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»
The bicycle race will go ahead as scheduled Sept. 7-13 after Gov. Jay Nixon on Tuesday released $1.5 million in state funds to help cover the $3.3 million budget for the third meeting of the bicycle race.
Nixon last week had included the Tour of Missouri funding among millions in cuts that he had to make to balance the state's budget...... more»
(Update: July 11-- The Missouri Tourism Commission reaffirmed its support of the Tour of Missouri on Friday, voting unanimously to retain funding for another year.
The final decision rests with Gov. Jay Nixon, however.)
July 10 -- Organizers of the third annual Tour of Missouri are scrambling to find more money for the week-long stage bicycle race after the governor froze state funds for race.
Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, one of the race's biggest supporters, is urging cycling enthusiasts to contact Gov. Jay Nixon to request that he reinstate the funding for the Sept. 7-13 event.
Supporters of the Tour of Missouri can leave a phone message at 573-751-5261. Also, here's an email link to Gov. Nixon's office .... more»
The 2009 Tour of Missouri could feature a mano a mano battle between two former champions as their respective teams have agreed to compete in the Sept. 7-13 bicycle race across Missouri.
Columbia-High Road, the team of 2007 champion George Hincapie, and Garmin-Slipstream, home to 2008 champion Christian Vande Velde, have both accepted invitations to the race.
Two other top pro squads, Italy's Liquigas and Switzerland's Cervelo, also have confirmed for the seven-stage race ... more»
Pro cyclists competing at the third annual Tour of Missouri this September will be generally heading west for the first time.
The 7-stage bicycle race rolls out Sept. 7-13 from St. Louis to Kansas City, opposite the usual direction of the race.
The 11 cities that will host a start or finish line (or both) at the race are St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve, Cape Girardeau, Farmington, Rolla, St. James, Jefferson City, Sedalia, Chillicothe, St. Joseph and Kansas City ... more»
The Tour of Missouri returns for the third straight year in 2009, rolling out Sept. 7-13.
Although the announcement about host cities and tentative routes will be made in January, it's just good to know that the week-long Missouri race will return this year.
The Tour de Georgia has announced that it won't return in 2009. It's getting sponsors together to make a return in 2010, however.
Tour of Missouri promoters say the UCI has ranked the bike race as a Category 2HC event. The only other "above category" cycling event in the US is the Tour of California in February.
The second Tour of Missouri bike race that ended in St. Louis on Sunday drew more spectators than last year. Is that enough to guarantee its return?
Absolutely not. In a sport that doesn't rely on tickets sales, bicycle race organizers always have to worry about landing a major sponsor. In spite of the Tour of Georgia's popularity, for instance, the race is a question mark until a sponsor is found.
Missouri has been lucky because its major cheerleader is also the lieutenant governor, Peter Kinder. But that luck may be running out as Kinder is up for reelection this year and his opponent is against state support of the bicycle race ... more»
The US professional cycling season started for Christian Vande Velde with a visit to the podium after he finished third overall in the Tour of California in February.
The year is drawing to a close with Vande Velde on the top step of the podium as he wins the 2008 Tour of Missouri by protecting his lead during the 7th Stage in St. Louis on Sunday.
Joining the 32-year-old Garmin Chipotle cyclist on the podium were Michael Rogers of Team Columbia and Svein Tuft of Symmetrics. The two finished behind Vande Velde by the same margin -- 18 seconds for Rogers and 48 seconds for Tuft -- they held since Vande Velde won the Stage 3 time trial on Wednesday to take over the race lead.
Last year's winner George Hincapie of Team Columbia finished in 4th, trailing by 1:03. .... more»
Ivan Dominguez, the Cuban Missile of Toyota-United, is the latest sprinter to fall victim to Mark Cavenish at the 2008 Tour of Missouri.
Cavendish owns three stage wins at the Tour of Missouri so far; his first stage wins on US soil. His victory on Saturday marks 18 for Team Columbia's Cavenish, including four at the Tour de France.
