Cav’ doubles down in Missouri

• Photos
• Results

By Ben Delaney

2009 Tour of Missouri, Stage 2: Mark Cavendish (Columbia-HTC) makes it two out of two.

Photo: Casey B. Gibson

Race leader Mark Cavendish (Columbia-HTC) rocketed past Cervélo’s Thor Hushovd on Tuesday to win stage 2 of the 2009 Tour of Missouri.

It was another chaotic finale as ProTour and domestic teams butted heads in Cape Girardeau, battling to set up their sprinters in the final miles of the 112.3-mile ride from St. Genevieve.

No matter. Cav’ simply attached himself to Hushovd’s wheel when the Cervélo man made his dash for the line, then shot past for his second consecutive win in this year’s tour. The Norwegian hung on for second with Saxo Bank’s J.J. Haedo third.

Asked if he had a preference for a type of finish, Cav’ shrugged: “It’s irrelevant really, as long as I get across the line first.”

How it unfolded

2009 Tour of Missouri, Stage 2: Vande Velde and Leipheimer compare injuries at the start.

Photo: Casey B. Gibson

Defending champion Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream), who broke his left hand in a crash during stage 1, had hoped to be able to continue, but thought better of it, pulling out in the neutral zone as the race went on without him for the rolling ride to Cape Girardeau.

The usual fusillade of attacks came and went — Brad White (OUCH-Maxxis), Jason Donald (Garmin), Frank Pipp (Bissell) and Tim Johnson (OUCH) were among those trying and failing to snap the elastic — but nothing stuck until Timothy Duggan (Garmin) joined forces with Francois Parisien (Planet Energy) and Kiel Reijnen (Jelly Belly) about 20 miles into the rolling stage.

2009 Tour of Missouri, Stage 2: The break of the day: Parisien, Reijinen and Duggan.

Photo: Casey B. Gibson

The threesome built a lead of nearly five minutes before Columbia-HTC began tugging on the leash. Also contributing to the chase were Saxo Bank, Colavita-Sutter Home and Cervélo TestTeam, for J.J. Haedo, brother Sebastian Haedo and Hushovd.

“I really don’t think it was flat for a single kilometer,” Duggan said. “It wasn’t really a climb ever, but it was just up or down the whole time.”

With 25 miles to race the break’s advantage was down to just over two minutes. Five miles further along it was 90 seconds and falling. After suffering a mechanical, Reijnen was forced back to the bunch with some 17 miles left to race, but Duggan and Parisien kept cranking out the revs.

“I got my chain wrapped around the crank pretty bad, and I had to stop,” Reijnen said. “I was really hoping to go for the aggressive jersey, so I was bummed not to have that opportunity.”

A truce, then surrender (or not)

Fifteen miles from the line the gap was just a minute and it seemed clear the break was doomed. Undaunted, Parisien tried a couple of sneak attacks, but they failed; each time Duggan rejoined him without difficulty. Finally the two shook hands and waited for the catch.

It was a short-lived truce. When the gap fell to 30 seconds with 10 miles to race, Parisien tried another couple of digs.

Asked whether he was racing for the win or for the most aggressive jersey — which he was awarded at day’s end — Parisien said it was simple: “You always race for the win. That’s the only reason I race my bike.”

2009 Tour of Missouri, Stage 2: Timmy Duggan looked good, returning from injury.

Photo: Casey B. Gibson

Still, Duggan clawed back to Parisien, and then countered unsuccessfully.

But by then the bunch had them in view, and it was finally game over.

Kelly Benefit Strategies took the front and ramped up the pace, perhaps thinking of David Veilleux. They should’ve thought again, though — Columbia shouldered past and really put the pedal to the metal. Then Cervélo muscled in, too, along with Garmin, Colavita and OUCH-Maxxis, and it was starting to look like anybody’s race.

“You know, they make a big deal about pulling around the Columbia train, but they make us pull for 160k, so what do they expect?” Columbia’s George Hincapie said. “But the responsibilities on us, so we take it.”

Just outside the final kilometer Veilleux unleashed a last-ditch solo attack, a nice try but not good enough. Cervélo ran him down and took control with Cavendish locked to Hushovd’s wheel.

2009 Tour of Missouri, Stage 2: Cavendish winds it up, and the others try to hang on.

Photo: Casey B. Gibson

“With a K to go, when I saw Cervélo go, I jumped onto Thor’s wheel,” Cavendish said. “I know I can come off Thor pretty easy, if I can get his wheel — he’s got a team that’s really experienced at what they do, they’re going to drive it hard into the last corner, and I’m going to be in a good position. The best position is to be on my teammates’, but the second best is to be on Thor’s wheel.”

