Cav’ motors to Missouri win

2009 Tour of Missouri: Mark Cavendish (Columbia-HTC) wins the opening circuit race.

Photo: Casey B. Gibson

Mark Cavendish (Columbia-HTC) survived a chaotic finale to win stage 1 of the 2009 Tour of Missouri on Monday in St. Louis.

Cavendish’s train was derailed in the final kilometer, and a pair of crashes threw additional monkey wrenches into the works, but he managed to close the deal anyway, finishing ahead of J.J. Haedo (Saxo Bank) and Thor Hushovd (Cervélo TestTeam).

With Cavendish on his wheel, Columbia’s George Hincapie hit a pothole hard at about 600m to go, and although he kept it upright, he hurt his right knee. Cavendish saw that, told him to ease off, and jumped onto Hushovd’s wheel.

Hushovd started the sprint, and Cavendish finished it off. The slightly uphill, headwind sprint favored him, Cavendish said.

“Instead of using my normal 53×11, I used a 12 or 13,” he said.

Defending champion Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream) was among those to hit the deck in the final-kilometer crash. He finished dead last, behind Hushovd’s leadout man Heinrich Haussler, who also went down. Vande Velde learned afterward that he had broken a bone in his right hand, but plans to continue in the race, without a cast.

How it got started

The early action in the 75-mile circuit race came courtesy of Tomas Vaitkus (Astana), Chris Anker Sorensen (Saxo Bank) and Moises Aldape (Team Type 1), who took off early but never gained much more than a minute over the bunch on the fast, technical 7.5-mile circuit through downtown.

“The break was good for me, because it’s not easy to beat Cavendish in a sprint,” said Aldape through a translator. “So it was advantageous for my team to try to be in the move and not leave it to the sprint.”

Ironically, Aldape earned the sprint jersey for his day’s breakaway efforts; he also scooped up enough time bonuses to slot into second overall.

Back in the peloton, Columbia drove the group all day, with help from Cervélo.

Matt Crane (Jelly Belly) tried his luck as the trio was retrieved with two laps remaining, but got even less of a leash and was reeled back in with plenty of time for the bunch to start setting up a mass dash to the line.

It wasn’t exactly a textbook Columbia leadout, however. A crash with 750 meters to go broke the rhythm as the pack went wide and hot into the final turn.

Cavendish said Columbia tried to take control of the finish “when Cervélo came up and tried to give us a hard time … It ended up that we were jumbled up and collaborated really.”

Then, with about 150 meters to go, Tom Zirbel (Bissell) tangled with Cervélo’s Haussler, who was drifting back after setting up Hushovd.

“I was sprinting with my head down,” Zirbel said, explaining that a gap had opened in front of him and he was closing it down. Zirbel had road rash and reported sore ribs, but didn’t think he broke anything.

Cavendish stayed tucked on Hushovd’s wheel and launched a late sprint.

“The headwind uphill finish plays to my advantage,” Cavendish said. “Bigger guys like Thor tend to hammer a bigger gear, so I could get a good jump.”

While ProTour teams took the top four spots — Liquigas’ Francesco Chicchi took fourth — North American teams got their guys into the top 10. Martin Gilbert put his Canadian squad Planet Energy up on the GC board with fifth, Lucas Sebastian Haedo followed brother J.J. in for sixth, Tony Cruz (BMC) came seventh and Alex Candelario (Kelly Benefit Strategies) took eighth.

“It’s difficult to get on Columbia and actually have a shot at the sprint,” Candelario said. “It costs a lot of energy just to get up there. Our team is definitely on the up and up, especially after last weekend.

“We’re looking forward to this week. I think it’s going to be a lot of hard racing. Our team is really suited to that, then we’ve got Dave and I for some sprint action. I’m looking forward to it.”

