Cavendish wins three jerseys in Stage 2

Mark Cavendish won't need to do laundry for a while.

The Team Columbia-HTC rider won three jerseys during Tuesday's second stage of the Tour of Missouri, which concluded in Cape Girardeau.

Cavendish maintained his overall lead for the leader's yellow jersey and added a green and white jersey.

The green jersey is awarded to the rider who collects the most sprint points; the white jersey goes to the best young rider 22 years old or younger.

The battle for the King of the Mountain jersey, awarded to the rider who performs the best during the designated climbs, provided some excitement. Team Type 1's Moises Aldape Chavez won both climbs Tuesday while Saxo Bank's Chris Anker Sorensen took second.

The two riders finished with the same number of points after two stages, meaning the rider with the better time in the overall earned the blue jersey.

Aldape Chavez crossed the line 25th while Sorensen was 77th Tuesday, giving the jersey to Aldape Chavez

Planet Energy's Francois Parisien was awarded the red jersey for the day's most aggressive rider. He was one of three riders who rode out to a lead that stretched to as large as 4 minutes, 45 seconds before being reeled in as the pack approached downtown Cape Girardeau.

Great fans

The riders said they appreciated the support along the 112.4-mile ride from Ste. Genevieve to Cape Girardeau. Parisien said he liked seeing so many children line the course.

"The only way you can thank them, you don't really have the time to wave at everybody," he said. "But some time when you have an empty bottle, you wait and throw the bottle to them."

Hot and sticky

The riders had to compete with more than rolling hills as the temperature hovered in the mid-80s and humidity filled the air. But Parisien, who was one of three riders to jump ahead of the pack for most of the race, didn't mind.

"I like the heat," said Parisien, who lives in Quebec, Canada. "I don't do good when it's cold and rainy."

Big-name finish

Floyd Landis, the man who won the 2006 Tour de France only to have the title taken away, crossed the line 83rd with the main pack.

Landis' OUCH team made a move to the front of the pack in the final 5 kilometers but quickly was overtaken.

Landis tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone in 2006. He went on the offensive with his defense and ultimately went before the Court of Arbitration for Sport to try and retain his Tour de France championship. But he was unsuccessful with his appeal before the court and lost his Tour title despite continuing to profess his innocence.