CAPE GIRARDEAU — Defending champion Christian Vande Velde has pulled out of the 2009 Tour of Missouri cycling race because of a broken hand.
Vande Velde was part of a pileup that involved more than a dozen riders near the finish of Monday's first stage at St. Louis. Vande Velde slid into a fire hydrant and broke one of his hands.
He tested his hand near the beginning of Tuesday's stage but decided the pain was too much.