Team Columbia has worked all year at getting the 23-year-old British sprinter to the front of the pack where he can launch himself over the line. The finish for the 96-mile bike race from Hermann to St. Charles was no exception ... more»
Rabobank finished 1st and 2nd in the sprint finish in Jefferson City on Friday, while Garmin Chipotle's Christian Vande Velde finished safely in the peloton to hold onto the yellow jersey for another day at the 2008 Tour of Missouri.
Although Team Columbia set the pace going into the final lap for Mark Cavendish, they couldn't control several attacks other cyclists that created a free-for-all of failed bids at the end.
Boy Van Poppel (the Netherlands) won the sprint, followed closely by teammate Michael van Stayen (Belgium).
If the name Van Poppel is familiar, it's because Boy is the son of Jean-Paul Van Poppel ... more»
Team Columbia's Michael Barry can boast of a solo victory at the Tour of Missouri after attacking on the final circuits and winning by a comfortable margin.
Christian Vande Velde of Garmin-Chipotle sprinted in with the chase group, finishing in 4th place on the day and holding onto the overall leader's yellow jersey for another day. Last year's winner George Hincapie finished in that chase group also, but didn't contest the sprint.... more»
2008 is certainly Christian Vande Velde's coming out party.
A day in the pink jersey at the Giro d'Italia, fifth place finish in the Tour de France (4th in the final time trial), and now he's put everyone on notice that he's the man to beat at the Tour of Missouri.
The 32-year-old cyclist on Garmin-Chipotle won the 18-mile individual time trial around Branson on Wednesday, catapulting him into first place by a 21-second margin over Australia's Michael Rogers of Team Columbia.
He outdid defending champion George Hincapie, who is now sitting in fourth place, by 1:03. .... more»
Chalk up Stages 1 and 2 of the Tour of Missouri to Mark Cavendish, the amazing British sprinter on US-based Team Columbia.
Stage 3 will be a different story, however, as the 18-mile individual time trial around Branson isn't expected to be the Brit's strong suit.
Teammate George Hincapie is a strong time trialist and Wednesday could be his day to launch his defense of last year's Tour of Missouri title. He'll be facing strong competition from two Garmin-Chipotle cyclists -- Christian Vande Velde and David Zabriskie, who successfully defended his US pro cycling time trial championship over Labor Day weekend. ... more»
The Brit who's been winning sprints on his bicycle all across Europe this spring and summer is doing so in North America now.
Mark Cavendish, the 23-year-old cycling phenom for US-based Team Columbia, won Stage 1 of the Tour of Missouri in windy and wet Kansas City on Monday.
His dash for the finish in the 90-mile race from St. Joseph to Kansas City marked his 16th win of the season, including four at the Tour de France. Team Garmin Chipotle's Tyler Farrar of Wenatchee, Washington, finished a close second ...... more»
Spanish cyclist Egoi Martinez joined a breakaway and gained just enough time to take the overall leader's golden jersey from Levi Leipheimer, who lost it for the second time on Stage 9 of the Vuelta a Espana on Monday.
Reports suggest that Leipheimer's Astana team miscalculated and allowed the 11-man escape group to get too much of a lead before starting the chase .... more»
The 2008 Tour of Missouri rolls out for 7 stages beginning Monday, and there are plenty of opportunities to watch if you can't station yourself at the roadside somewhere between St. Joseph and St. Louis.
There is free, live online video streaming, evening summaries on midwestern sports cable networks, "play-by-play" coverage at the cycling websites, and a new social media site where fans can chat and post their images from the race.
For starters, Universal Sports is providing free, live streaming video coverage of each stage with commentary. Replays are available after the race. Universal relaunched this month and has been streaming Tour of Germany, and the Univest Grand Prix, among other sports events. Check out the Universal cycling schedule for details (times are ET). more»
One hundred and 47 years after the last Pony Express rider saddled up for the 11-day ride from Sacramento to St. Joseph, two endurance cyclists are following that route.
The two, Spencer Klaassen and Dan Clinkinbeard, are bicycling the 1,800 miles on their own between the two cities that will host the opening of the 2009 Tour of California and the 2008 Tour of Missouri.