Photo Gallery

Results

Stage results: | (GC standings)

• 1. Mark Cavendish (GBR), Team Columbia-HTC, 75mi in 2.43:56
• 2. J.J. Haedo (AGR), Team Saxo Bank, s.t.
• 3. Thor Hushovd (NOR), Cervélo TestTeam, s.t.
• 4. Francesco Chicchi (ITA), Liquigas, s.t.
• 5. Martin Gilbert (CAN), Planet Energy, s.t.
• 6. Sebastian Haedo Lucas (ARG), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, s.t.
• 7. Antonio Cruz (USA), BMC Racing Team, s.t.
• 8. Alex Candelario (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies, s.t.
• 9. John Murphy (USA), OUCH-Maxxis, s.t.
• 10. Michael Friedman (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, s.t.
• 11. Davide Malacarne (ITA), Quick Step, s.t.
• 12. Davide Frattini (ITA), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, s.t.
• 13. Danilo Wyss (SUI), BMC Racing Team, s.t.
• 14. Karl Menzies (AUS), OUCH-Maxxis, s.t.
• 15. Dario Cataldo (ITA), Quick Step, s.t.
• 16. Matthew Wilson (AUS), Team Type 1, s.t.
• 17. Frederique Robert (BEL), Quick Step, s.t.
• 18. Kiel Reijnen (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, s.t.
• 19. Janez Brajkovic (SLO), Astana, s.t.
• 20. Daniel Oss (ITA), Liquigas, s.t.
• 21. Timothy Duggan (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, s.t.
• 22. Lars Ytting Bak (DEN), Team Saxo Bank, s.t.
• 23. Neil Shirley (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies, s.t.
• 24. Dominique Cornu (BEL), Quick Step, s.t.
• 25. Brett Lancaster (AUS), Cervélo TestTeam, s.t.
• 26. Guillaume Boivin (CAN), Planet Energy, s.t.
• 27. Gregory Rast (SUI), Astana, s.t.
• 28. Danny Pate (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, s.t.
• 29. Luis Romero Amaran (CUB), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, s.t.
• 30. Matthew Rice (AUS), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, s.t.
• 31. George Hincapie (USA), Team Columbia-HTC, s.t.
• 32. Kevin Lacombe (CAN), Planet Energy, s.t.
• 33. Florian Stalder (SUI), BMC Racing Team, s.t.
• 34. Kevin Seeldraeyers (BEL), Quick Step, s.t.
• 35. Marco Pinotti (ITA), Team Columbia-HTC, s.t.
• 36. David Veilleux (CAN), Kelly Benefit Strategies, s.t.
• 37. Jason Donald (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, s.t.
• 38. Bradley White (USA), OUCH-Maxxis, s.t.
• 39. Frank Pipp (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling, s.t.
• 40. Anthony Colby (USA), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, s.t.
• 41. Jason Mccartney (USA), Team Saxo Bank, s.t.
• 42. Michael Barry (CAN), Team Columbia-HTC, s.t.
• 43. Brian Vandborg (DEN), Liquigas, s.t.
• 44. Gustav Larsson (SWE), Team Saxo Bank, s.t.
• 45. Alexandr Dyachenko (KAZ), Astana, s.t.
• 46. Fabio Calabria (AUS), Team Type 1, s.t.
• 47. Scott Zwizanski (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies, s.t.
• 48. Brent Bookwalter (USA), BMC Racing Team, s.t.
• 49. Nicki Sorensen (DEN), Team Saxo Bank, s.t.
• 50. Ryan Roth (CAN), Planet Energy, s.t.
• 51. Steven Cozza (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, s.t.
• 52. Thomas Vedel Kvist (DEN), Quick Step, s.t.
• 53. Jackson Stewart (USA), BMC Racing Team, s.t.
• 54. Edward King (USA), Cervélo TestTeam, s.t.
• 55. Marcel Wyss (SUI), Cervélo TestTeam, s.t.
• 56. Ryan Anderson (CAN), Kelly Benefit Strategies, s.t.
• 57. Michael Rogers (AUS), Team Columbia-HTC, s.t.
• 58. Rory Sutherland (AUS), OUCH-Maxxis, s.t.
• 59. Thomas Frei (SUI), BMC Racing Team, s.t.
• 60. Bernard Van Ulden (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, s.t.
• 61. Michael Creed (USA), Team Type 1, s.t.
