2008 TOM - Stage 1

Down at the Tour of Missouri this week and so far enjoying it. I could do with out the storms we had this morning though. They were so bad that our hotel and the team hotel all lost power. Fun way to start out a morning - not.

We headed up to the start and it was chilly and windy. Many of the teams stayed in vehicles to stay warm. Can't blame them for that at all. While Lyne worked on getting some of her interviews and media stuff covered, I walked over and said hi to the Jelly Belly guys. Bernard and Brad were sweet and I got to meet their young guy Kiel. (I'm starting to think that Jelly Belly might have some of the nicest guys around. I think some teams could take a lesson as I've seen some riders actually be almost rude to fans trying to say hi. Not enjoyable to watch. So kudo's JB guys as you set high bars for fans.)

The rain we had early this morning held off for the start but the guys found it again on the way. And it followed them to the finish. Made for a damp and chilly finish for sure. There was a crash in the last lap but I'm not sure who was all in it just yet. Hopefully all the riders are okay and it was something minor. Tyler Farrar gave Cav a run for the finish today and I for one loved the head on competition. Mark won the stage but didn't blow Tyler away as he was right there at the line with him. Cavendish now leads the points, young rider, and is the overall race leader.

Better weather is in store for tomorrow but a lot of driving so it will be a long day for sure. Looking forward to catching up with some folks and once at the hotel tomorrow night I hope to work on the pics a little more. I am way too tired tonight to upload pics here as it takes time to get them to look right but feel free to check some out that I dumped in flickr tonight. I also loaded with some captions on my Facebook page. Here is the listing of the results. Check out Cycling News for a write up and results as well.

Lyne has a couple updates from today on her site - Podium In Sight as well so make sure to check it out.

PopUp started a thread at Podium Cafe that I'm sure once video is up for viewing will be more active during the week. Feel free to join them in the chats this week.