Cavendish first to hit finish line in Cape

Mark Cavendish said he'd like his chances to retain the yellow jersey throughout the Tour of Missouri if he was in better shape.

That's hard to believe after he zipped past some of the world's best sprinters in the closing meters Tuesday.

Or how he's won both stages of the Tour of Missouri.

Or how he earned three jerseys Tuesday -- the leader's yellow, top sprinter's green and best young rider's white.

Cavendish rounded the corner from William Street onto Main Street in third place, about a bike's length behind Cervello Test Team's Thor Hushovd. Saxo Bank's J.J. Haedo lurked about two lengths behind Cavendish as they rounded the turn and headed down the final stretch.

That's when Cavendish turned it on.

The 24-year-old Team Columbia-HTC rider from Great Britain swung out to his left, streaked past Hushovd and held off Haedo, gaining enough of a lead to throw his arms in the air as he crossed the finish line in 4 hours, 16 minutes, 53 seconds.

"I like it here," Cavendish said. "I came here last year. I feel very welcome here in America and there's a lot of support for me and a lot of support for my team."

Cavendish enjoys a 10-second lead overall on Hushovd, who moved from fifth place to second. Haedo sits third with the same time as Hushovd.

Cavendish's Columbia teammates headed to the front of the pack with about 5 kilometers to go as they headed down Main Street. The riders roared down Main Street at 48 mph. In fact, two of the police motorcycles helping to lead the caravan had to be scooted along because the pack quickly was gaining on them.

But Columbia relinquished the lead before making a right onto Broadway and a left onto Lorimier Street. The Cervello team enjoyed a train of riders making the final turns, but that didn't stop the speedy Cavendish.

Cavendish rolled through the finish line with his arms extended in exaltation then enjoyed an orange soda with his teammates in the middle of Main Street to celebrate.

"There's nothing more exciting to racing than seeing the crowds," he said. "I always feel welcome here."

The race got off to a rough start for the defending champion, Christian Vande Velde. He withdrew after making the neutral lap around Ste. Genevieve. He broke his left hand during Monday's first stage and tried to ride through the pain to defend his title. But he wasn't able to go and was on his way to his home in suburban Chicago before the stage concluded.

Warm welcomes

The riders were welcomed by a large crowd in downtown Ste. Genevieve before heading out Highway 32, where the number of fans diminished until near Interstate 55.

Cavendish and about two-thirds of the field pulled off the course about an hour and a half into the stage for a natural, cycling code for a pee break. It was right around then that a group of three riders -- Garmin-Slipstream's Timothy Duggan, Jelly Belly Cycling's Kiel Reijnen and Planet Energy's Francois Parisien broke away from the pack and opened a sizable lead.

The riders were greeted by large crowds in Perryville, where students lined the course in front of St. Vincent and fans cheered by the courthouse.

More screaming children welcomed the riders to Frohna.

The trio pushed their lead to as large as 4 minutes, 45 seconds over the next 70 miles but the pack reeled in the group as they approached downtown Cape Girardeau. Reijnen was slowed by a mechanical problem about 97 miles into the stage before the pack reeled in Duggan and Parisien to set up the thrilling ending.

"This course is my favorite kind of course," Parisien said. "I learned to race in northern France and Brittany. I lived in France for four years before I went to Spain. I'm really used to it. I really like it."

Cavendish will try to keep a firm grasp on the lead during today's third stage from Farmington to Rolla. Friday's fifth stage, an individual time trial, looms as the potential determinant of this year's race. That's what he's a little worried about.

"Not too good," he said of his time trial abilities.

After his performance Tuesday, don't count him out.