Fast and furious from the gun with team BISSELL’s Ben Jacques-Maynes the first to attack (despite the report from cyclingnews.com otherwise!).  From there, Columbia laid down one attack after the other trying to break the Garmin-Chipotle boys and forcing them to control the breaks.  Garmin-Chipotle, however, had a few friends in the peloton today, including Team BISSELL, who came to the front to lend a hand and set the pace.

Shortly after the feed zone and last KOM, Teddy King launched an attack, quickly building to a group of ten with a 40 second gap. With Michael Rogers in that break – only 18 seconds behind Garmin’s Vandevelde on GC- it was unlikely that the group would be allowed to go and soon enough it was brought back.

A group of 18 including Tom Zirbel – a group that contained eventual stage winner Michael Barry – finally went clear with about 20 miles to go. Omer Kem joined forces with a Tecos and Rabobank in effort to bridge up to the leaders but the pace at the front with an engine of 18 riders was just too much.

The team effort today put Tom Zirbel in 8th on GC and the team in a very impressive 6th overall – much of that jump due to the work of Kem in no man’s land. Kem explained, "It's too bad I couldn't get across to help Tom but it was three against 18. The rest of the field is pretty much out of the race so hopefully we can turn this into something more later in the week."

NOTES:
Children from Lebanon, Missouri schools were at the start this morning with groups of about 30 each signed to a specific team. The kids made their way down the autograph line at the Team BISSELL start area.

MEDIA NOTES:
Jeremy Vennell was interviewed by Nathan O’Neill on the Tour of Missouri’s live website feed today. You can also view the interview at www.universalsports.com

Tom Zirbel and Ben Jacques-Maynes were the guests of the Michelob VIP signing tent today following today’s brutal stage. This was truly an awesome display of goodwill and professional conduct as there were few teams willing to step up for the Tour of Missouri for this signing session following such a difficult stage. Ben and Tom were escorted to the signing in the organization’s VIP SUV and were escorted by the local police [back to the team car] at the end of the signing.

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Jeremy Vennell getting interviewed		Jeremy getting interviewed by Nathan O'Neill		Tom Zirbel and Ben Jacques-Maynes signing autographs
Ben, Tom, and Fans		Ben and Tom Signing Autographs		Tom signing autographs
Tom signing autographs		Ben and Tom getting a police escort		Tom entering the car for a police escort