Roadie out in front.

No, I didn't take this photo. I was never this close to the front of the peloton.
This was taken by one of the pro moto photo bikes in the caravan. They're a bunch of cool guys who have one of the funner jobs in the race. Jon Devich shoots for various publications and cyclingnews.com. (I don't think he's aware of how close we came to taking him out during Stage 6 when we crested a blind hill and found him and his driver stopped in the middle of the hill. The "photo bikes" will stop abruptly in the oddest places as they are dictated by the scenery. Other caravan vehicles must adjust their driving accordingly. We adjusted. Disaster averted.)
So a big thanks to them for capturing this prize for me.
Caption: Pro peloton tries to read over Jon's shoulder with little success.

A New Announcer

The Bike Race Announcer's Union allowed a non-Union announcer to take the stage at the Tour of Missouri yesterday. Here's how it sounded/looked:

I'd love to hear him provide the announcing for a criterium.

J.J. has a Big Day Day

I've been watching J.J. Haedo for a number of years and have been waiting for him to strike it big. Today was a big step forward.
The final 300 meters of the sprint into Jefferson City go up a nasty hill. This video doesn't really show the steepness of it.

If you pause the video when the leaders are right in front of the camera, you'll see J.J. in the dark green Edward Jones Sprint Leader's jersey going up the right side. Thor Hushovd is in the yellow Missouri Tourism Leader's Jersey nearer the camera. Thor's lead-out rider is dropping off the pace. The Liquigas rider is moving up, but it's J.J. at the line. Good for him!
Great finish.