ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Christian Vande Velde of Boulder-based Team Garmin-Chipotle won the Tour of Missouri on Sunday, finishing with the main pack in the rain-shortened final stage.
Vande Velde edged Australia’s Michael Rogers (Team Columbia) by 18 seconds. Svein Tuft (Symmetrics) of Canada was third, 48 seconds back.
“It feels good. I’ve been close, second and third this year,” Vande Velde said. “So it’s nice to have a win.”
Britain’s Mark Cavendish (Team Columbia), a three-stage winner, was second, and Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Chipotle) of Wenatchee, Wash., finished third. Both had the same time as the winner.
Because of flooded portions of the final-day route, the five final-day circuits were reduced from 14 to 10.6 miles and the stage mileage was reduced from 70 to 53 miles.
• Alberto Contador of Spain extended his lead to 1:17 in the Spanish Vuelta, edging American Levi Leipheimer by 2 seconds to win the 14th stage in Fuentes de Invierno.
Astros manager upset
MILWAUKEE — The Houston Astros were officially the home team Sunday night against the Chicago Cubs, the first of two games relocated to Miller Park in the wake of Hurricane Ike.
But with his club chasing the National League wild-card spot, Astros manager Cecil Cooper wasn’t thrilled with playing in front of a predominantly pro-Cubs crowd at a supposedly neutral site. And he planned to make his feelings known to commissioner Bud Selig.
“It’s like a Cub home game,” Cooper said. “Only they’re not the ‘home’ team, we are.”
• San Diego Padres right-hander Cha Seung Baek left the game against the San Francisco Giants with a strained right triceps in the second inning.
• White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko isn’t sure when his sprained right knee will heal enough to let him play, saying there were “no predictions” for his return.
• Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano was benched in the fifth inning after manager Joe Girardi became upset with his lack of hustle on a fielding play against the Tampa Bay Rays. Yankees pitcher Carl Pavano (3-1) left the game with a stiff left hip in the sixth.
Russia wins Fed Cup
MADRID, Spain — Russia won its fourth Fed Cup in five years, defeating Spain when Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 to clinch the title. The victory gave Russia an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the top team event in women’s tennis.
• Gilles Simon of France won his second straight BCR Open Romania by beating Carlos Moya 6-3, 6-4 in Bucharest.
• Second-seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland won her first title in three years, defeating Austrian teenager Tamira Paszek 6-3 6-0 Sunday to take the Bali Open in Nusa Dua, Indonesia.
Footnote.
Sanya Richards beat Olympic 400-meter champion Christine Ohuruogu at the World Athletics Final in Stuttgart, Germany. Richards finished in 50.41. Ohuruogu clocked 50.83.
The Associated Press
