BELFAST, Northern Ireland - Canadian Svein Tuft powered Orica Green-Edge to victory in the team time trial in Belfast in the opening stage of the Giro dItalia on Friday, taking the overall leaders pink jersey on his 37th birthday. Alyssa Naeher Jersey . Orica, which was the overwhelming stage favourite, clocked a time of 24 minutes, 42 seconds along the 21.7-kilometre course, which was lined by more than 140,000 fans. The Australian team benefited from starting second and avoiding most of the rain that fell later. "What an amazing day, I never in my life would have imagined something like this," said Tuft, a native of Langley, B.C. "Im so proud of my team and I just cant thank them enough for that. They gave me the gift, it was really a birthday present. This team is really selfless that way. I feel really fortunate to be given that gift on my birthday." Omega Pharma-QuickStep finished second, five seconds behind Orica, beating third-place BMC by just two seconds. Cadel Evans looked strong for BMC and is one of the favourites after last years third-place finish. With defending champion Vincenzo Nibali not competing, Tour de France runner-up Nairo Quintana is another of the race favourites and his Movistar team finished eighth, 55 seconds behind Orica. One of his rivals, Joaquim Rodriguez, had a poor start as his Katusha team struggled throughout and only finished 19th. Rodriguez is 1 minute, 33 seconds behind Tuft and 38 seconds behind Quintana. While it has become a tradition for the first Giro stage to be held outside Italy, this is the first time that the Grande Partenza — or the Big Start — took place outside mainland Europe. Despite the wind and rain, it was a festive atmosphere in the Northern Irish city, with large crowds lining the route and cheering the riders on. However, Irish rider Dan Martin crashed after just 15 minutes, leaving him with a suspected broken collarbone. Martin caused the crash when he caught his wheel on a drain cover and went down strongly on his right arm, bringing down several of his Garmin-Sharp teammates. The four cyclists who were able to continue had to wait for teammate Fabian Wegmann — who had been dropped early on — to catch up with them, as rules stipulate a team has to finish with at least five riders for its time to count. Garmin eventually finished last, 3:26 behind Orica. That means Ryder Hesjedals chances of repeating his 2012 Giro success are all but over. "Obviously there was a crash, and there was only four of us that stayed ahead," said Victoria native Hesjedal. "It was right before a corner and you hear something had happened, we were already through the corner, looked back and there was nobody there. "Obviously it was pretty scary because you dont know what the hell is going on. I dont know what happened, it was basically a nightmare." Belfast is also the start and finish point for Saturdays 218-kilometre leg, which takes in picturesque rock formation, the Giants Causeway along its coastal route. The Giro ends in Trieste on June 1. Meghan Klingenberg Jersey .C. -- North Carolina State coach Mark Gottfried said his team had a "golden" opportunity to help its NCAA tournament chances. Carli Lloyd Jersey . - Justin Turner is at his best with runners in scoring position, and he delivered again in a big spot for the Los Angeles Dodgers. http://www.socceruswntshop.com/Sydney-Leroux-Usa-Jersey/ . TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie tweeted that its believed the Flames are working towards a new contract with the defenceman.TORONTO - Toronto FC manager Ryan Nelsen says hes concerned about the rough treatment being meted out to star striker Jermain Defoe. The five-foot-seven English forward will have to sit out Saturdays game against visiting Sporting Kansas City after receiving a caution last weekend in Houston, when he was essentially hurled to the ground by six-foot-four Dynamo defender David Horst during an altercation. Only Defoe saw yellow, his fifth of the season which triggered a one-game ban. Nelsens beef is that officials seem to be swayed by simulation and the extras that can follow a foul rather the actual incident. "Hes such a honest player," Nelsen said of Defoe. "Especially in England, you dont dive, you dont fall down, you dont complain. You get that sort of treatment and you have to deal with it. "But over here, a lot of players fall and dive and roll. And the referees react on that. Where(as) our guys are sometimes a wee bit too honest and they take the punishment. The league talks about stamping out all that play, but just because our guys dont dive, it doesnt mean its not happening. "Thats the thing that frustrates me the most is that the referees, they react on what happened if its a dive or its a roll or something like that, then they react. And not the actual impact itself, which they should be doing." No stranger to having a target on his back, the 145-pound Defoe has not complained and has shown he can take care of himself, not backing down from anyone. Allie Long Jersey. But the 31-year-old has surprised even himself with the five cautions so far in his first season in MLS. "Which is unusual for me," he said after the midweek friendly with Tottenham. "I dont normally get involved, I dont really get yellow cards and that." Defoe understands, however, that opposing teams are looking to get him off his game. "Well thats their job at the end of the day," he said after the recent 1-1 tie with Vancouver."Youve got to do whatever it takes to win the game. "Obviously Im not in their changing room, I dont know what the manager says or what they do, but at the end of the day, for me, Ive just go to get into the areas where Im going to score goals. And obviously theyre going to try and do stuff, I suppose, to put me off my game. But its not a problem. Its important just to keep focused and as a forward make sure when we get the chances, that we put them away." Going into this weekends round of play, Defoe was one of 13 players with five cautions. D.C. United midfielder Perry Kitchen led the league with seven yellow cards while six players had six cautions. Defoe leads TFC in yellows, despite only having played 14 of 17 league games. Portlands Darlington Nagbe led the league with 61 fouls suffered in 20 games. Defoe was not in the top 10. But as Torontos leading scorer, with 11 of the clubs 26 goals, he is a key to the attack. Defoe ranks fourth in league scoring. 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