Can David Zabriskie defend his 2009 Tour of Missouri title? Will Mark Cavendish melt the pavement again with his high-powered sprints, or is Tyler Farrar ready to take charge? How many cyclists will succumb during the week after not respecting the relentless steep climbs through the Ozarks?
We'll never know the answers these and other questions. Organizers canceled the Tour of Missouri as the state Tourism Commission on Thursday failed to include a $1 million stipend in its budget to keep the bike race afloat.
Event chairman Michael Weiss told the St. Louis Post Dispatch, “This may be a win for the Missouri Tourism Commission and the Governor, but a huge loss for the state of Missouri and its citizens ... more»
It's looking more and more like the Tour of Missouri is going the way of the Tour of Georgia, the Tour Dupont and the Coors Classic. In a word, extinct.
The continued bad economy and reluctance of any major sponsor to come to the plate have forced the organizers of the week-long stage race to set a deadline to learn whether the race will receive a $1 million infusion from the state.
The chairwoman of the state tourism board, which has funded a portion of the pro cycling race in the past, says it has to spread its $14 million budget across the state and can't commit $1 million to just one event.
The head of Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Foundation is as frustrated as everyone else in trying to get a funding commitment .... more»
I don't know if this will make an impact on Missouri lawmakers, but it should: The half-million people who watched September's Tour of Missouri bike race spent $38.1 million in the state.
That sounds like a good return on the $1.5 million that the state had to kick in to ensure the 7-stage bike race could go on this year.
Every year, that state infusion of money becomes a political football. In 2009, for instance, Gov. Jay Nixon included the Tour of Missouri funds in his millions of dollars of budget cuts to balance the state budget .... more»
Lots of congratulations are in order at the close of this third Tour of Missouri.
First, congrats to Dave Zabriskie for winning his first stage race in his 11-year career.
The Garmin-Slipstream individual time trial specialist can add that accomplishment to his many others. Those include stage wins in all three Grands Tours, a yellow jersey at the Tour de France, and four-straight National Time Trial championships.
In a race that saw the peloton finish intact on all the road stages, Zabriskie won decisively by beating his closest rivals by 30 seconds in the Stage 5 individual time trial around Sedalia on Thursday .... more»
The Garmin-Slipstream cycling team held off a steady stream of attacks on Saturday to protect Dave Zabriskie's overall lead in the 2009 Tour of Missouri bike race.
The Utah cyclist ended the day with a 30-second lead over the nearest rival as the peloton faces Sunday's last stage, a 72-mile criterium around Kansas City.
Except for Friday's individual time trial, in which Zabriskie took the overall lead in the bike race, every stage has ended in a mass sprint. The 105-mile stage from Chillicothe to St. Joseph was no exception.
Italy's Francesco Chicchi surprised Thor Hushovd (Cervelo) and Sebastien Haedo ... more»
Look for David Zabriskie in the yellow jersey at the Tour of Missouri on Saturday. The cyclist from Utah won the individual time trial on Friday, catapulting him 56 places into 1st.
The specialists have controlled the 2009 Tour of Missouri bike race so far.
First it was the sprint specialists -- Mark Cavendish, Thor Hushovd, and Juan Jose Haedo -- who won the races and controlled the overall lead.
On Friday's Stage 5, it was individual time trial specialist Zabriskie made his mark by finishing the 19-mile course in Sedalia 30 seconds faster than his nearest rival, and taking over the lead of the Tour by 30 seconds.
Now it's up to Zabriskie and the Garmin-Slipstream pro cycling team to protect the yellow jersey .... more»
The overall lead of the 2009 Tour of Missouri passed to Juan Jose Haedo of Team Saxo Bank on Thursday as he won the Stage 4 sprint in Jefferson City. (This video at left from Rochester Cycling shows the sprinters mounting a tough hill on the way to the finish.)
Brit Mark Cavendish of Team Columbia, the winner of Stage 1 and 2 and overall leader the first two days, bowed out of the race on Thursday with a respiratory infection.
Norwegian Thor Hushovd, who took over the lead by winning the sprint on Wednesday, narrowly missed a second victory on the 109-mile race from St. James to Jefferson City .... more»
Hard work by Team Columbia and Garmin Slipstream didn't pay off at the Tour of Missouri on Wednesday as Norwegian Thor Hushovd survived at the front of a rolling finish into Rolla to take Stage 3.
Columbia's Mark Cavendish couldn't get through to the front of the mass sprint in Rolla. His finish position put him in a virtual tie with Hushovd for the overall race lead.