• 62. Floyd Landis (USA), OUCH-Maxxis, s.t.
• 63. Walle Jurgen Van De (BEL), Quick Step, s.t.
• 64. David Zabriskie (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, s.t.
• 65. William Frischkorn (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, s.t.
• 66. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Astana, s.t.
• 67. Darren Lill (RSA), Team Type 1, s.t.
• 68. Anker Sorensen Chris (DEN), Team Saxo Bank, s.t.
• 69. Bernhard Eisel (AUT), Team Columbia-HTC, s.t.
• 70. Dan Bowman (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies, s.t.
• 71. Reid Mumford (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies, s.t.
• 72. Bradley Huff Charles (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, s.t.
• 73. Francois Parisien (CAN), Planet Energy, s.t.
• 74. Andrey Zeits (KAZ), Astana, s.t.
• 75. Jeffry Louder (USA), BMC Racing Team, s.t.
• 76. Andrew Randell (CAN), Planet Energy, s.t.
• 77. Yaroslav Popovych (UKR), Astana, s.t.
• 78. Bruno Langlois (CAN), Planet Energy, s.t.
• 79. Christopher Baldwin (USA), OUCH-Maxxis, s.t.
• 80. Addy Engels (NED), Quick Step, s.t.
• 81. Marcus Ljungqvist (SWE), Team Saxo Bank, s.t.
• 82. Jeremy Vennell (NZL), Bissell Pro Cycling, s.t.
• 83. Will Routley (CAN), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, s.t.
• 84. Andrew Guptill (USA), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, s.t.
• 85. Andrew Bajadali (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies, s.t.
• 86. Alessandro Vanotti (ITA), Liquigas, s.t.
• 87. Kanstantsin Siutsou (BLR), Team Columbia-HTC, s.t.
• 88. Jens Voigt (GER), Team Saxo Bank, s.t.
• 89. Andrew Pinfold (CAN), OUCH-Maxxis, s.t.
• 90. Craig Lewis (USA), Team Columbia-HTC, s.t.
• 91. Jeremy Powers (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, s.t.
• 92. Valerio Agnoli (ITA), Liquigas, s.t.
• 93. Mathias Frank (SUI), BMC Racing Team, s.t.
• 94. Andy Jacques-Maynes (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling, s.t.
• 95. Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling, s.t.
• 96. Anibal Borrajo (ARG), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, s.t.
• 97. Tomas Vaitkus (LTU), Astana, s.t.
• 98. Franco Pellizotti (ITA), Liquigas, s.t.
• 99. Matthew Crane (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, s.t.
• 100. Steve Morabito (SUI), Astana, s.t.
• 101. Kyle Wamsley (USA), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, s.t.
• 102. Joaquin Novoa Menedez (ESP), Cervélo TestTeam, s.t.
• 103. Christopher Jones (USA), Team Type 1, s.t.
• 104. Phillip Gaimon (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, at 2.44:25
• 105. Charly Vives (CAN), Planet Energy, at 2.44:25
• 106. Omer Kem (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling, at 2.44:33
• 107. Jeremy Hunt (GBR), Cervélo TestTeam, at 2.44:35
• 108. Tyler Wren (USA), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, at 2.44:39
• 109. Moises Aldape Chavez (MEX), Team Type 1, s.t.
• 110. Timothy Johnson (USA), OUCH-Maxxis, at 2.45:10
• 111. Shawn Milne (USA), Team Type 1, at 2.45:44
• 112. Valery Kobzarenko (UKR), Team Type 1, at 2.45:44
• 113. Cody O’reilly (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling, at 2.45:47
• 114. Tom Zirbel (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling, s.t.
• 115. Peter Latham (NZL), Bissell Pro Cycling, s.t.
• 116. Andreas Klier (GER), Cervélo TestTeam, s.t.
• 117. Heinrich Haussler (GER), Cervélo TestTeam, s.t.
• 118. Christian Vande Velde (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, s.t.

