Tour of Missouri Blog

Women’s Pro-Am Criterium to Take Place in Kansas City Sep 8th during 2008 Tour of Missouri

2008-07-17T16:39:00.000-05:00

Women’s Cycling Event Precedes Hard Charging Finish of Men’s First Stage

The Tour of Missouri, a seven day professional cycling event featuring elite international men’s teams, is pleased to announce the addition of an invitational pro-am women’s race taking place on Monday, September 8th in Kansas City, Missouri. Top professional women’s teams and riders from across the US will compete in this inaugural event for a $7500 cash purse.
Starting while Stage 1 of the men’s event is underway, the Tour of Missouri Women’s Criterium will showcase the speed and energy of these exceptional athletes on a one kilometer course with multiple turns and hills. The men’s event is the 1st stage of the seven day race, heading from St. Joseph to Kansas City, Missouri, and expected to finish approximately one hour after the women’s finish.

The location of the women’s race is the world-famous Country Club Plaza, Kansas City’s premiere entertainment, shopping and dining destination. The challenging course includes several turns through the winding streets of this dynamic location. As racers fly past the many fountains, high-end boutiques, restaurants and pubs in the Country Club Plaza, spectators will find the course extremely easy to navigate with clear views of their favorite racers from multiple angles. The Spanish-style architecture and high-energy atmosphere of the Plaza provides a backdrop unlike any Criterium course this side of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Women’s Criterium will start at 1:00pm and will cover 55 minutes plus five laps. In addition to the cash prizes, qualified finishers will also be awarded a commemorative jersey and jewelry courtesy of Kansas City’s Silpada. A combined awards ceremony will be held for the men’s and women’s races in the Country Club Plaza, following the finish of the men’s race at approximately 4:30pm.

“It is a privilege to announce this addition to the 2008 Tour of Missouri,” said Missouri Lt. Governor Peter Kinder. “The Tour is the single largest professional sporting event in the state, and the women’s race will be an exceptional prelude to the excitement of the hard-charging finishing circuits of the men’s race.”

The Tour of Missouri is a free event which attracts thousands of race fans and enthusiasts from throughout the country, as well as an international audience through web and TV broadcasts.

The Tour of Missouri is presented by the Missouri Division of Tourism and sponsored by Anheuser-Busch, Drury Inns, Edward Jones, the Missouri Farm Bureau, Emerson and Monsanto. Additional support is provided by the Missouri Wine and Grape Board, Spencer Fane, Dr. Pepper, Felt Bicycle, Bissell and Capital Wind Management. For more information visit www.tourofmissouri.com.

About the Tour of Missouri
After an exceptionally successful inaugural Tour of Missouri in 2007, the Show Me State will again welcome 120 of the world’s elite cyclists on a 600-mile point-to-point race, to be held September 8-14, 2008. The second edition of the Tour will include seven days of racing, from Kansas City to the Ozarks, over the Katy Trail, along Route 66 and the historic Missouri River, with a fantastic finish under the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. The race is sanctioned by the UCI and USA Cycling, the international and national governing bodies for cycling, respectively. It is ranked as a 2.1, second in ranking to only the Tour de Georgia and Amgen Tour of California in North American cycling. The event’s management group is Medalist Sports of Tyrone, Ga., the organizers of both the California and Georgia races. KOM Sports Marketing of Colorado Springs, Colo., is the event’s marketing agency.

Course for 2008 Tour of Missouri announced

2008-06-23T12:08:00.003-05:00

The 2008 Tour of Missouri courses have been announced. Full description and maps are available on the Tour of Missouri web site.

There will be seven stages to the race:

•After several pre-events in the Kansas City metro area, Stage 1, Sept. 8th, will start in new host city St. Joseph, and pose a bigger challenge for cyclists through rolling terrain along the Missouri River before a circuit finish in Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza district for the second straight year.

• Stage 2: Sept. 9th, will be the most flat but longest stage, routing from Clinton to Springfield. It is a re-make of last year’s course, which proved to be the decisive stage of the race after a long breakaway put race champion George Hincapie into the race lead for good.

