St. Louis, MO - The Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented Maxxis finished the Tour of Missouri strong on Sunday, with both Karl Menzies and Frank Pipp landing in the top 10 on the 6th stage in downtown St. Louis after the team controlled the front of the race for most of the final 12 km.

The six-day, 600-mile race saw members of the team on the podium every day. In fact, Jeff Louder took the stage every day, by taking the first points in the Michelob Ultra King of the Mountains competition on Stage 1 and holding onto his lead in the KoM competition through the end of the race.

In addition, Frank Pipp took a hard-earned 2nd place to eventual race overall winner George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) out of the race-defining break in Stage 2. Pipp went on to finish 6th overall. The next day, Nathan O'Neill of Health Net Presented by Maxxis showed why he's earned eight Australian National Time Trial titles when he finished a close second to Tour de France TT stage winner Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel).

In Stage 5, Louder spent a second consecutive day in the stage's main break to secure his KoM title. But unlike the break in Stage 4, this one succeeded, and Louder made his way onto the podium twice after earning 3rd place in the stage.

While Louder said the KoM competition wasn't a goal coming into the race, "I got the opportunity and I made the most of it. When I took the points during the time trial, and then getting the maximum points during the break on Stage 4, I was pretty committed to winning it."

Which is why he found himself once again in the break on Stage 5. "Luck was definitely on my side to make it into the break again," he said. "Once I got up there I had to check myself because I wasn't feeling great after being in the break the day before. I was more conservative than usual. There was a lot of attacking in the final 25 km and I had to be attentive. But sometimes the best days come on days you don't feel as good."

Notes

Matt Crane of Health Net Presented by Maxxis moved up one spot to 3rd overall in the Best Young Rider competition.

This was Louder's last race for Health Net Presented by Maxxis. "It was good to go out this way," he said. "I won the jersey for the guys to repay them for the work they did for me this year." He added that, "This was the most enjoyable season of my eight years as a pro."