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.”

Tom Danielson likes coffee. A lot.
When he’s not spending time in the saddle during seemingly endless training sessions, Danielson keeps busy with his own line of coffee.

Here are 20 cycling terms that you’ll need to know to become a knowledgeable fan of the Tour of Missouri:

Nolan Froese has surprised his father with his dedication to the sport of cycling.
It was a little over three years ago when Sunday’s St. Joseph Road Race winner and a friend, Jan Bradford-Watts, now 17, came to the Ethan Froese with the request to help them get started.

It’s been a long climb for Tom Danielson, who’s no stranger to making climbs on a bicycle.
Danielson hopes to reach the pinnacle starting today, just one week and one day after suffering a serious shoulder injury in a 60 mph crash, when he opens the Tour of Missouri in St. Joseph.
“I’ve been a little bit of an unknown, with injuries,” said the Durango, Colo., rider, who crashed in the first stage of the Vuelta Espana while riding for the Discovery Channel team.

With a little help from his father and a support vehicle, not even a flat tire could deter Nolan Froese from winning Sunday’s USA Cycling St. Joseph Road Race.
Froese, an 18-year-old from Columbia, Mo., finished the 42.86-mile course in 1 hour, 47 minutes, 1 second, taking a 17-second victory over Mark Smelzer of Manhattan, Kan.
But this victory didn’t come easily.
When he got the flat, the support vehicle driven by Gary Schermerhorn was along within a few seconds with a new front wheel. As the other racers widened the gap, Froese methodically swapped out the wheel.

Northwest Missouri State's defense continues to be a work in progress.
But there's some cause for hope.
Against Southwest Baptist on Saturday night, the defense was able to put some pressure on elusive quarterback Steve Gachette.

Baptist had a couple of great opportunities to gain possession — and momentum — in the second quarter that were thwarted by its own mistakes.
Baptist’s Willie Johnson intercepted Northwest quarterback Joel Osborn near midfield, but instead of having the ball in Northwest territory, a roughing-the-passer call let the green Bearcats keep possession on Baptist’s side of the field.

MARYVILLE, Mo. — With Missouri Western and the MIAA season looming next week, Northwest Missouri State tuned up by teeing off on Southwest Baptist on Saturday night.
LaRon Council scored three touchdowns, and three quarterbacks combined for three more scores and 525 yards through the air in a 63-28 thrashing of Baptist.
“Obviously it’s a lot better to win than last week,” Northwest coach Mel Tjeerdsma said, referring to last Saturday’s season-opening loss to Abilene Christian. “Putting everything in perspective, I think there were some things that we did a lot better.”

Saturday was a day of firsts in St. Joseph for USA Cycling’s St. Joseph Team Time Trial.
The Bicycle Shack Racing team of Phillip Todd, Jeremy Pych and Jeff Winkler took first in the event, which was being held for the first time here.
That Category 1/2 team finished the course in 38 minutes, 32 seconds (the time is determined by the second rider crossing the finish line), averaging 25.86 miles per hour.