• Stage 3: Sept. 10th, remakes last year’s time trial course in Branson, and has been cited as perhaps the most pivotal stage of the race, starting at The Landing and finishing at Shepherd of the Hills.

• Stage 4: Sept. 11th, is a new course that will take cyclists from Lebanon to new host city Rolla in south central Missouri. Cyclists will be challenged by six sizeable hills, in perhaps the toughest stage, to the finish on a college campus at the ~~University of Missouri-Rolla~~ Missouri University of Science and Technology. The race also will feature a sprint through Fort Leonard Wood Military Reservation to commemorate U.S. Armed Forces.

• Stage 5: Sept. 12th, a new course, features a start in the quaint town of St. James, a new host city, and routes north to an early-evening finish in front of the Capitol Building in Jefferson City. Cyclists will race up a tough 300-meter climb to the finish line.

• Stage 6: Sept. 13th, will use part of last year’s penultimate stage, starting in Hermann and routing along the twisting highways near the Missouri River and feature the two longest climbs of the tour on Schluersburg and Old Colony Roads before passing through the city of O’Fallon and finishing near the same location in St. Charles along the Mississippi River.

• Stage 7: Sept. 14th, will feature the circuit used from last year’s final stage in St. Louis, but will have several new features. The race will be moved from Union Station to a start and finish in front of City Hall on Tucker and Market Streets. The circuit will be stretched to 14 miles and include a large section through Forest Park and feature the Grand Basin and the Art Museum hill.

Last two stages of Tour of MO to have different routes--details announcement Monday

2008-06-20T16:12:00.002-05:00

According to Kathleen Nelson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

As in the inaugural race last year, St. Louis will serve as host for the grand finale, scheduled for 2 p.m. Sept. 14. This year’s route again will be a circuit, longer than last year’s. The start and finish line will move to Tucker and Market streets, near City Hall, rather than Union Station, and will finish approximately 4:45 p.m. . . .

The final point-to-point stage Sept. 13 has been shortened but contains tougher climbs. It starts in Hermann, proceeds along Highways 100 and 94 and features two tough climbs, up Old Colony and Schluersburg Roads near Augusta. The route then will head into O’Fallon and finish on the St. Charles riverfront.

This year, though, riders will approach from the north, rather than the south, and are expected to finish about 4:15 p.m.

Garmin to sponsor Tour de France team

2008-06-18T13:45:00.003-05:00

According to a KCStar article, Garmin, which is based in the Kansas City area, will sponsor the team formerly known as Team Slipstream--one of the major bicycling teams in the pro circuit, competing in major races like the Tour de France:

“It’s a significant investment for Garmin that we are convinced is an excellent use of our money,” Cassat said.

Slipstream’s strong anti-doping stance was key to Garmin’s decision to sponsor the team, Cassat said.

“Slipstream cyclists are setting the standard for success through integrity and sportsmanship,” he said.

Garmin will spend millions of dollars — the company declined to be more specific — for a multiyear deal to sponsor the team. While the squad will undoubtedly be referred to as Team Garmin by television announcers, its official name will be Garmin-Chipotle Presented by H30, representing its secondary sponsors.

In the past, cycling sponsorships have occasionally proved to be promotional windfalls. The U.S. Postal Service team, which later became the Discovery Channel team, reaped publicity bonanzas for their sponsors as team rider Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France seven straight times.

Cassat said Team Garmin would give the company a place to showcase its fitness products, among other benefits.

“We’re looking at the fitness segment as one with a lot of upside growth,” Cassat said.

The team will now be known as Team Garmin-Chipotle Presented by H30. See the team's press release for more info.

The team includes such well known cyclists as Will Frischkorn, David Millar, Danny Pate, Christian vande Velde, and David Zabriskie.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Dave Luecking puts in context--with several cycling teams announcing new major sponsors recently, it appears that the cycling world's work to clean up after the recent doping scandals is starting to pay off.

Now--will Slipstream/Garmin be appearing in the Tour of Missouri? And how about Garmin as one of the major sponsors of the ToM?

Tour of Missouri, One Day And Four New Cities Added, St. Joseph Will Host the Grand Depart!