GC standings | ( Stage results)

• 1. Mark Cavendish (GBR), Team Columbia-HTC, 2.43:46
• 2. Moises Aldape Chavez (MEX), Team Type 1, at 0:02
• 3. J.J. Haedo (AGR), Team Saxo Bank, at 0:04
• 4. Tomas Vaitkus (LTU), Astana, at 0:04
• 5. Thor Hushovd (NOR), Cervélo TestTeam, at 0:06
• 6. Chris Anker Sorensen (DEN), Team Saxo Bank, at 0:06
• 7. Francesco Chicchi (ITA), Liquigas, at 0:10
• 8. Martin Gilbert (CAN), Planet Energy, at 0:10
• 9. Sebastian Haedo Lucas (ARG), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, at 0:10
• 10. Antonio Cruz (USA), BMC Racing Team, at 0:10
• 11. Alex Candelario (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies, at 0:10
• 12. John Murphy (USA), OUCH-Maxxis, at 0:10
• 13. Michael Friedman (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, at 0:10
• 14. Davide Malacarne (ITA), Quick Step, at 0:10
• 15. Davide Frattini (ITA), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, at 0:10
• 16. Danilo Wyss (SUI), BMC Racing Team, at 0:10
• 17. Karl Menzies (AUS), OUCH-Maxxis, at 0:10
• 18. Dario Cataldo (ITA), Quick Step, at 0:10
• 19. Matthew Wilson (AUS), Team Type 1, at 0:10
• 20. Frederique Robert (BEL), Quick Step, at 0:10
• 21. Kiel Reijnen (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, at 0:10
• 22. Janez Brajkovic (SLO), Astana, at 0:10
• 23. Daniel Oss (ITA), Liquigas, at 0:10
• 24. Timothy Duggan (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, at 0:10
• 25. Lars Ytting Bak (DEN), Team Saxo Bank, at 0:10
• 26. Neil Shirley (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies, at 0:10
• 27. Dominique Cornu (BEL), Quick Step, at 0:10
• 28. Brett Lancaster (AUS), Cervélo TestTeam, at 0:10
• 29. Guillaume Boivin (CAN), Planet Energy, at 0:10
• 30. Gregory Rast (SUI), Astana, at 0:10
• 31. Danny Pate (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, at 0:10
• 32. Luis Romero Amaran (CUB), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, at 0:10
• 33. Matthew Rice (AUS), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, at 0:10
• 34. George Hincapie (USA), Team Columbia-HTC, at 0:10
• 35. Kevin Lacombe (CAN), Planet Energy, at 0:10
• 36. Florian Stalder (SUI), BMC Racing Team, at 0:10
• 37. Kevin Seeldraeyers (BEL), Quick Step, at 0:10
• 38. Marco Pinotti (ITA), Team Columbia-HTC, at 0:10
• 39. David Veilleux (CAN), Kelly Benefit Strategies, at 0:10
• 40. Jason Donald (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, at 0:10
• 41. Bradley White (USA), OUCH-Maxxis, at 0:10
• 42. Frank Pipp (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling, at 0:10
• 43. Anthony Colby (USA), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, at 0:10
• 44. Jason Mccartney (USA), Team Saxo Bank, at 0:10
• 45. Michael Barry (CAN), Team Columbia-HTC, at 0:10
• 46. Brian Vandborg (DEN), Liquigas, at 0:10
• 47. Gustav Larsson (SWE), Team Saxo Bank, at 0:10
• 48. Alexandr Dyachenko (KAZ), Astana, at 0:10
• 49. Fabio Calabria (AUS), Team Type 1, at 0:10
• 50. Scott Zwizanski (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies, at 0:10
• 51. Brent Bookwalter (USA), BMC Racing Team, at 0:10
• 52. Nicki Sorensen (DEN), Team Saxo Bank, at 0:10
• 53. Ryan Roth (CAN), Planet Energy, at 0:10
• 54. Steven Cozza (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, at 0:10
• 55. Thomas Vedel Kvist (DEN), Quick Step, at 0:10
• 56. Jackson Stewart (USA), BMC Racing Team, at 0:10
• 57. Edward King (USA), Cervélo TestTeam, at 0:10
• 58. Marcel Wyss (SUI), Cervélo TestTeam, at 0:10
• 59. Ryan Anderson (CAN), Kelly Benefit Strategies, at 0:10
• 60. Michael Rogers (AUS), Team Columbia-HTC, at 0:10
• 61. Rory Sutherland (AUS), OUCH-Maxxis, at 0:10
