This report is by Kathleen Nelson, the brains behind the Post-Dispatch’s and STLtoday.com’s coverage of the Tour of Missouri.

The pride of Farmington, Jelly Belly’s Brian Dziewa _ that’s pronounced ja-va _ had his own personal cheering section waiting for him at the end of Stage 4 in Columbia on Friday: his fiancee, Lori Tutt; his mom, Kathy; and his sister, Ann. The trio had to wait just a bit longer than expected, though. Dziewa finished 5 minutes 51 seconds behind the winner, Luciano Pagliarini. Dziewa returned to the team car for last-minute refreshments about 13 miles from the finish, just as the peloton launched the chase of 10 riders. He made it back to the group but expended so much energy that he got spit off the back.
The stage to Columbia was familiar territory. Dziewa, 26, raced on the cycling team at the University of Missouri, from which he received a bachelor of science degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance.

“That’s what it says on my resume _ if I ever have to use it,” he said, hoping instead to enjoy a long career as a pro bike racer.

This season is Dziewa’s first with Jelly Belly, and he’s said he has entered “going on 60″ races this season. Before joining Jelly Belly, Dziewa raced for two years with Mercy Fitness, based in Arkansas.

His native counterparts in the Tour of Missouri, Brad Huff of Springfield and Dan Schmatz of St. Louis, left their home state to train. Dwiewa still lives in Farmington and does much of his training in Missouri. He’s yet to see the need to move, he said, because, “there’s a good race every weekend somewhere in Missouri.”

Unlike many with the Show-Me attitude, Dziewa was cautiously optimistic when he first heard about the Tour of Missouri.

“I’m just a little surprised, just because they talk about so many first-year races, then they don’t happen,” he said. “But Missouri has a good cycling community to support this on a grass roots level.”

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