They left Sacramento (that's the Pony Express statue I shot in Old Town this winter) on Aug. 24 and were shooting for Marysville, Kansas, before stopping on Friday. The pair expect the trip will take two weeks and will put them in St. Joseph by the beginning of the 2008 Tour of Missouri. ... more»
The Tour of Britain's loss will be the Tour of Missouri's gain.
The UK's Mark Cavendish, left, will be racing at the Tour of Missouri -- Sept. 8-14 -- instead of at the Tour of Britain as previously expected, Team Columbia's director sportif Allan Pieper has confirmed.
He'll certainly add to the excitement raised by the expected duel for the yellow jersey between Americans George Hincapie and Christian Vande Velde ... more»
They're back. Team Columbia and Garmin-Chipotle are returning to the Tour of Missouri in 2008 under new names but with the same objective to win.
Organizers for the second annual Tour of Missouri announced all 15 cycling teams that will compete in the Sept. 8-14 bicycle race. The list includes four that just wrapped up three weeks at the Tour de France.
Team Columbia appeared as T-Mobile last year. This year, the team includes defending champion George Hincapie who won the inaugural race as a member of the Discovery Channel team ... more»
The Tour of Missouri announced the route for 2008, which offers one more day of bicycle racing and some new roads.
The 2nd annual race rolls out Sept. 8-14 this year, featuring 120 cyclists and 15 pro teams.
The organizers are making a lot out of the new courses, but I'm frankly surprised that so many of the routes are "remakes" from last year. Don't most of the popular stage races feature new courses every year (at least different routes) to keep the race fresh and to show off different parts of their state or country?
The added stage this year means more hills overall. Those Ozarks can be killer. ... more»
Although it's only May, George Hincapie says he'll defend his title in the upcoming Tour of Missouri scheduled Sept. 8-14.
Hincapie won the inaugural Missouri stage bike race last year as a member of the Discovery Channel pro cycling team. He's now a member of Team High Road, officially registered in San Luis Obispo, California.
Hincapie recently finished the Tour of Georgia, where High Road teammate Kanstantin Sivtsov won the race with a decisive attack on Brasstown Bald .... more»
A dozen cities will host starts or finishes at the second annual Tour of Missouri that rolls our for 7 days in 2008 from Sept. 8 through Sept. 14.
The 623-mile pro bicycle race begins on Monday in St. Joseph with a 90-mile stage race to Kansas City. It ends Sunday at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis with a circuit race.
Once again the racers will pedal the hills around Branson for the individual time trial, but they won't visit one of last year's cities -- Columbia -- at all... more»
Tour of Missouri on Versus cable network: 4-6 p.m. (ET) Wednesday
Photo by Tamara Painter Young fans meet racers
One of the major goals of the Tour of Missouri bike race this year was to boost tourism to the Show Me state.
But the bicycle race had the spillover effect of introducing a lot of folks to professional cyclists and winning a slight measure of respect for those who ride their bikes on Missouri's streets.
Blog reader Jack Painter wrote to me after the race that his family members were thrilled to meet many of the racers. And Kansas City Star columnist Bill Graham writes that following the race, "We need to keep working on making bicycling a bigger pastime in our communities." ... more»
There's something very odd going on with the Discovery Channel pro cycling team at the Tour of Missouri.
This year's winner of the Tour de France, Alberto Contador, is working as a domestique to the Tour's yellow jersey wearer, George Hincapie. When's that last time that happened on this team? What a difference two months can make.
After retaining the yellow jersey after Stage 4 on Friday, Hincapie told VeloNews:
"Everyone is working well. I have the reigning Tour de France champion bringing me bottles. That's not a normal thing, but it's a great honor to lead the race. I will do everything I can to keep the jersey." ... more»
Here's an image of George Hincapie by the Spare Cycles blog author Ken Conley, a cycling photographer based in California who made the trip to Missouri to shoot the race.
It's certainly great to see Hincapie in yellow for the second day at the Tour of Missouri, especially considering the hard-luck bumps his career occasionally takes. (Ken has more pix at kwc at flickr.com .)