2008-06-09T00:01:00.021-05:00

Of the twelve host cities for 2008, eight of the 2007 Tour host cities will return this year, including Kansas City, Springfield, St. Charles, and St. Louis, which will each host a stage finish. Clinton and

Lebanon

will each host a stage start. And Branson, will for the second-time host the Individual Time Trial. A pass-through and start city for last year in 2008, Jefferson City will host a stage finish with race circuits for the first time. Although very exciting for spectators to watch, circuits are more dangerous than open road type races because cyclists are racing on short length loops in city streets usually about 2 to 5 miles in length, engaging corners at high speeds close together in large groups that include lightening speed sprints to the finish.

St. Joseph, previous host to the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials for weightlifting, will host the Grand Depart for the 7 day Tour across Missouri. Pictured at the announcing press conference in St. Joseph this week are members of the St. Joseph LOC, Bob Fitzpatrick far left and Richard Sipes second from the right. Second from the left is Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder. Next to Lt. Gov. Kinder is Dave Roberts of Boehringer Ingelheim, who is a major contributing sponsor for St. Joseph. Standing on the right is St. Joseph Councilman Bill Falkner.

The weekend before the Tour of Missouri starts on Monday the 8^th, St. Joseph is hosting Pre-Tour of Missouri, activities with a Team Time Trial on Saturday the 6^th and a 42 mile Road Race on Sunday the 7^th. Both will include part of Stage One of the Tour of Missouri. Saturday, St. Joseph is closing its famous Parkway Boulevard System for the 16.5 mile loop Team Time Trial. Organized by Lantern Rouge Racing, Roger Harrison said, there has not been a team time trial in this part of the country in over 4 years and the entire region is excited about it. With over $5,000 in cash prizes being awarded, both Pre-Tour of Missouri events are USA Cycling sanctioned. The first weekend in September is also the weekend of the Colman Hawkins Jazz Festival. Information for both Cycling race events can be found at:

Tour of St. Joseph Team Time Trial & Road Race.

This event [The Tour of Missouri] proved, in only its first year, to be hugely successful for all involved, most importantly the great host communities of the Tour, Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder, chair of the Tourism Commission of Missouri. Kinder said, It was very successful for the state, as tourism vehicle, people from 73 countries caught part of the event via live webcasts and more than 350,000 showed up on roads of the event.

During the press conference located in Jefferson City in January, Governor Blunt said 360,000 people watched the 2007 event live spending $26 million locally in Missouri. Many more watched it on TV and over the internet from 73 different countries. "Thanks to the largest sporting event ever held in Missouri... what you have is a whole bunch of people around the world who may never have heard of Missouri now do know," said Blunt.

The Tour of Missouri is a professional United Cycliste International sanctioned racing stage race, held in Missouri that made its debut on September 11^th, 2007 six days of racing. Run by the same organizers of the Tour de Georgia and the Amgen Tour of California, Medalist Sports, the inaugural Tour of Missouri was billed as the third highest profile domestic race in the United States. Welcoming the worlds elite cyclists on a 600-mile point-to-point race, the second annual Tour of Missouri will include seven days of racing, from Kansas City to the Ozarks, over the Katy Trail, along Route 66 and the historic Missouri River, with a fantastic finish under the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. This years event also will follow the Olympic Games in Beijing, so its possible some of the 120 competitors may be toting Olympic hardware, said Chris Aronhalt, managing partner of Medalist Sports, which produces the event.

Stretches of the historic Route 66; including Rolla, Lebanon, Springfield, St. James and St. Louis are part of the announced routes. Rolla Missouri, which missed out hosting the event last year, was pumped about gaining a spot this year, reported the Rolla Daily News. Rolla was disappointed when it was not selected for the inaugural race last year, but only excitement prevailed when the Rolla contingent at the news conference made no effort to hide its elation with the announcement about 2008. Mayor Bill Jenks didnt mince words. He did a fist pump from the podium and uttered an Army yell that quieted the rest of the room. “Darn right we are happy, Jenks said. We will be ready when the Tour hits Rolla, Jenks said. I guarantee you it will be tough for any other city to outdo Rolla.

