Tour of Missouri News & Info

Just seven months from now the most accomplished endurance athletes in the world will assemble with their teams to pace their way across Missouri's landscapes from West to East. But, it will literally be a "Race Around the World" before the 2008 Tour of Missouri begins September 8th in St. Joseph/Kansas City.

This year's UCI Pro Cycling Season began on January 20th with the Tour Down Under in Glenelg Australia. Riding with Team High Road, Germany's Andre Griepel captured 4 of 6 stages as over 70 thousand fans filled the city streets of Adelaide, Australia to see the opening UCI ProTour event's final stage. Crowd attendance at the 2008 Tour Down Under and Down Under Classic topped half a million for the first time since the event began in 1999. The official spectator estimate for 2008 was 533,000. The UCI ProTour season continued then to the Tour of Qatar January 27 in Doha. This year Quick-Step's Tom Boonen won the over-all GC.
Tom Boonen also won in 2006 and finished second last year and has sprinted to 11 stage wins over all. The Tour of Qatar represents the season debut for many riders and while some teams come primarily to build form, others take the race very seriously.

The "Race Around the World" continues this weekend in the USA, with the Amgen Tour of California beginning at Sausalito/Santa Rosa on February 17th. Day two will end in Sacramento, and then the Tour will make its way South through San Jose to Modesto and Seaside to San Luis Obispo. A Time Trial will be on day 5 at Solvang. Day 6 begins in Santa Barbara and ends in Santa Clarita which is the start for day 7. Pasadena California will host the final finish of the tour. Medalist Sports is promoting the Amgen Tour of California as well as the Tour of Missouri. View this spectacular cycling event at "Amgen Tour of California". Medalist Sports also promotes the Tour de Georgia scheduled in April 21st - 27th. A list of the 2008 USA Cycling Professional Tour schedule can be found at USA cycling.com .

Click here to see results for the 2008 Tour of Qatar , 2008 Tour Down Under and the 2008 Tour de Georgia.

The following are a few news links:
Steephill.TV: http://www.steephill.tv/
2008 USA Cycling Pro Tour: 2008 USA Cycling Professional Tour
Cycling TV: http://cycling.tv/
http://cycling.tv/race-information/tour_of_missouri
VeloNews: http://www.velonews.com/
Big Shark Cycling: http://bigshark.com/page.cfm?PageID=22
2008 Tour of Missouri: http://tourofmissouri2008.com/
Wikipedia.org, Tour of Missouri: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_of_Missouri
Cycling News.com: http://www.cyclingnews.com/
Missouri Bicycle Federation, Tour of Missouri 2008: http://mobikefed.org/tourofmissouri/
VeloNorth.Ca (MTB News): http://www.velonorth.ca/index.php
Heartland Challenges: http://www.heartlandrace.com/
USA Cycling Pro Championships: http://www.usacyclingchampionships.com/index.php
2008 Amgen Tour of California: http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/
2008 Tour of Georgia: http://www.tourdegeorgia.com/index.php
Union Cycliste Internationale: http://www.uci.ch/templates/UCI/UCI5/layout.asp?MenuId=MTYxNw
USA Cycling: http://www.usacycling.org/

Posted by Wesley Revels,
President Quad States of St. Joseph, Inc.
Saint Michael's Meadow Trail Foundation, Inc.
Missouri Bicycle Federation Board Member

Labels: bicycle, cycling, Missouri Tourism, Tour of Missouri, Tour USA, Tourism, vacation

permanent link to article: "The "Race Around The World" Starts in Australia and Finishes In Missouri USA"
posted by W Revels at 6:58 AM |comment on this article

Earlier this week the first route proposal for day one of the Tour of Missouri was released. Although only in the preliminary stage of development, the route begins at the City Hall in St. Joseph across from the famous Pony Express statue in City Hall Park. The famous Statue originally sculpted by Hermon Atkins MacNeil and dedicated in 1940 celebrates the legacy of the First attempt to transport postage from locations east of the Mississippi river in the 1860s to the West Coast of the United States Territory and California.

The proposed route then travels along much of St. Joseph's beautiful park system before heading to Weston, Platte City and Parkville on its way to Kansas City. Actual routes for the Tour of Missouri will be released in May or June.

Weston Missouri, is one of the oldest settlements west of the Mississippi river being incorporated in the mid 1830s and originally called "West Town". Famous frontiersmen such as William "Buffalo" Bill Cody were residents of Weston, Missouri. Much of the original town still exists as it was in the mid 1800s and is a favorite tourist waypoint in the area.

Click on the following link to view the proposed route.
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/mo/saint-joseph/639661895

St. Joseph's City Commissioners and city management are excited about the Tour of Missouri coming to St. Joseph. There is even talk of a permanent start point being constructed for future road and track events for bicycle racing and triathlons. St. Joseph has a long heritage being one of the earliest departing points to cross the Missouri river en route to the California and Oregon territories in the mid 1800s.

St. Joseph is currently in the development stages creating a North/South corridor to connect the Katy Trail with existing trails in Iowa and Nebraska. Quad States Trails of St. Joseph, Inc. and Saint Michael's Meadow Trail Foundation, Inc. are leading the effort. The corridor will be a hard paved scenic byway and follow parallel to the Missouri River traveling through the bluff hills that line the river.

St. Joseph has an active bicycle club. The St. Joseph Bicycle Club conducts meetings on the third Tuesday each month at the Rolling Hills Library on the Belt Hwy. Everyone is invited to all group rides on Saturdays and Sundays at 8:00AM meeting at Bode Middle School. There are also group rides on Sunday's at 2:00PM. Their web site can be found at: http://www.stjoebikeclub.org/ . Check their newsletter "The Seat Post" for a calendar of scheduled events each month.

The following are a few news links:
Steephill.TV: http://www.steephill.tv/
2008 USA Cycling Pro Tour: 2008 USA Cycling Professional Tour
Cycling TV: http://cycling.tv/
http://cycling.tv/race-information/tour_of_missouri
VeloNews: http://www.velonews.com/
Big Shark Cycling: http://bigshark.com/page.cfm?PageID=22
2008 Tour of Missouri: http://tourofmissouri2008.com/
Wikipedia.org, Tour of Missouri: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_of_Missouri
Cycling News.com: http://www.cyclingnews.com/
Missouri Bicycle Federation, Tour of Missouri 2008: http://mobikefed.org/tourofmissouri/
VeloNorth.Ca (MTB News): http://www.velonorth.ca/index.php
Heartland Challenges: http://www.heartlandrace.com/
USA Cycling Pro Championships: http://www.usacyclingchampionships.com/index.php
2008 Amgen Tour of California: http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/
2008 Tour of Georgia: http://www.tourdegeorgia.com/index.php
Union Cycliste Internationale: http://www.uci.ch/templates/UCI/UCI5/layout.asp?MenuId=MTYxNw
USA Cycling: http://www.usacycling.org/ permanent link to article: "First proposed route for the Tour of Missouri St. Joseph to Kansas City"
posted by W Revels at 2:15 AM |comment on this article