The position seemed to work just fine. Cav jumped off Husvhod’s wheel and glided across the line with an easy gap, while Hushovd and Haedo traded places from their finishing order on stage 1.

“At the moment, Cavendish is that one step ahead of everybody, so he’s really hard to beat unless he makes a mistake,” said Haedo, who sprinted through some traffic to claim third. “Thor tried today, he had the perfect leadout, but Cavendish is faster. There’s not much to do, but keep trying.”

The rest of the peloton has five more chances to try for a stage win. Stage 3 of the Tour of Missouri is a 165km affair from Farmington to Rolla. Stage 4 is another rolling day from St. James to Jefferson City. Stage 5 on Friday is the decisive time trial in Sedalia. Stage 6 takes the race from Chillicothe — where the bread slicer was first made – to St. Joseph, and the race concludes Sunday with a circuit race in Kansas City.

Photo Gallery

Results

Stage results: | (GC standings)

• 1. Mark Cavendish (GBR), Team Columbia-HTC, 112.4mi in 4:16:53 (26.254mph)
• 2. Thor Hushovd (NOR), Cervélo TestTeam, same time
• 3. Jose Haedo Juan (AGR), Team Saxo Bank, s.t.
• 4. Brett Lancaster (AUS), Cervélo TestTeam, s.t.
• 5. Martin Gilbert (CAN), Planet Energy, s.t.
• 6. Alex Candelario (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies, s.t.
• 7. Davide Malacarne (ITA), Quick Step, s.t.
• 8. Antonio Cruz (USA), BMC Racing Team, s.t.
• 9. Guillaume Boivin (CAN), Planet Energy, s.t.
• 10. Daniel Oss (ITA), Liquigas, s.t.
• 11. Michael Friedman (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, s.t.
• 12. Michael Rogers (AUS), Team Columbia-HTC in, s.t.
• 13. George Hincapie (USA), Team Columbia-HTC, s.t.
• 14. Dario Cataldo (ITA), Quick Step, s.t.
• 15. Kevin Seeldraeyers (BEL), Quick Step, s.t.
• 16. Thomas Vedel Kvist (DEN), Quick Step, s.t.
• 17. Frank Pipp (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling, s.t.
• 18. Jeremy Powers (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, s.t.
• 19. Andrew Pinfold (CAN), OUCH-Maxxis, s.t.
• 20. Addy Engels (NED), Quick Step, s.t.
• 21. Matthew Wilson (AUS), Team Type 1, s.t.
• 22. Dominique Cornu (BEL), Quick Step, s.t.
• 23. Danilo Wyss (SUI), BMC Racing Team, s.t.
• 24. Frederique Robert (BEL), Quick Step, s.t.
• 25. Moises Aldape Chavez (MEX), Team Type 1, s.t.
• 26. David Veilleux (CAN), Kelly Benefit Strategies, s.t.
• 27. Florian Stalder (SUI), BMC Racing Team, s.t.
• 28. Bernard Van Ulden (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, s.t.
• 29. Christopher Jones (USA), Team Type 1, s.t.
• 30. Tomas Vaitkus (LTU), Astana, s.t.
• 31. Gregory Rast (SUI), Astana, s.t.
• 32. Yaroslav Popovych (UKR), Astana, s.t.
• 33. Andy Jacques-maynes (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling, s.t.
• 34. Janez Brajkovic (SLO), Astana, s.t.
• 35. Davide Frattini (ITA), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, s.t.
• 36. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Astana, s.t.
• 37. Neil Shirley (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies, s.t.
• 38. Timothy Johnson (USA), OUCH-Maxxis, s.t.
• 39. Peter Latham (NZL), Bissell Pro Cycling, s.t.
• 40. Michael Creed (USA), Team Type 1, s.t.
• 41. Darren Lill (RSA), Team Type 1, s.t.
• 42. Matthew Rice (AUS), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, s.t.
• 43. Luis Romero Amaran (CUB), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, s.t.
• 44. Steven Cozza (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, s.t.
• 45. Anthony Colby (USA), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, s.t.
• 46. Marco Pinotti (ITA), Team Columbia-HTC, s.t.
• 47. Valery Kobzarenko (UKR), Team Type 1, s.t.
• 48. Brian Vandborg (DEN), Liquigas, s.t.
• 49. Jason Mccartney (USA), Team Saxo Bank, s.t.
• 50. Tom Zirbel (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling, s.t.
• 51. Michael Barry (CAN), Team Columbia-HTC, s.t.