Course for the 2008 Tour:

Monday, September 8th 90 mi Saint Joseph to Kansas City
Tuesday, September 9th 125 mi Clinton to Springfield
Wednesday, September 10th 18 mi Branson (Individual Time Trial)
Thursday, September 11th 105 mi Lebanon to Rolla
Friday, September 12th 100 mi St. James to Jefferson City
Saturday, September 13th 110 mi Hermann to St. Charles
Sunday, September 14th 75 mi St. Louis (Circuit)

Total Distance 623 mi

In last years Tour of Missouri, Toyota-United Ivan Dominguez won the first and last stages in Kansas City and St. Louis. George Hincape won the second stage from Clinton to Springfield while his close friend and formidable competitor Levi Leipheimer won stage three in the Branson Time Trial. Brazilian sprinter Luciano Pagliarini won the fourth stage of the Tour of Missouri on Friday from Lebenon to Columbia and Slipstream Chipotle team member Danny Pate won stage 5 from Jefferson City to St. Charles. While George Hincapie retained the overall lead in the General Category throughout the week after his win on the second day, Pagliarini, racing for Spanish team Saunier Duval-Prodir, finished the 133-mile stage from Lebenon to Columbia in 5 hours, 7 minutes, 52 seconds, barely edging Canadian Andrew Pinfold of the Canada, Symmetrics Cycling.

American George Hincapie of team High Road will participate in the Tour of Missouri international cycling race, September 8-14, race organizers announced today. Hincapie, a Tour de France stage winner, also will lend his image to marketing the race. With my new team High Road, I will attend the Tour of Missouri this September to defend my championship," said Hincapie, who has already won a stage of the Amgen Tour of California in February, while most recently helping his team win the yellow jersey at the Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T April 21^st through the 28^th. "Being an Olympic year, I plan on doing the Tour de France, Olympics in Beijing, U.S. National Championships and completing my season at the Tour of Missouri. For me, the race last year was special. The spectators and state were unbelievable. It was special as the last year with Discovery Channel team. I look forward to the race this year with my new team.

Team High Road, currently ranks number one in many parts of the word, and Hincapie is the first team to be formally announced by Medalist Sports, the Tour of Missouri organizers. A total of 15 teams with eight cyclists each will be participating. The September event will start in historic St. Joseph and finish in Kansas City. Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder, chairman of the Tour of Missouri, Inc., added: George Hincapie is a top world-class athlete and winner of last years race. He embodies everything great about this statewide event. People will come in from around the country to see him and his team perform.

The 2007 Tour of Missouri included the last appearance for the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team. All but a few of the team members and coaches in the Discovery Team joined other European and American teams and will also return to compete this year. The Discovery Pro Cycling Team was directed by Belgian Johan Bruyneel, who also managed U.S. Postal. The chief mechanic was Julien DeVries. The team was co-owned by Tailwind Sports Corp. of San Francisco and Capital Sports & Entertainment of Austin Texas. Johan Bruyneel along with Levi Leipheimer joined the European based Astana who is expected to race this years Tour of Missouri.

Last year 10 American Pro Cycling Teams attended the Tour of Missouri among them the Discovery Team. Along with Discovery were American Pro Cycling Teams: Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis, Navigators Insurance Cycling Team, Team Slipstream Powered by Chipotle, Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team, BMC Racing Team, Jelly Belly Cycling Team, Kodak Fallery.com-Sierra Nevada Bbrewing Co., Colavita/Sutter Home Presented by Cooking Light and the USA Cycling National Development Team. Pro Cycling teams from out side the United States were, Team Sparkasse headquartered in Germany, DFL-Cyclingnews-Lightspeed from the United Kingdom, Symmetrics Cycling Team from Canada, Tecos de la Universidad de Guadalajara from Guadalajara and Saunier Duval-Prodir from Spain.

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

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/

Hincapie to return in defense of Tour of MO title

2008-05-08T16:42:00.001-05:00

George Hincapie will return to the 2008 Tour of Missouri to defend his 2007 title:

"With my new team High Road, I will attend the Tour of Missouri this September to defend my championship," said Hincapie, who has already won a stage of the Amgen Tour of California in February, while most recently helping his team win the yellow jersey at the Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T last week. "Being an Olympic year, I plan on doing the Tour de France, Olympics in Beijing, U.S. National Championships and completing my season at the Tour of Missouri. For me, the race last year was special. The spectators and state were unbelievable. It was special as the last year with Discovery Channel team. I look forward to the race this year with my new team."

