St. Joseph, Mo. – Moises Aldape of Team Type 1 padded his lead in the Michelob Ultra King of the Mountains competition at the Tour of Missouri.

But his 13-point margin over Chris Anker Sorensen (Team Saxo Bank) is not enough to secure the special classification of the seven-day event. A maximum of 24 points can be earned during Sunday’s final stage, a 72-mile (116 km) circuit race through the streets of Kansas City.

Aldape showed how serious he is about keeping the blue jersey on his back. He threw down a fierce attack on the only King of the Mountains (KOM) climb, which came seven miles outside of St. Joseph.

Moises Aldape is recognized as the Michelob Ultra King of the Mountains following Saturday’s stage of the Tour of Missouri in St. Joseph

“There were two guys from Astana and then Sorensen and another rider,” Aldape said. “Sorensen was going for it at one kilometer. He attacked and then I went hard at 200 meters.”

Aldape’s impressive acceleration came on a day when Italian Francesco Chicchi (Liquigas) won the race with the fastest average speed (29.85 mph) ever recorded in the race’s three-year history. Chicchi and the majority of the 112-rider field covered the 110 miles (177 km) in three hours and 41 minutes.

Aldape can expect to have some help from fans in his defense of the jersey. Sunday’s race passes through a prominently Hispanic neighborhood in Kansas City and already the Mexican has received a great deal of attention since taking the lead in the KOM standings on Stage 2.

“Tomorrow, I will have to be very attentive,” he said. “There are two KOMs on lap three. If Sorensen doesn’t get any points on either of those two, I’ll be the winner.”

After Sunday’s race, Team Type 1 will be signing autographs on commemorative cards in the team’s booth at the Health and Wellness. Team Type 1 sponsors Abbott Diabetes Care and the American Diabetes Association will also be part of the exposition.

Attached photo courtesy: Bob Cullinan, CycleTo.com.