Team BISSELL Pro Cycling’s Tom Zirbel made the crucial 18-strong split today to maintain a solid top ten footing in the overall General Classification at the Tour of Missouri. With Zirbel currently sitting in eighth, and the team in 6th, BPC will be looking to take advantage of the battle being waged between Team Columbia to Garmin-Chipotle to move up on GC.

Fast and furious from the gun with team BISSELL’s Ben Jacques-Maynes the first to attack today, there was no mercy in the peloton. Team 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 – the 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.”