• 52. Jeffry Louder (USA), BMC Racing Team, s.t.
• 53. Edward King (USA), Cervélo TestTeam, s.t.
• 54. Dan Bowman (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies, s.t.
• 55. Shawn Milne (USA), Team Type 1, s.t.
• 56. Ytting Bak Lars (DEN), Team Saxo Bank in, s.t.
• 57. Gustav Larsson (SWE), Team Saxo Bank, s.t.
• 58. Heinrich Haussler (GER), Cervélo TestTeam, s.t.
• 59. Danny Pate (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, s.t.
• 60. Ben Jacques-maynes (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling, s.t.
• 61. Thomas Frei (SUI), BMC Racing Team, s.t.
• 62. Jason Donald (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, s.t.
• 63. Mathias Frank (SUI), BMC Racing Team, s.t.
• 64. Nicki Sorensen (DEN), Team Saxo Bank, s.t.
• 65. Brent Bookwalter (USA), BMC Racing Team, s.t.
• 66. Andrey Zeits (KAZ), Astana, s.t.
• 67. Timothy Duggan (USA), Garmin-Slipstream in, s.t.
• 68. Reid Mumford (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies, s.t.
• 69. Alexandr Dyachenko (KAZ), Astana, s.t.
• 70. Marcus Ljungqvist (SWE), Team Saxo Bank, s.t.
• 71. Bruno Langlois (CAN), Planet Energy, s.t.
• 72. Rory Sutherland (AUS), OUCH-Maxxis, s.t.
• 73. Andrew Guptill (USA), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, s.t.
• 74. Andrew Bajadali (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies, s.t.
• 75. David Zabriskie (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, s.t.
• 76. Bradley White (USA), OUCH-Maxxis, s.t.
• 77. Anker Sorensen Chris (DEN), Team Saxo Bank, s.t.
• 78. Andrew Randell (CAN), Planet Energy, s.t.
• 79. Scott Zwizanski (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies, s.t.
• 80. Sebastian Haedo Lucas (ARG), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, s.t.
• 81. Joaquin Novoa Menedez (ESP), Cervélo TestTeam, s.t.
• 82. Steve Morabito (SUI), Astana, s.t.
• 83. Floyd Landis (USA), OUCH-Maxxis, s.t.
• 84. William Frischkorn (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, s.t.
• 85. Ryan Roth (CAN), Planet Energy, s.t.
• 86. Marcel Wyss (SUI), Cervélo TestTeam, s.t.
• 87. Christopher Baldwin (USA), OUCH-Maxxis, s.t.
• 88. Jeremy Vennell (NZL), Bissell Pro Cycling, s.t.
• 89. Jeremy Hunt (GBR), Cervélo TestTeam, s.t.
• 90. Ryan Anderson (CAN), Kelly Benefit Strategies, s.t.
• 91. Jackson Stewart (USA), BMC Racing Team, s.t.
• 92. Will Routley (CAN), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, s.t.
• 93. Andreas Klier (GER), Cervélo TestTeam, s.t.
• 94. Karl Menzies (AUS), OUCH-Maxxis, s.t.
• 95. Kiel Reijnen (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team in, s.t.
• 96. John Murphy (USA), OUCH-Maxxis, at 0:42
• 97. Bernhard Eisel (AUT), Team Columbia-HTC, at 0:57
• 98. Matthew Crane (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, s.t.
• 99. Phillip Gaimon (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, at 1:04
• 100. Kevin Lacombe (CAN), Planet Energy, at 1:05
• 101. Craig Lewis (USA), Team Columbia-HTC, s.t.
• 102. Fabio Calabria (AUS), Team Type 1, s.t.
• 103. Kyle Wamsley (USA), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, at 1:37
• 104. Valerio Agnoli (ITA), Liquigas, at 2:19
• 105. Kanstantsin Siutsou (BLR), Team Columbia-HTC, s.t.
• 106. Jens Voigt (GER), Team Saxo Bank, s.t.
• 107. Anibal Borrajo (ARG), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, s.t.
• 108. Omer Kem (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling, s.t.
• 109. Franco Pellizotti (ITA), Liquigas, s.t.
• 110. Alessandro Vanotti (ITA), Liquigas, at 3:49
• 111. Charly Vives (CAN), Planet Energy, at 4:31
• 112. Francois Parisien (CAN), Planet Energy, s.t.
• 113. Tyler Wren (USA), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, at 4:43
• 114. Walle Jurgen Van De (BEL), Quick Step, s.t.
• 115. Bradley Huff Charles (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, s.t.
• 116. Francesco Chicchi (ITA), Liquigas, at 7:17

