Here it is in a nutshell:  Mark Cavendish gets pulled to the line and can’t be beat.
Monday’s 75-mile Stage 1 of the 2009 Tour of Missouri saw a pair of crashes near the finish, injuring Christian Vande Velde (later found to be a broken bone in his right hand) and taking down many others.  Team Type 1 rider Moises Aldape managed to get the Sprinter’s Jersey for the day thanks to mid-course breakaway efforts, but it was Cavendish with the stage win.  Columbia and Cervélo drove the pace all day, and eventually tangled up around a turn with 750m to go.  Tom Zirbel (Bissell) and Haussler (Cervélo)  ran into each other as Haussler faded from leading out Thor Hushovd at 150m to go, leaving Cavendish,  J.J. Haedo (Saxo Bank) and Hushovd to duke it out.  They finished 1-2-3 respectively.
Tuesday’s 112.3-mile Stage 2 was a rolling course the whole way.  Before long, Vande Velde pulled out rather than worsen his hand.  Several small attacks started the day, and eventually a three-rider break got away, leading by up to five minutes before Columbia-HTC decided to play.  Cervélo, Saxo Bank and Colavita-Sutter Home helped drive the pace.  Francois Parisien (Planet Energy), who led the breakaway with repeated attacks right up until the end, won Most Aggressive Rider for the day, but it was Cavendish, Hushovd and J.J. Haedo that made up the 1-2-3 again, with Hushovd and Haedo just trading places from Monday.  Cavendish followed Hushovd’s wheel up the slight incline to the finish, the jumped on a lower gear into the headwind to pull safely around the big guy.  After the race, he was asked if he had a preference for this type of finish.  He shrugged and uttered this gem:
“It’s irrelevant really, as long as I get across the line first.”
Love it.  See a full gallery of photos on VeloNews, and hit ‘more’ for overall standings after Stage 2…
2009 TOUR of MISSOURI – OVERALL STANDINGS AFTER STAGE 2
1. Mark Cavendish (GBR), Team Columbia-HTC, 7.00:29
2. Thor Hushovd (NOR), Cervélo TestTeam, +0:10
3. Jose Haedo Juan (AGR), Team Saxo Bank
4. Moises Aldape Chavez (MEX), Team Type 1, +0:12
5. Tomas Vaitkus (LTU), Astana, +0:14
6. Anker Sorensen Chris (DEN), Team Saxo Bank, +0:16
7. Timothy Duggan (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, +0:17
8. Michael Rogers (AUS), Team Columbia-HTC
9. Ytting Bak Lars (DEN), Team Saxo Bank, +0:18
10. Kiel Reijnen (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, +0:19
11. Martin Gilbert (CAN), Planet Energy, +0:20
12. Antonio Cruz (USA), BMC Racing Team
13. Alex Candelario (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies
14. Davide Malacarne (ITA), Quick Step
15. Michael Friedman (USA), Garmin-Slipstream
16. Dario Cataldo (ITA), Quick Step
17. Danilo Wyss (SUI), BMC Racing Team
18. Daniel Oss (ITA), Liquigas
19. Matthew Wilson (AUS), Team Type 1
20. Brett Lancaster (AUS), Cervélo TestTeam
21. Frederique Robert (BEL), Quick Step
22. Davide Frattini (ITA), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light
23. Guillaume Boivin (CAN), Planet Energy
24. Dominique Cornu (BEL), Quick Step
25. Janez Brajkovic (SLO), Astana
26. George Hincapie (USA), Team Columbia-HTC
27. Neil Shirley (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies
28. Kevin Seeldraeyers (BEL), Quick Step,
29. Gregory Rast (SUI), Astana
30. Sebastian Haedo Lucas (ARG), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light
31. Florian Stalder (SUI), BMC Racing Team,
32. Frank Pipp (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling
33. David Veilleux (CAN), Kelly Benefit Strategies
34. Luis Romero Amaran (CUB), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light
35. Matthew Rice (AUS), Jelly Belly Cycling Team
36. Danny Pate (USA), Garmin-Slipstream
37. Marco Pinotti (ITA), Team Columbia-HTC,
38. Thomas Vedel Kvist (DEN), Quick Step
39. Karl Menzies (AUS), OUCH p/b Maxxis
