I met the Manxta!

Cavendish getting a laugh about signing the Isle of Man license plate.



Cavendish

Hincapie
Eisel

The Manxta's bike

Stage 7 sprint finish.
Reese Rock Racing- Scary face!

I didn't plan on meeting the man from Man, but I woke up this morning and thought I would head down to the Tour of Mo in STL, watch the race and perhaps meet Mark Cavendish in the process. I took along my Isle of Man license plate thinking that would grab his attention if he were signing autographs.

Todd Parker, myself and my trusty sidekick daughter Reese went down to the race around 12:30. We parked right by the Savvis Center which happened to be next to all the team buses and cars. I ran into fellow Shark rider Darin Marlow and his son and then mosied on over to the team buses. We looked at all the cool bikes and saw almost all the riders just hanging out getting ready for the last day of the race. I took some pictures of Cavendish's bike and then headed over to the Columbia team bus and just waited until they came out. Michael Barry came out along with Hincapie, Eisel, Pinnotti and then Cavendish and started signing autographs. I hadn't gotten an autograph since I was a kid, but soon Cavendish made it over to me and I asked him to sign the Manx plate. He got a good chuckle as you can see in the photo. He was surprised by it and seemed real cool while signing it. He even posed for a photo with Darin's son. He then hopped on his bike and rode off.

The race started out with some rain, but soon cleared up making for a great day and good sprint. We were sitting right before the finish with friends Alice and Joe and got a good shot of Cavendish starting his sprint. He started a bit too early and was nipped at the line by Liquigas sprinter Chicchi. I thought he jumped off Eisels wheel too early and I was correct as Cavendish said so in an interview after the race. Winning three out of seven races aint to shabby though. Hopefully we can get Boonen over here next summer!!

What do you think the signed Isle of Man plate with Cavendish's autograph on it is worth?

What a great day!