Category: Tour of Missouri

The second Tour of Missouri bike race that ended in St. Louis on Sunday drew more spectators than last year. Is that enough to guarantee its return?

Absolutely not. In a sport that doesn't rely on tickets sales, bicycle race organizers always have to worry about landing a major sponsor. In spite of the Tour of Georgia's popularity, for instance, the race is a question mark until a sponsor is found.

Missouri has been lucky because its major cheerleader is also the lieutenant governor, Peter Kinder. But that luck may be running out as Kinder is up for reelection this year and his opponent is against state support of the bicycle race …

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The US professional cycling season started for Christian Vande Velde with a visit to the podium after he finished third overall in the Tour of California in February.

The year is drawing to a close with Vande Velde on the top step of  the podium as he wins the 2008 Tour of  Missouri by protecting his lead during the 7th Stage in St. Louis on Sunday.

Joining the 32-year-old Garmin Chipotle cyclist on the podium were Michael Rogers of Team Columbia and Svein Tuft of Symmetrics. The two finished behind Vande Velde by the same margin — 18 seconds for Rogers and 48 seconds for Tuft — they held since Vande Velde won the Stage 3 time trial on Wednesday to take over the race lead.

Last year's winner George Hincapie of Team Columbia finished in 4th, trailing by 1:03. ….

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Ivan Dominguez, the Cuban Missile of Toyota-United, is the latest sprinter to fall victim to Mark Cavenish at the 2008 Tour of Missouri.

Cavendish owns three stage wins at the Tour of Missouri so far; his first stage wins on US soil. His victory on Saturday marks 18 for Team Columbia's Cavenish, including four at the Tour de France.

Team Columbia has worked all year at getting the 23-year-old British sprinter to the front of the pack where he can launch himself over the line. The finish for the 96-mile bike race from Hermann to St. Charles was no exception …

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Rabobank finished 1st and 2nd in the sprint finish in Jefferson City on Friday, while Garmin Chipotle's Christian Vande Velde finished safely in the peloton to hold onto the yellow jersey for another day at the 2008 Tour of Missouri.

Although Team Columbia set the pace going into the final lap for Mark Cavendish, they couldn't control several attacks other cyclists that created a free-for-all of failed bids at the end.

Boy Van Poppel (the Netherlands) won the sprint, followed closely by teammate Michael van Stayen (Belgium).

If the name Van Poppel is familiar, it's because Boy is the son of Jean-Paul Van Poppel …

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Team Columbia's Michael Barry can boast of a solo victory at the Tour of Missouri after attacking on the final circuits and winning by a comfortable margin.

Christian Vande Velde of  Garmin-Chipotle sprinted in with the chase group, finishing in 4th place on the day and holding onto the overall leader's yellow jersey for another day. Last year's winner George Hincapie finished in that chase group also, but didn't contest the sprint….

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2008 is certainly Christian Vande Velde's coming out party.

A day in the pink jersey at the Giro d'Italia, fifth place finish in the Tour de France (4th in the final time trial), and now he's put everyone on notice that he's the man to beat at the Tour of Missouri.

The 32-year-old cyclist on Garmin-Chipotle won the 18-mile individual time trial around Branson on Wednesday, catapulting him into first place by a 21-second margin over Australia's Michael Rogers of Team Columbia.

He outdid defending champion George Hincapie, who is now sitting in fourth place, by 1:03. ….

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Chalk up Stages 1 and 2 of the Tour of Missouri to Mark Cavendish, the amazing British sprinter on US-based Team Columbia.

Stage 3 will be a different story, however, as the 18-mile individual time trial around Branson isn't expected to be the Brit's strong suit.

Teammate George Hincapie is a strong time trialist and Wednesday could be his day to launch his defense of last year's Tour of Missouri title. He'll be facing strong competition from two Garmin-Chipotle cyclists — Christian Vande Velde and David Zabriskie, who successfully defended his US pro cycling time trial championship over Labor Day weekend. …

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The Brit who's been winning sprints on his bicycle all across Europe this spring and summer is doing so in North America now.

Mark Cavendish, the 23-year-old cycling phenom for US-based Team Columbia, won Stage 1 of the Tour of Missouri in windy and wet Kansas City on Monday.

His dash for the finish in the 90-mile race from St. Joseph to Kansas City marked his 16th win of the season, including four at the Tour de France. Team Garmin Chipotle's Tyler Farrar of Wenatchee, Washington, finished a close second ……

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Spanish cyclist Egoi Martinez joined a breakaway and gained just enough time to take the overall leader's golden jersey from Levi Leipheimer, who lost it for the second time on Stage 9 of the Vuelta a Espana on Monday.

Reports suggest that Leipheimer's Astana team miscalculated and allowed the 11-man escape group to get too much of a lead before starting the chase ….

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The 2008 Tour of Missouri rolls out for 7 stages beginning Monday, and there are plenty of opportunities to watch if you can't station yourself at the roadside somewhere between St. Joseph and St. Louis.

There is free, live online video streaming, evening summaries on midwestern sports cable networks, “play-by-play” coverage at the cycling websites, and a new social media site where fans can chat and post their images from the race.

For starters, Universal Sports is providing free, live streaming video coverage of each stage with commentary. Replays are available after the race. Universal relaunched this month and has been streaming Tour of Germany, and the Univest Grand Prix, among other sports events. Check out the Universal cycling schedule for details (times are ET).

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