On Thursday's 18-mile individual time trial around Branson, Hincapie finished in 6th place, but that was good enough to not only retain the lead but put a 1-minute-40 margin over second place William Fischkorn of Slipstream in the overall standings.
The winner on the day was Discovery Channel teammate Levi Leipheimer, who added Wednesday's win to ITT victories at the Tour of California, Tour de Georgia and Tour de France this year. ... more»
The ever-popular George Hincapie won Stage 2 of the Tour of Missouri on Wednesday, propelling himself into the yellow jersey.
The 34-year-old Greenville, SC, resident is longest-standing member of the soon-to-be-defunct cycling team sponsored by the Discovery Channel. He's the only Discovery member to have accompanied Lance Armstrong on all of his 7 Tour de France victories.
Winner of the USA Cycling pro road championship in 2006, Hincapie wore the stars and stripes at races in the US and Europe this year, but gave up the title to Levi Leipheimer at the nationals over Labor Day weekend. ... more»
The first cyclist to wear the Tour of Missouri yellow jersey is Ivan Dominguez, a Cuban riding for the Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team who wn the stage in a mass sprint.
The previous big win this year for the 31-year-old sprinter, who defected from Cuba to ride in the US, was the final stage of the Tour of California ... more»
The understatement in this sentence in the Tour of Missouri (it starts today) pre-race write-up at VeloNews gave me a chuckle:
"Though the course lacks any major climbs, the rolling roads of Missouri are expected to take a cumulative toll."
When my friend and I rode our bicycles across Missouri on the cross-country bike tour, we suffered one climb after another through the Ozarks in the center of the state ..... more»
I received an email from Jack Painter, an avid cyclist and advocate who lives in St. Louis. He's concerned, and rightly so, that the Tour of Missouri isn't getting adequate coverage in its home state. He was surprised, and so am I, that few cyclists on a local bike ride even knew about it.
Once again: The Tour of Missouri starts Tuesday in Kansas City and ends Sunday in St. Louis. It visits many points in between. It features many of America's top cyclists, as well as the winner of the 2007 Tour de France.
Here's Jack's email:
Worried? You and all cycling advocates should be. I won't go into great detail but, if I wasn't a daily reader of numerous cycling blogs, I would have no idea that a major cycling event is to be held here ... more»
Here are some suggestions on where to watch the Tour of Missouri, beginning Tuesday in Kansas City and ending Sunday in St. Louis.
The Tour of Missouri website is linking the Adobe Live Tour Tracker (video, chatroom, GPS, VeloNews updates) and live video from Justin.tv (live video feed is expected to begin between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. CST on Wednesday, according to website).
The first big stage bicycle race for Missouri and one of the last for the Discovery Channel pro cycling team begins Tuesday in Kansas City.
The Tour of Missouri is the last-man-standing of three multi-stage bicycle races in the US that were supposed to launch this year but folded before reaching the starting line. (Tour of Utah and Montreal-Boston Tour didn't make it.)
Meanwhile, the Discovery Channel is sending some of its most popular cyclists to compete -- including Americans George Hincapie and Levi Leipheimer, as well as Alberto Contador of Spain, winner of the 2007 Tour de France... more»
Long before the owners of the pro cycling team sponsored by the Discovery Channel announced they were abandoning their search for sponsors, they had promised to race in the inaugural Tour of Missouri (Sept. 11-16).
Now they've announced that US cyclists Levi Leipheimer and George Hincapie will be racing in Missouri, as will Tour de France winner Alberto Contador.
Other Discovery teammates slated to race in Missouri include Americans Tony Cruz, Jason McCartney, and John Devine, and Fuyu Li (China) and Yaroslav Popovych (Ukraine). ... more»
Tour of Missouri organizers say nine North American cycling teams will compete among the 15 that will race around the state from Sept. 11 to 16.
