Thursday, September 10, 2009 CARAVACA DE LA CRUZ, Spain: American Tyler Farrar won the 11th stage of the Tour of Spain in a mass sprint finish on Wednesday, as controversial Spanish rider Alejandro Valverde retained the leader's golden jersey.The Garmin rider edged Belgian Philippe Gilbert and Italy's Marco Marcato to the line after a 200-kilometre ride from Murcia to Caravaca de la Cruz in southeastern Spain, which included a first category hill climb.All three were among a group of 49 riders, including Valverde, to record the same time.The stage was marked by a breakaway after around 65 kilometres by Frenchman David Moncoutie, Spain's Amets Txurruka and Dutch rider Johnny Hoogerland.The three built up a lead of more than eight minutes but were caught by the peleton around 50 kilometres before the finish.Frenchman Remy di Gregorio also launched a late and short-lived attack.
Sunday, February 28, 2010 HAVANA: Hundreds of wealthy merchants and cigar aficionados from all parts of the world gathered in Havana this week to bid high stakes for humidors full of premium cigars. Cuba's annual Habanos festival ended on Friday night with an auction of ornate humidors of cedar and mahogany stacked with hand-rolled stogies that raised 800,000 euros ($1.09 million dollars). Habanos S.A. executives this month said cigar sales fell 8 percent to $360 million in 2009, so they have created the Julieta, a smaller, milder version of the Romeo y Julieta cigar, aimed specifically at female smokers. Women now make up only 5 to 10 percent of customers for Habanos. But even with the creation of the Julieta, Garcia said Habanos has only modest hopes for 2010 sales, due largely to a weak economy in Spain, the biggest market for Cuban cigars. The flavor of premium tobacco relies on the soil and climate in which it is grown. The western province of Pinar Del Rio, famous fo...
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