Today, as the Tour of Missouri rolled south on Stage 2 from Ste. Genevieve to Cape Girardeau, MO, I was heading north to Milwaukee. But yesterday, I was amongst the throngs of people lining the streets of downtown St. Louis as the first stage, a 75-mile circuit race snaked its way around various parts of my hometown.
I was in St. Louis for the weekend to visit my mom, and as luck would have it there happened to be a bike race, too. Who’d’a thunk something like that was possible? In a couple of days, I’ll post some of the pictures I took from the sidelines. In the meantime, I can tell you that it was a blast watching the race, walking around the trailers where the teams assembled before rolling up to the start line, and talking to a number of fans. Some folks, new to the sport of professional cycling, came to see the spectacle. Others, more knowledgeable, came to see some of their favorite riders go head to head. To a person, everyone I encountered on the sidelines was enjoying the show.
By now, you probably know that Mark Cavendish not only won the first stage, but he won the second stage, too. Team Columbia-HTC had a pretty good grip on the finish on Monday, but their leadout train apparently wasn’t quite as together for the finish in Cape Girardeau. Still, the Manx Missile pulled out the win, reportedly by coming off the wheel of Cervelo Test Team’s Thor Hushovd, one of his chief rivals all year long, in the final leap to the line.
During the introductions prior to Stage 1, Floyd Landis was among the riders called to the line. Landis looked to be riding pretty comfortably in the peloton throughout the race, finishing with the main pack. (Before Stage 1 began, Landis was interviewed by a reporter from The Columbia Missourian, the daily newspaper run by my alma mater, the University of Missouri School of Journalism. The story talks about Landis’ Birmingham Hip Replacement, and includes quotes from a doctor who performs the procedure in Columbia, MO.) Landis’ teammate John Murphy, the reigning national criterium champion, finished a respectable ninth place on the first stage.
Bad luck continued to haunt last year’s Tour of Missouri champion. Garmin-Slipstream’s Christian Vande Velde was involved in a crash in the final kilometer of Monday’s race, suffering a broken bone in one of his hands. Although initial reports suggested that Vande Velde would continue to race, he dropped out as the riders left the start line in Ste. Genevieve this morning. Vande Velde — or at least his likeness — will continue to be a presence at this year’s event, however. His picture adorns the side of the team’s mobile home. And unless the mobile home suffers a mechanical or a crash, it’s a good bet that it will make it all the way to the finish in Kansas City on Sunday.
With luck, next year I’ll follow the whole tour in person.