Post-Dispatch's Dave Luecking reporting the Tour de Georgia

2008-04-23T19:03:00.003-05:00

The Post-Dispatch's Dave Luecking--an avid bicyclist himself--is doing some nice coverage of the Tour de Georgia.

Of course the TDG is put on by Medalist, the same folks who do the technical side of the Tour of Missouri, and many of the same teams and racers will be participating in both races.

Tour of Missouri communities to sport new ToM welcome signs

2008-04-08T23:34:00.002-05:00

Today Lt. Governor Peter Kinder unveiled a new sign that Tour of Missouri host cities can post at their city limits proclaiming them "Tour of Missouri Host Cities".

Officials of MoDOT, Kansas City Missouri, and the Missouri Bicycle Federation were there for the unveiling.

More about the 2008 Tour of Missouri on the official web site.

Schmatz to auction "Armadillo Crossing" sign

2008-03-25T15:08:00.000-06:00

According to a VeloNews article:

Retired pro Dan Schmatz retired from the sport in the most unexpected of ways last September when he hit an armadillo during stage 2 of the Tour of Missouri.

Schmatz tumbled to the ground, fracturing his collarbone and effectively ending not only his season but his career, which he’d planned to finish out at the end of the week in his hometown of St. Louis.

Now managing the THF Realty amateur racing team, Schmatz has offered up for auction an autographed Armadillo XING sign with the signatures of approximately 50 riders from the Tour of Missouri. All proceeds go to the St. Louis Bikes For Kids charity program, with the goal of helping get therapeutic bikes for kids in need.

The "Race Around The World" Starts in Australia and Finishes In Missouri USA

2008-02-09T06:58:00.000-06:00

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

First proposed route for the Tour of Missouri St. Joseph to Kansas City

2008-02-03T02:15:00.000-06:00

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/

HOST CITIES ANNOUNCED FOR 2008 TOUR OF MISSOURI

2008-01-30T19:24:00.000-06:00

HOST CITIES ANNOUNCED FOR 2008 TOUR OF MISSOURI

One day added, four new cities announced

Jefferson City, Mo. (Jan. 30, 2008) - Twelve cities around the Show Me State have been selected as Start or Finish cities for the second edition of the Tour of Missouri, an elite, point-to-point cycling stage race to be held September 8-14, 2008.

The second Tour of Missouri has been extended from six to seven days after an extremely successful inaugural event in 2007, and will showcase some of the state's most beautiful roads and rolling terrain, rich history, and diverse scenery, from the start in St. Joseph, site of the Pony Express, to Kansas City, to the Ozarks, to the bourgeoning wine country, culminating with a blockbuster weekend again with stops in historic St. Charles and the ultimate finish in St. Louis with the Gateway Arch as a backdrop.

"Missouri is a beautiful place to call home, filled with countless natural and historic sites of interest to visitors both near and far," Gov. Blunt said. "Lt. Gov. Kinder and I took the initiative to bring this race to our state because we recognized the many benefits it could bring to Missourians and our economy. Our state is prospering with the pro-growth, pro-jobs initiatives we have enacted together with our commitment to tourism with new signature events like the Tour of Missouri."

Eight of the 2007 Tour host venues will return for this year's edition, including Kansas City, Springfield, St. Charles, and St. Louis, which will each host a stage finish, Clinton and Lebanon which will each host a stage start, and Branson, second-time host of the individual time trial. A pass-through and start city last year in 2008, Jefferson City will host a stage finish with race circuits for the first time.

Joining the Tour of Missouri roster of hosts as a finish city is Rolla, and St. James and Hermann will each participate as a start venue, providing their communities the opportunity to see the exciting buildup to each day's stage race, where racers sign in for the day's stage, give interviews, and sign autographs for the public. St. Joseph, previous host of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials for weightlifting, is a new start city.

