The Tour of Missouri has gotten the attention of professional cycling’s top teams and riders.

The second-year stage race, which begins today in St. Joseph, isn’t just an end-of-the-year fun event.

“We will be back to win,” said Jonathan Vaughters, director of the Garmin-Chipotle team, which competed successfully in last year’s race with the team title, second overall finisher (Will Frischkorn), and stage winner (Danny Pate). “This is a serious objective for our team. It’s a major event.”

St. Joseph will be in the spotlight beginning at 12:30 p.m. today as the start of the third major U.S. cycling event. The other two are the Tour of California and the Tour of Georgia. And the teams are throwing some of the world’s best cyclists into the fray in order to win the team title in this seven-stage race.

Among them is Garmin-Chipotle’s Christian Vandevelde, who finished just a couple of minutes out of the podium at this year’s Tour de France. Vandevelde spent much of his career in support of other riders, including two years helping Lance Armstrong to Tour de France yellow jerseys. But he’s developed in this post-Armstrong era as one of the world’s best all-around riders. With a third-place finish in the Tour of California and a second overall finish last year in the Tour de Georgia, Vandevelde is ready to step onto the podium in Missouri.

But he’ll have plenty of competition, even within his team, which has stacked its roster for the Show-Me State event.

The roster includes Frischkorn, Pate, Tom Danielson, Steve Cozza and David Zabriskie, among others.

Pate is fresh from a third-place finish in the U.S. Professional Cycling Championships, while Zabriskie took the time trial discipline.

In fact, Garmin-Chipotle riders dominated the time trials, taking four of the first five places. Vandevelde took second, Cozza was fourth and Danielson fifth.

“Our team definitely has the best team on paper, I think,” Danielson said. “I think we have a great shot at winning the race.”

“No doubt, Garmin-Chipotle’s team is stacked,” race director Jim Birrell said. “They are bringing the best Americans on their team. Along with Team Columbia and Liquigas, they are definitely a team to watch.”

No one is handing the title over to Garmin-Chipotle without a fight, however.

Rock Racing, an edgy, California-based team with an extreme sports mentality, features Tyler Hamilton, a 13-year pro who last weekend edged out Garmin-Chipotle’s Blake Caldwell in a photo finish to take the U.S. championships for a third straight year.

Team Liquigas of Italy joined Garmin-Chipotle of the United States as the two top-performing entrants from the Tour de France in July, and they head a list of 13 teams lining up on the streets of St. Joseph. Team Liquigas is led by 2008 Tour of Switzerland champion Roman Kreuzinger, a 22-year-old Czech phenom who finished 13th overall this July in the Tour de France.

In addition, HealthNet presented by MAXXIS is a team that established itself as America’s top unit the past four seasons, and Canada’s top team, Symmetrics, is expected to be in the chase.

Other teams in the field include Team Columbia, which features sprint sensation Mark Cavendish, Rabobank, Toyota-United, Rock Racing, BMC Racing, Jelly Belly, Sparkasse, Tecos, Colovia Sutter Home, Symmetrics, Bissell and Kelly Benefits.

Danielson sees the time trial, scheduled for Wednesday’s Stage 3 in the Branson area, as a possible defining point in this year’s race, especially with a sprinter like Cavendish in the fray.

“In terms of overall, you have to look to a rider that can do well in a time trial,” Danielson said. “You have to look to Michael Rogers or Marco Pinatti with Columbia. And George Hincapie looked good at nationals, so he can be a factor.”

The race begins on Francis Street between 10th and 12th streets, with 100-plus riders winding their way through town, down the parkway system and south toward Kansas City. The 90-mile first stage concludes on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City.

The seven-stage event concludes next Sunday in St. Louis.