GC standings | ( Stage results)

• 1. Mark Cavendish (GBR), Team Columbia-HTC, 7.00:29
• 2. Thor Hushovd (NOR), Cervélo TestTeam, at 0:10
• 3. Jose Haedo Juan (AGR), Team Saxo Bank, at 0:10
• 4. Moises Aldape Chavez (MEX), Team Type 1, at 0:12
• 5. Tomas Vaitkus (LTU), Astana, at 0:14
• 6. Anker Sorensen Chris (DEN), Team Saxo Bank, at 0:16
• 7. Timothy Duggan (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, at 0:17
• 8. Michael Rogers (AUS), Team Columbia-HTC, at 0:17
• 9. Ytting Bak Lars (DEN), Team Saxo Bank, at 0:18
• 10. Kiel Reijnen (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, at 0:19
• 11. Martin Gilbert (CAN), Planet Energy, at 0:20
• 12. Antonio Cruz (USA), BMC Racing Team, at 0:20
• 13. Alex Candelario (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies, at 0:20
• 14. Davide Malacarne (ITA), Quick Step, at 0:20
• 15. Michael Friedman (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, at 0:20
• 16. Dario Cataldo (ITA), Quick Step, at 0:20
• 17. Danilo Wyss (SUI), BMC Racing Team, at 0:20
• 18. Daniel Oss (ITA), Liquigas, at 0:20
• 19. Matthew Wilson (AUS), Team Type 1, at 0:20
• 20. Brett Lancaster (AUS), Cervélo TestTeam, at 0:20
• 21. Frederique Robert (BEL), Quick Step, at 0:20
• 22. Davide Frattini (ITA), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, at 0:20
• 23. Guillaume Boivin (CAN), Planet Energy, at 0:20
• 24. Dominique Cornu (BEL), Quick Step, at 0:20
• 25. Janez Brajkovic (SLO), Astana, at 0:20
• 26. George Hincapie (USA), Team Columbia-HTC, at 0:20
• 27. Neil Shirley (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies, at 0:20
• 28. Kevin Seeldraeyers (BEL), Quick Step, at 0:20
• 29. Gregory Rast (SUI), Astana, at 0:20
• 30. Sebastian Haedo Lucas (ARG), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, at 0:20
• 31. Florian Stalder (SUI), BMC Racing Team, at 0:20
• 32. Frank Pipp (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling, at 0:20
• 33. David Veilleux (CAN), Kelly Benefit Strategies, at 0:20
• 34. Luis Romero Amaran (CUB), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, at 0:20
• 35. Matthew Rice (AUS), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, at 0:20
• 36. Danny Pate (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, at 0:20
• 37. Marco Pinotti (ITA), Team Columbia-HTC, at 0:20
• 38. Thomas Vedel Kvist (DEN), Quick Step, at 0:20
• 39. Karl Menzies (AUS), OUCH p/b Maxxis, at 0:20
• 40. Anthony Colby (USA), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, at 0:20
• 41. Jason Mccartney (USA), Team Saxo Bank, at 0:20
• 42. Brian Vandborg (DEN), Liquigas, at 0:20
• 43. Michael Barry (CAN), Team Columbia-HTC, at 0:20
• 44. Jason Donald (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, at 0:20
• 45. Gustav Larsson (SWE), Team Saxo Bank, at 0:20
• 46. Steven Cozza (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, at 0:20
• 47. Bernard Van Ulden (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, at 0:20
• 48. Bradley White (USA), OUCH p/b Maxxis, at 0:20
• 49. Alexandr Dyachenko (KAZ), Astana, at 0:20
• 50. Brent Bookwalter (USA), BMC Racing Team, at 0:20
• 51. Edward King (USA), Cervélo TestTeam, at 0:20
• 52. Nicki Sorensen (DEN), Team Saxo Bank, at 0:20
• 53. Michael Creed (USA), Team Type 1, at 0:20
• 54. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Astana, at 0:20
• 55. Scott Zwizanski (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies, at 0:20
• 56. Darren Lill (RSA), Team Type 1, at 0:20
• 57. Thomas Frei (SUI), BMC Racing Team, at 0:20
• 58. Addy Engels (NED), Quick Step, at 0:20
• 59. Ryan Roth (CAN), Planet Energy, at 0:20
