Mark Cavendish (Columbia HTC) continued his domination in the Tour of Missouri capturing his second stage win yesterday. Cavendish, 24, easily beat Thor Hushovd (Cervelo) and Juan Jose Haedo (Saxo Bank), solidifying his lead in the overall classification.
Hushovd’s Cervelo lead out train looked threatening in the final kilometer towards Cape Girardeau’s Main Street but Cavendish could rely on the expertise of George Hincapie to deliver him to Hushovd’s wheel. Cavendish sealed the deal, easily coming around the big Norwegian to take his 23rd season victory, leaving the rest of the peloton in his wake.
“With a kilometre to go I saw Cervélo go and there was a gap on Thor’s wheel so I got on Thor’s wheel,” he said after his win (He told cyclingnews after his win?). “I know I can come off Thor’s wheel pretty easy. He’s got a team that is really experienced in what they do and they can drive it really well around the last corner. My best position to be in is on my own teammates’ wheels, but my second best place to be is on Thor’s wheel and that’s what I did. I came off him with a couple of hundred metres to go.”
The battle between Hushovd and Cavendish wasn’t the only thing that was reminiscent of Tour de France as both sprinters faced 180.9 kilometers of undulating terrain similar to July’s French roads.
Like in the Tour, where Cavendish won six stages, he could now also rely on the strong efforts from his Columbia-HTC team as they patrolled the front of the peloton all day.
“The guys really looked after me again today,” commented Cavendish after the win. “It was a bit hectic in the last kilometres, but George [Hincapie] kept me out of trouble.”