"This event proved, in only its first year, to be hugely successful for all involved, most importantly the great host communities of the Tour," Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder, chair of the Tourism Commission of Missouri. "It was very successful for the state, as tourism vehicle, people from 73 countries caught part of the event via live webcasts and more than 350,000 showed up on roads of the event."

The 2008 Tour of Missouri will take place as follows:

STAGE 1 / Monday, Sept. 8
St. Joseph to Kansas City , road race with circuits (90 mi / 144.81 km)

STAGE 2 / Tuesday, September 9
Clinton to Springfield , road race with circuits (125 mi / 201.13 km)

STAGE 3 / Wednesday, September 10
Branson , individual time trial (18 mi / 28.6 km)

STAGE 4 / Thursday, September 11
Lebanon to Rolla, road race with circuits (105 mi / 168.95 km)

STAGE 5 / Friday, September 12
St. James to Jefferson City , road race with circuits (100 mi / 160.9 km)

STAGE 6 / Saturday, September 13
Hermann to St. Charles , road race (110 mi / 177 km)

STAGE 7 / Sunday, September 14
St. Louis , circuit race (75 mi / 120.68 km)

"The Tour of Missouri is perfectly positioned between the Olympic Games in Bejing and the World Championships in late September," said Chris Aronhalt, Managing Partner, of the event organizers Medalist Sports. "We can expect the field to include some of the top cyclists who have either competed in the Games or are preparing for the Worlds. This will be a good course for them."

The Tour of Missouri will field 120 of the world's top cyclists, many of whom raced in last year's inaugural race and were very happy with the terrain.

"Winning the Tour of Missouri was one of the highlights of my season. I received tremendous support from everyone and the fans along the route were awesome. The Tour of Missouri goes through some beautiful countryside, and I hope to return in September." George Hincapie, 2007 Tour of Missouri Overall Winner.

About the Tour of Missouri

After an exceptionally successful inaugural Tour of Missouri in 2007, the Show Me State will again welcome 120 of the world's elite cyclists on a 600-mile point-to-point race, to be held September 8-14, 2008. The second edition of the Tour will include seven days of racing, from Kansas City to the Ozarks, over the Katy Trail, along Route 66 and the historic Missouri River, with a fantastic finish under the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. The race is sanctioned by the UCI and USA Cycling, the international and national governing bodies for cycling, respectively. It is ranked as a 2.1, second in ranking to only the Tour de Georgia and Amgen Tour of California in North American cycling. The event's management group is Medalist Sports of Tyrone, Ga., the organizers of both the California and Georgia races. KOM Sports Marketing of Colorado Springs, Colo., is the event's marketing agency.

For more information: www.tourofmissouri.com

The following are a few news links:
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/

Tour of Missouri start/finish cities leaked?

2008-01-29T11:15:00.000-06:00

The press conference for the official announcement of the Tour of Missouri start/finish cities for 2008 is set for tomorrow (Jan 30th, 10:30AM, Truman Hotel, Jefferson City, if you can make it--the Gov. & Lt. Gov will also be reporting on the economic impact of the 2007 Tour, which reports have as a very respectable $26 million).

The SteepHill.tv web site claims to have the inside scoop on the proposed route for 2008. No guarantee that their information is correct, but it seems pretty reasonable:

1 Monday, September 8th 90 mi
Saint Joseph Kansas City

2 Tuesday, September 9th 125 mi
Clinton Springfield

3 Wednesday, September 10th 18 mi
Branson Branson TT

4 Thursday, September 11th 105 mi
Lebanon Rolla

5 Friday, September 12th 100 mi
St. James Jefferson City

6 Saturday, September 13th 110 mi
Hermann St. Charles

7 Sunday, September 14th 75 mi
St. Louis St. Louis
Circuit

Total Distance 623 mi

More info from SteepHill.tv here.

Note that the announcement tomorrow is for start/finish cities only and precise route details will be announced later. Steephill.tv is going on the assumption that those stages with the same start/finish cities will probably follow the same route again--which is likely the case, but not absolutely certain.

[Thanks to Eric for the heads-up about this info . . . ]

2008 Tour of Missouri News Links

2008-01-27T09:20:00.000-06:00

Greetings from Missouri!

