‘SHOW ME’ THE FINISH LINE – MISSOURI STAGE WIN FOR CAVENDISH!

(September 8, 2008) In an exciting, precarious field sprint finish at the end of the first stage of the Tour of Missouri, Mark Cavendish scored another victory for Team Columbia.

Riding the Giant TCR Advanced SL bicycle and led out perfectly by the Team Columbia train, Cavendish just nipped Tyler Farrar of Garmin-Chipotle at the finish.

The first stage of the Tour began under cloudy skies and chilly temperatures, and halfway through the stage it began to rain. Strong winds made the stage that much more difficult, and indeed a crash in the final kilometer sent several riders to the pavement.

With the victory, Cavendish will wear the yellow jersey at the start of Tuesday’s stage 2. His team mate, George Hincapie, is the defending champion of the Tour of Missouri and will be looking for stage wins of his own in the coming days.

Team Columbia rides the Giant TCR Advanced SL, and has more stage victories and race wins in 2008 than any other team in the pro peloton.

For complete details of the stage, go to: http://www.velonews.com/article/82904/mark-cavendish-wins-stage-1-in-missouri and http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/sep08/missouri08/?id=results/missouri081 
www.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/sep08/missouri08/