In addition to the Discovery Channel team, which announced earlier, the North American teams are Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle, Toyota-United, HealthNet presented by Maxxis, Navigators, Colavita Oil/Sutter Homes, Jelly Belly, BMC and the USA National Team.... more»
Now the thousands of TransAmerica bicyclists who suffered through Missouri's Ozarks region in mid-summer heat can see how the pros handle it.
Organizers of the Tour of Missouri have released a general map and list of host cities for the inaugural event that's being launched as one of the top pro bike races in the country.
Although the timing of the race -- Sept. 11-16 -- might mean slightly cooler temperatures, that roller-coaster Missouri terrain should still be a factor. The cyclists will ride 600 miles in 6 stages, with starts or finishes in Kansas City, Clinton, Springfield, Branson, Lebanon, Columbia, Jefferson City, St. Charles and St. Louis.
Along with the Tour of California in February and the Tour de Georgia in April, the bike race is being sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale, which means there will be many world-class teams and cyclists in the peloton.
Sports marketing company Medalist Sports is organizing all three races, as well as the USA Pro Cycling Championships scheduled for the Labor Day weekend in Greenville, South Carolina.
Here's the breakdown:
Stage 1, Sept. 11 -- Kansas City to Kansas City, road race The world-class international race will start in Missouri’s second largest city as cyclists will race an out-and-back course.
Stage 2, Sept. 12 -- Clinton to Springfield, road race After an auto transfer, the race starts at the trailhead of Missouri’s famous Katy Trial cross-state bike path, and races to Missouri’s third-largest city.
Stage 3, Sept. 13 -- Branson, individual time trial The caravan will make its way 40 miles south for an individual time trial in the hilly resort town of Branson.
Stage 4, Sept. 14 -- Lebanon to Columbia, road race The caravan transfers north to the agricultural town of Lebanon for to race to the home to the University of Missouri.
Stage 5, Sept. 15 -- Jefferson City to St. Charles, road race Cyclists race from the state's capital city through the wine region to the historic river city of St. Charles.
Stage 6, Sept. 16 -- St. Louis, circuit race A criterium in the shadows of the Arch.
The exact bike race route will be released this spring, according to the press release.
Down among the names at the bottom of the press release is corporate development and sales director Mark Gorski, who I instantly remembered as a cycling gold medalist I saw at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. That was my destination the summer I was introduced to bicycling through the Missouri Ozarks.
Move over Tour de Georgia and Tour of California -- the Tour of Missouri is joining the ranks of the USA Cycling Professional Tour as an internationally sanctioned bicycle race.
What this means is that top pro teams that compete in Union Cycliste Internationale events in Europe can also ride in the stage race as it winds through Missouri between Kansas City and St. Louis next September.
This is just another indication that interest in bicycle racing is exploding in the US. No more dreary returns like those from the Tour duPont and Tour de Trump.
In February, an estimated 1.3 million bike racing fans watched the inaugural Tour of California, drawing an estimated $100 million into the host cities. The Tour de Georgia draws upwards of 800,000 and had an estimated economic impact of $26 million in 2006.
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
As Missouri's Mark Twain once wrote about himself: "The report of my death was an exaggeration."
Rabobank finished 1st and 2nd in the sprint finish in Jefferson City on Friday, while Garmin Chipotle's Christian Vande Velde finished safely in the peloton to hold onto the yellow jersey for another day at the 2008 Tour of Missouri.
2008 is certainly Christian Vande Velde's coming out party.
The Brit who's been winning sprints on his bicycle all across Europe this spring and summer is doing so in North America now.
The 
One hundred and 47 years after the last Pony Express rider saddled up for the 11-day ride from Sacramento to St. Joseph, two endurance cyclists are following that route.
There's something very odd going on with the Discovery Channel pro cycling team at the Tour of Missouri.
The ever-popular George Hincapie won Stage 2 of the Tour of Missouri on Wednesday, propelling himself into the yellow jersey.
The first cyclist to wear the Tour of Missouri yellow jersey is
Move over Tour de Georgia and Tour of California -- the Tour of Missouri is joining the ranks of the USA Cycling Professional Tour as an internationally sanctioned bicycle race.
