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Tour of Missouri: Cavendish wins Stage 2

British cyclist Mark Cavendish (Columbia-HTC) keeps the Tour of Missouri yellow jersey after winning Stage 2 in Cape Girardeau in another patented sprint finish. Thor Hushovd finished second, and J.J. Haedo was third.

Whether Cavendish will be able to hang on to the yellow jersey after Stage 3 remains to be seen. Stage 3, from Farmington to Rolla, has 6,000 feet of climbing and three King of the Mountain climbs.

One thing is for certain, the 2009 Tour of Missouri will have a new champion. Unfortunately, Illinois native Christian Vande Velde suffered a small hairline fracture in his right wrist during a crash on the final straight of Stage 1 in St. Louis. Vande Velde tried to start today's stage, but after the neutral start in Ste. Genevieve, Vande Velde determined he couldn't go on.

Francois Parisian and Timothy Duggan were part of a breakaway that survived for about 60 miles until about 8 miles left in the race.

I was unable to attend today's stage, but it appeared the crowds were strong near the finish line. I didn't get the opportunity to see what kind of crowds the two King of the Mountain climbs and the two intermediate sprints drew.

Labels: Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments 3:06 PM