• 60. Yaroslav Popovych (UKR), Astana, at 0:20
• 61. Rory Sutherland (AUS), OUCH p/b Maxxis, at 0:20
• 62. Dan Bowman (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies, at 0:20
• 63. Marcel Wyss (SUI), Cervélo TestTeam, at 0:20
• 64. Jackson Stewart (USA), BMC Racing Team, at 0:20
• 65. Andrew Pinfold (CAN), OUCH p/b Maxxis, at 0:20
• 66. Jeremy Powers (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, at 0:20
• 67. Ryan Anderson (CAN), Kelly Benefit Strategies, at 0:20
• 68. Jeffry Louder (USA), BMC Racing Team, at 0:20
• 69. David Zabriskie (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, at 0:20
• 70. Floyd Landis (USA), OUCH p/b Maxxis, at 0:20
• 71. Reid Mumford (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies, at 0:20
• 72. William Frischkorn (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, at 0:20
• 73. Andrey Zeits (KAZ), Astana, at 0:20
• 74. Andy Jacques-Maynes (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling, at 0:20
• 75. Bruno Langlois (CAN), Planet Energy, at 0:20
• 76. Andrew Randell (CAN), Planet Energy, at 0:20
• 77. Marcus Ljungqvist (SWE), Team Saxo Bank, at 0:20
• 78. Christopher Jones (USA), Team Type 1, at 0:20
• 79. Andrew Guptill (USA), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, at 0:20
• 80. Andrew Bajadali (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies, at 0:20
• 81. Christopher Baldwin (USA), OUCH p/b Maxxis, at 0:20
• 82. Mathias Frank (SUI), BMC Racing Team, at 0:20
• 83. Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling, at 0:20
• 84. Jeremy Vennell (NZL), Bissell Pro Cycling, at 0:20
• 85. Will Routley (CAN), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, at 0:20
• 86. Peter Latham (NZL), Bissell Pro Cycling, at 0:20
• 87. Valery Kobzarenko (UKR), Team Type 1, at 0:20
• 88. Tom Zirbel (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling, at 0:20
• 89. Steve Morabito (SUI), Astana, at 0:20
• 90. Joaquin Novoa Menedez (ESP), Cervélo TestTeam, at 0:20
• 91. Heinrich Haussler (GER), Cervélo TestTeam, at 0:20
• 92. Andreas Klier (GER), Cervélo TestTeam, at 0:20
• 93. Jeremy Hunt (GBR), Cervélo TestTeam, at 0:59
• 94. John Murphy (USA), OUCH p/b Maxxis, at 1:02
• 95. Bernhard Eisel (AUT), Team Columbia-HTC, at 1:17
• 96. Matthew Crane (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, at 1:17
• 97. Kevin Lacombe (CAN), Planet Energy, at 1:25
• 98. Fabio Calabria (AUS), Team Type 1, at 1:25
• 99. Craig Lewis (USA), Team Columbia-HTC, at 1:25
• 100. Timothy Johnson (USA), OUCH p/b Maxxis, at 1:34
• 101. Phillip Gaimon (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, at 1:53
• 102. Kyle Wamsley (USA), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, at 1:57
• 103. Shawn Milne (USA), Team Type 1, at 2:08
• 104. Kanstantsin Siutsou (BLR), Team Columbia-HTC, at 2:39
• 105. Jens Voigt (GER), Team Saxo Bank, at 2:39
• 106. Valerio Agnoli (ITA), Liquigas, at 2:39
• 107. Anibal Borrajo (ARG), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, at 2:39
• 108. Franco Pellizotti (ITA), Liquigas, at 2:39
• 109. Omer Kem (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling, at 3:16
• 110. Alessandro Vanotti (ITA), Liquigas, at 4:09
• 111. Francois Parisien (CAN), Planet Energy, at 4:48
• 112. Walle Jurgen Van De (BEL), Quick Step, at 5:03
• 113. Bradley Huff Charles (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, at 5:03
• 114. Charly Vives (CAN), Planet Energy, at 5:20
• 115. Tyler Wren (USA), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, at 5:46
• 116. Francesco Chicchi (ITA), Liquigas, at 7:37