KANSAS CITY — The start of the second Tour of Missouri took its cue from the past but got a glimpse of cycling's star of the moment Monday.

The crowd who gathered for the start in St. Joseph was greeted by an actor dressed as a rider from the Pony Express, one of the city's biggest claims to fame. He brought with him a bit of bluster, not from Gov. Matt Blunt and Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder greeting the crowd but from a nasty wind out of the west that would make conditions tough for the riders.

In the end, though, one of the hottest cyclists in the world bested them all. Columbia's Mark Cavendish, 23, used his team to ward off the rain, wind and rival riders, sprinting to victory in 3 hours 15 minutes 14 seconds.

"I've come up from Great Britain and it was sunny over there," said Cavendish, who won three stages in the Tour of Ireland last week and four stages in the Tour de France. "Now, I come here and get weather like home. It was unpleasant at times out there."

Perhaps the harsh conditions help explain why the cyclists took their time signing in and signing autographs for the crowd of about 1,500 in St. Joseph. Most popular were defending champion George Hincapie, Garmin's Christian VandeVelde, who finished fifth in the Tour de France, and Cavendish, who spent more time than any rider smiling and speaking with the crowd.

After the riders headed down Francis Street and made a right onto Frederick Avenue, the crowd went back to its business. As did the riders, who got to work dealing with wind, gusting across the course at more than 20 mph.

A warm welcome awaited the riders at the halfway point in Platte City. Karen Wagoner, executive director of the Platte County chamber of commerce, said that even though a member of the Kansas City Chiefs — she couldn't remember his name — had spoken at one of the schools, the Tour of Missouri was the biggest sporting event to hit the city.

The chamber handed out free cowbells, the traditional noisemaker of cycling fans across Europe, and added a slice of Americana with the cheerleaders and drum corps of the Platte County R3 school district.

"The organizers said they wanted noisemakers," Wagoner said, "so the first thing I thought of was the drums."

The first riders to be greeted were Jonathan Sundt of Kelly Benefits, Tom Zirbel of Bissell and Martin Kohler of BMC Racing, five minutes ahead of the main field. The rain later came down in buckets, and Columbia pushed the pace at the front of the field to close the 5-minute gap to the leaders.

"They were really hard roads, really up and down, but we tried to take control straight away," Cavendish said. "Everyone rode very selflessly to get the victory."

The crowd was scattered around the five-mile circuit of Country Club Plaza but was 10 deep on both sides of the final 200 meters in front of and behind the finishing line, cheering Cavendish, his nearest competitors, Tyler Farrar of Garmin-Chipotle and Francesco Chicchi of Liquigas and the rest of the 117-rider field.

Despite a cold mist, most stayed until the final rider, Kevin Lacombe of Kelly Benefits, crossed the line 15 minutes later, showing a sophistication that the riders appreciated.

"It's massively promising," Cavendish said of his first impressions of the race. "The people aren't just watching, but they're so enthusiastic. That's good for the rest of the race and the future."

knelson@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8233