40. Anthony Colby (USA), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light
41. Jason Mccartney (USA), Team Saxo Bank
42. Brian Vandborg (DEN), Liquigas
43. Michael Barry (CAN), Team Columbia-HTC
44. Jason Donald (USA), Garmin-Slipstream
45. Gustav Larsson (SWE), Team Saxo Bank
46. Steven Cozza (USA), Garmin-Slipstream,
47. Bernard Van Ulden (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team
48. Bradley White (USA), OUCH p/b Maxxis
49. Alexandr Dyachenko (KAZ), Astana
50. Brent Bookwalter (USA), BMC Racing Team
51. Edward King (USA), Cervélo TestTeam
52. Nicki Sorensen (DEN), Team Saxo Bank
53. Michael Creed (USA), Team Type 1
54. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Astana
55. Scott Zwizanski (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies
56. Darren Lill (RSA), Team Type 1
57. Thomas Frei (SUI), BMC Racing Team
58. Addy Engels (NED), Quick Step
59. Ryan Roth (CAN), Planet Energy
60. Yaroslav Popovych (UKR), Astana
61. Rory Sutherland (AUS), OUCH p/b Maxxis
62. Dan Bowman (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies
63. Marcel Wyss (SUI), Cervélo TestTeam
64. Jackson Stewart (USA), BMC Racing Team
65. Andrew Pinfold (CAN), OUCH p/b Maxxis
66. Jeremy Powers (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team
67. Ryan Anderson (CAN), Kelly Benefit Strategies
68. Jeffry Louder (USA), BMC Racing Team
69. David Zabriskie (USA), Garmin-Slipstream,
70. Floyd Landis (USA), OUCH p/b Maxxis
71. Reid Mumford (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies
72. William Frischkorn (USA), Garmin-Slipstream
73. Andrey Zeits (KAZ), Astana
74. Andy Jacques-Maynes (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling
75. Bruno Langlois (CAN), Planet Energy
76. Andrew Randell (CAN), Planet Energy
77. Marcus Ljungqvist (SWE), Team Saxo Bank
78. Christopher Jones (USA), Team Type 1
79. Andrew Guptill (USA), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light
80. Andrew Bajadali (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies
81. Christopher Baldwin (USA), OUCH p/b Maxxis
82. Mathias Frank (SUI), BMC Racing Team
83. Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling
84. Jeremy Vennell (NZL), Bissell Pro Cycling
85. Will Routley (CAN), Jelly Belly Cycling Team,
86. Peter Latham (NZL), Bissell Pro Cycling
87. Valery Kobzarenko (UKR), Team Type 1
88. Tom Zirbel (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling
89. Steve Morabito (SUI), Astana
90. Joaquin Novoa Menedez (ESP), Cervélo TestTeam
91. Heinrich Haussler (GER), Cervélo TestTeam
92. Andreas Klier (GER), Cervélo TestTeam
93. Jeremy Hunt (GBR), Cervélo TestTeam, +0:59
94. John Murphy (USA), OUCH p/b Maxxis,+1:02
95. Bernhard Eisel (AUT), Team Columbia-HTC, +1:17
96. Matthew Crane (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team
97. Kevin Lacombe (CAN), Planet Energy, +1:25
98. Fabio Calabria (AUS), Team Type 1
99. Craig Lewis (USA), Team Columbia-HTC
100. Timothy Johnson (USA), OUCH p/b Maxxis, +1:34
101. Phillip Gaimon (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team, +1:53
102. Kyle Wamsley (USA), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, +1:57
103. Shawn Milne (USA), Team Type 1, +2:08
104. Kanstantsin Siutsou (BLR), Team Columbia-HTC, +2:39
105. Jens Voigt (GER), Team Saxo Bank
106. Valerio Agnoli (ITA), Liquigas
107. Anibal Borrajo (ARG), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light
108. Franco Pellizotti (ITA), Liquigas
109. Omer Kem (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling, +3:16
110. Alessandro Vanotti (ITA), Liquigas, +4:09
111. Francois Parisien (CAN), Planet Energy, +4:48
112. Walle Jurgen Van De (BEL), Quick Step, +5:03
113. Bradley Huff Charles (USA), Jelly Belly Cycling Team
114. Charly Vives (CAN), Planet Energy, +5:20
115. Tyler Wren (USA), Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light, +5:46
116. Francesco Chicchi (ITA), Liquigas, +7:37
