywhere near him. "The team was absolutely perfect today," Porte said. "Im absolutely finished but it was an incredible day." Contador grimly held on as long as he could, and was dropped by Froome long after 2010 champion Schleck and the 2011 champion Evans had already been left behind. "I tried to find my rhythm because it was a bit too fast for me," Schleck said. "Its only the first day of the mountains and its not over yet." Froome took the yellow jersey from South African cyclist Daryl Impey, his former training partner, who crawled over the line 7:50 behind in 35th spot. Contador finished the stage 1:45 behind Froome, Schleck trailed by 3:34 and the 36-year-old Evans was 4:13 adrift. "I wasnt expecting that much for today," Froome said. "The time gaps were so big, thats quite something. Were in a really good position." Given that Froome may attack again in Sundays second tortuous Pyrenean climbs -- featuring four straight category 1 ascents -- he could be well on the way to victory by Mondays rest day. "I think were well poised," Froome said. "Were going to have to fight for it but Im confident in the team we have." Saturdays 195-kilometre (121-mile) trek started from Castres and stayed flat for a long time before reaching spiking upwards. The Col de Pailheres came first -- a ferociously tough ascent for about nine miles at a gradient of eight per cent -- and then a shorter but even steeper ride to the finish at the ski resort of Ax 3 Domaines. Colombian rider Nairo Quintana broke away to launch a brutal attack up Pailheres, and only Frenchman Pierre Roland initially followed him, but Porte helped Froome steadily gain ground on them. Schleck, Evans and then Rolland were dropped with about 6 kilometres (4 miles) left to go up to Ax 3 Domaines as Contador desperately tried to stay on Portes wheel. Porte had tired Contador to the point that the Spaniard was even struggling to keep up with teammate Roman Kreuziger, so Froome decided it was time to finish him off. "I am little bit surprised," Froome said. "Maybe he (Contador) didnt have his best day today." Froome climbed with such blistering acceleration it almost looked like he was riding a time trial, blowing past Quintana and then Porte. "It may look easy on TV but it wasnt," Froome said. Still, he had time to ease up in the saddle, raise his arms and soak up victory in the blazing sun. Ted Kennedy Jersey .C. - The Carolina Hurricanes have placed backup goalie Anton Khudobin on injured reserve with an unspecified lower-body injury. Kris Versteeg Jersey . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2. http://www.mapleleafsjerseyscheap.com/?tag=felix-potvin-jersey . -- Lou Brocks shoulder-to-shoulder collision with Bill Freehan during the 1968 World Series and Pete Roses bruising hit on Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star game could become relics of baseball history, like the dead-ball era. HOUSTON -- The Houston Astros began work on renovations to center field at Minute Maid Park on Monday that will remove Tals Hill and add field level seating.The renovations were supposed to be done last offseason but were postponed. The project, which will eliminate the hill and bring in the center field fence from 436 to 409 feet, will be completed by opening day in 2017.The change will make Houstons ballpark have the sixth-deepest center field after the old configuration made it the deepest in the majors. Travis Dermott Jersey. The renovations will also add three bars and four new concession stands as well as the only field-level seating in the ballpark. Nike NFL Jerseys China Jerseys NFL Cheap Cheap NFL T-shirts Wholesale NFL White Jerseys Wholesale NFL Camo Jerseys China Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '