Vande Velde Missouri yellowMore than making up for his disappointing performance at the US Pro national time trial championships in August, Christian Vande Velde dug deep to win today’s severely undulating time trial course around Branson, MO. Vande Velde’s victory today put him in the yellow Missouri Tourism race leader’s jersey.

Rolling through the foothills of the Ozarks, the constantly changing profile of the 18-mile individual time trial proved challenging for even the best time trialists. The 18-mile course included three climbs with a 2.5-mile uphill finish stretch up to Shepherd of the Hills, the birthplace of Ozarks tourism industry in the early 1900’s.

Vande Velde Missour ITT“It was brutal. Everyone told me that it was really hard, but you have to see it to believe it, ” said Vande Velde. “I would say it was harder than the horrendous time trial I did at the Giro d’Italia earlier this year.”

Current US Pro national time trial champion Dave Zabriskie set the initial best time, finishing in just over 41 minutes. He eventually finished fifth. Rounding out the top ten was Tom Danielson in 8th and Danny Pate in 9th. Steven Cozza’s solid 14th place finished earned him the Best Young rider jersey.

Blake Caldwell crashed out of the time trial and official medical report details will be made available as soon as possible.

Team Garmin-Chipotle stage results
1. Christian Vande Velde 39′52″
2. Michael Rogers +21″
3. Svein Tuft +33″
4. George Hincapie +1′03″
5. Dave Zabriskie +1′10″
8. Tom Danielson +1′24″
9. Danny Pate +1′24″
14. Steven Cozza +1′51″
30. Tyler Farrar +3′29″
47. Daniel Holloway +4′26″
DNF Blake Caldwell

Team Garmin-Chipotle GC
1. Christian Vande Velde 8h48′24″
2. Michael Rogers +21″
3. Svein Tuft +44″
6. Dave Zabriskie +1′21″
8. Tom Danielson +1′24″
9. Danny Pate +1′24″
13. Steven Cozza +1′51″
27. Tyler Farrar +3′23″
44. Daniel Holloway +4′26″

Best Young Rider
1. Steven Cozza 8h50′15″
2. Roman Kreuziger +03″
3. Martin Kohler +1′07

Sprint Points Classification
1. Mark Cavendish 30 pts
2. Francesco Chicchi 20 pts
3. Tyler Farrar 19 pts

Team Classification
1. Team Garmin-Chipotle H3O 26h27′46″
2. Team Columbia +2′28″
3. Toyota-United Pro +3′05″