• 62. Thomas Frei (SUI), BMC Racing Team, at 0:10
• 63. Bernard Van Ulden (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, at 0:10
• 64. Michael Creed (USA), Team Type 1, at 0:10
• 65. Floyd Landis (USA), OUCH-Maxxis, at 0:10
• 66. Walle Jurgen Van De (BEL), Quick Step, at 0:10
• 67. David Zabriskie (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, at 0:10
• 68. William Frischkorn (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, at 0:10
• 69. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Astana, at 0:10
• 70. Darren Lill (RSA), Team Type 1, at 0:10
• 71. Bernhard Eisel (AUT), Team Columbia-HTC, at 0:10
• 72. Dan Bowman (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies, at 0:10
• 73. Reid Mumford (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies, at 0:10
• 74. Bradley Huff Charles (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, at 0:10
• 75. Francois Parisien (CAN), Planet Energy, at 0:10
• 76. Andrey Zeits (KAZ), Astana, at 0:10
• 77. Jeffry Louder (USA), BMC Racing Team, at 0:10
• 78. Andrew Randell (CAN), Planet Energy, at 0:10
• 79. Yaroslav Popovych (UKR), Astana, at 0:10
• 80. Bruno Langlois (CAN), Planet Energy, at 0:10
• 81. Christopher Baldwin (USA), OUCH-Maxxis, at 0:10
• 82. Addy Engels (NED), Quick Step, at 0:10
• 83. Marcus Ljungqvist (SWE), Team Saxo Bank, at 0:10
• 84. Jeremy Vennell (NZL), Bissell Pro Cycling, at 0:10
• 85. Will Routley (CAN), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, at 0:10
• 86. Andrew Guptill (USA), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, at 0:10
• 87. Andrew Bajadali (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies, at 0:10
• 88. Alessandro Vanotti (ITA), Liquigas, at 0:10
• 89. Kanstantsin Siutsou (BLR), Team Columbia-HTC, at 0:10
• 90. Jens Voigt (GER), Team Saxo Bank, at 0:10
• 91. Andrew Pinfold (CAN), OUCH-Maxxis, at 0:10
• 92. Craig Lewis (USA), Team Columbia-HTC, at 0:10
• 93. Jeremy Powers (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, at 0:10
• 94. Valerio Agnoli (ITA), Liquigas, at 0:10
• 95. Mathias Frank (SUI), BMC Racing Team, at 0:10
• 96. Andy Jacques-Maynes (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling, at 0:10
• 97. Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling, at 0:10
• 98. Anibal Borrajo (ARG), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, at 0:10
• 99. Franco Pellizotti (ITA), Liquigas, at 0:10
• 100. Matthew Crane (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, at 0:10
• 101. Steve Morabito (SUI), Astana, at 0:10
• 102. Kyle Wamsley (USA), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, at 0:10
• 103. Joaquin Novoa Menedez (ESP), Cervélo TestTeam, at 0:10
• 104. Christopher Jones (USA), Team Type 1, at 0:10
• 105. Tom Zirbel (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling, at 0:10
• 106. Peter Latham (NZL), Bissell Pro Cycling, at 0:10
• 107. Andreas Klier (GER), Cervélo TestTeam, at 0:10
• 108. Heinrich Haussler (GER), Cervélo TestTeam, at 0:10
• 109. Christian Vande Velde (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, at 0:10
• 110. Phillip Gaimon (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, at 0:39
• 111. Charly Vives (CAN), Planet Energy, at 0:39
• 112. Omer Kem (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling, at 0:47
• 113. Jeremy Hunt (GBR), Cervélo TestTeam, at 0:49
• 114. Tyler Wren (USA), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, at 0:53
• 115. Timothy Johnson (USA), OUCH-Maxxis, at 1:24
• 116. Shawn Milne (USA), Team Type 1, at 1:58
• 117. Valery Kobzarenko (UKR), Team Type 1, at 1:58
• 118. Cody O’reilly (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling, at 2:01