A three-man breakaway -- including Garmin cyclists Michael Friedman and William Frischkorn and Matthew Wilson of Team Type 1 ... more»
Great Britain's Mark Cavendish keeps doing what he does best, winning bike races.
Team Columbia's sprinting sensation won Stage 2 of the 2009 Tour of Missouri in Cape Girardeau on Tuesday after a 112-mile bike race from Ste. Genevieve.
On a down note, defending champion Christian Vande Velde decided to abandon the Tour just as the stage was starting. The Illinois native and team leader for Garmin Slipstream had planned to finish the Tour despite breaking a bone in his right hand in that crash near the finish of Stage 1.
The pain of braking and shifting must have been too much ... more»
Mark Cavendish, the fastest man on two-wheels in a short sprint, won the opening stage of the Tour of Missouri on Monday in St. Louis.
The victory in a crowded field marked the 21st individual win of the year for the 24-year-old sprinter for Team Columbia.
Thor Hushovd's Cervelo Test Team made a bid for the stage win after it appeared that Columbia's control of the peloton fell apart in the last mile or so.
Interviewed online immediately after the bike race on TourTracker, however, Cavendish said the lead-out and final meters of the race proceded just as planned ... more»
It features defending champion Christian Vande Velde, as well as David Zabriskie, for Garmin Slipstream; George Hincapie, Mick Rogers and Mark Cavendish for Team Columbia; Floyd Landis for Team OUCH; Thor Hushovd for Cervelo; among a host of other luminaries.
Only in its third year, the 2009 Tour of Missouri -- which rolls out Monday through Sunday -- will be one of the easiest bike races for most of us to follow from online and broadcast outlets than any previous bike race in the US.
Universal Sports and the Tour of Missouri websites will offer live videostream daily coverage of the last two hours of each bike race stage (Monday through Sunday);
Versus cable network will broadcast a 30-minute recap show of the day's highlights every morning at 1 a.m. (EST) (Tuesday through Monday) or midnight (CT) nightly (Monday through Sunday) ..... more»
Christian Vande Velde will return to the 2009 Tour of Missouri bike race from Sept. 7 to 13 to defend his title.
The Illinois born and bred cyclist for Team Garmin-Slipstream had previously been on an early roster for the Vuelta a Espana, which runs through nearly the entire month of September, precluding him from riding in Missouri.
He'll be joined at the third Tour of Missouri bike race by teammates David Zabriskie, a time trial specialist, and Steven Cozza, judged the "best young rider" at the inaugural Tour of Missouri in 2007.
Vande Velde was looking for another amazing year in 2009 to follow up with his break-out year in 2008, which included wearing the pink leader's jersey at the Giro d'Italia and a 5th place finish at the Tour de France ..... more»
Cycling fans will be treated to action from three bike races in the upcoming weeks on both the computer screen and the TV screen.
Versus is offering a delayed broadcast of the 3-stage Tour of Ireland running Friday through Sunday and featuring comeback cyclist Lance Armstrong.
Then Universal Sports provides the 64th edition of the Vuelta a Espana from Aug. 29 through Sept. 20 as a live online videofeed and cable broadcast in the morning, followed by another cable broadcast later in the day.
At the same time, from Sept. 7 through 13, Universal is offering a live cable broadcast and an online streaming videofeed of the Tour of Missouri. ... more»
With the 2009 Tour of Missouri coming up next month (September 7-13), the organizers have released detailed maps for all seven stages.
Fans can check out the best street corners for watching the Stage 1 and 7 criteriums in St. Louis and Kansas City or the steepest climbs in the Ozarks on Stage 3 between Farmington and Rolla.
Cyclists looking for a challenge, and who isn't, can use the maps to test their mettle against the pros. I'm thinking that 114-mile ride through the Ozarks would be intriguing. At least one club, Velo Girardeau, is hosting a bike ride along the route from Ste. Genevieve to Cape Girardeau. .... more»
Can David Zabriskie defend his 2009 Tour of Missouri title? Will Mark Cavendish melt the pavement again with his high-powered sprints, or is Tyler Farrar ready to take charge? How many cyclists will succumb during the week after not respecting the relentless steep climbs through the Ozarks?
The Garmin-Slipstream cycling team held off a steady stream of attacks on Saturday to protect Dave Zabriskie's overall lead in the 2009 Tour of Missouri bike race.
Look for David Zabriskie in the yellow jersey at the Tour of Missouri on Saturday. The cyclist from Utah won the individual time trial on Friday, catapulting him 56 places into 1st.
Mark Cavendish, the fastest man on two-wheels in a short sprint, won the opening stage of the Tour of Missouri on Monday in St. Louis.
Here's the 
Hincapie and Leipheimer also on the card