As I sit warm and cozy here at the breakfast table looking out my kitchen window gazing at snow and ice that has accumulated over the past month, my mind anxiously awaits Governor Matt Blunt and Lt. Governor Peter Kinder's news conference Wednesday January 30th, announcing this year's Tour of Missouri 2008. But, spring is coming soon and so will the local Missouri and surrounding state cycling competition season begin and with it the grandest cycling event of the year, The Tour of Missouri.

In the next few weeks I'll be writing a series of articles in preparation for TOM 2008 including the teams and riders who participated in TOM 2007 and where they are now. From time to time I'll be updating this page with information about Cycling News and Places to visit while you prepare for the 2008 Tour of Missouri. Those of you not familiar with Missouri coming from all over the world will want to know where to go and stay while visiting here.

Cycling is an international past time and one of the greatest ways to get outside and enjoy the out-of-doors. Its also a great family activity. People all over the world who bicycle like to meet other physically active people who enjoy being in touch with nature and visiting places where other bicycle friendly people live.

If you're interested in seeing highlights of the 2007 Tour of Missouri on DVD you can order it at 2007 Tour of Missouri DVD 2-Hour Video: http://bigshark.com/itemdetails.cfm?catalogId=39&id=10594

The following are a few news links:
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, Saint Michael's Meadow Trail Foundation, Inc.
Quad States Trails of St. Joseph, Inc.

"The Parade" Beginning of the Tour of Missouri in Kansas City on the Plaza, September 2007.
Click on the left play button to see the video clip.

Tour of MO 2008 start/finish cities to be announced January 30th

2008-01-23T16:34:00.000-06:00

MoBikeFed received the following announcement today:

The Tour of Missouri will be hosting a press conference on Wednesday, January 30th at the Truman Hotel, Hermitage Room, Jefferson City, 10:30AM to 12 Noon.

Governor Blunt and Lt. Governor Kinder will be reporting the economic impact numbers from the 2007 tour as well as announcing the dates and host cities for the 2008 tour.

Lt. Governor Kinder has indicated that these numbers show a $26 million economic impact for the 2007 Tour.

Not bad for a $1 million investment from the state of Missouri!

Tour of Missouri 2007 video available

2008-01-23T16:32:00.000-06:00

Gina Poertner, the president of KanBikeWalk and one of our 2007 Tour of Missouri "supervolunteers" writes:

I keep hearing from cyclists still wishing for a DVD of the 2007 Tour of Missouri. Big Shark Bicycle Company in St. Louis, MO offers a 2-hour DVD of official race footage! Find it here.

Gov Blunt to hold Tour of MO press conferences CANCELLED

2008-01-10T11:06:00.000-06:00

UPDATE: We just received a note from the Governor's office, and these press conferences have been canceled.

On Friday, January 11th, Governor Blunt will be holding press conferences around the state to talk about the success of the Tour of Missouri cycling race and to make a funding announcement related to Tourism

The ceremonies will be brief, and those interested in the Tour are welcome to attend:

9:30 a.m. CANCELLED
Cycle Extreme
19 South Sixth Street
Columbia

11:30 a.m. CANCELLED
Trailnet Office
1533 Washington
St. Louis

3 p.m. CANCELLED
Suite 3000, The Cordish Company
1100 Walnut
Kansas City

4:45 p.m. CANCELLED
Upper Lobby of the Ice Park
Jordan Valley Park
635 East Trafficway
Springfield

ToM on the cover of Road Magazine

2008-01-09T19:30:00.000-06:00

This month's edition of Road Magazine includes an 18-page feature on the Tour of Missouri. The full-page cover photo shows the peloton negotiating the famous s-curve in downtown Parkville on Stage 1.

Tour of MO start/finish cities to be announced soon?

2008-01-09T18:47:00.000-06:00

We understand that start/finish cities for the 2008 Tour of Missouri will be announced sometime in the reasonably near future. We hear the date may be January 30th, 2008.

Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available!

USA Cycling announces '08 Pro Tour calendar including Tour of MO

2008-01-03T20:01:00.000-06:00

Velonews writes:

The 2008 Pro Tour features five major multi-day stage races across the country, giving spectators around the nation an opportunity to witness the sport at its highest level of competition. With Tours of California, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Missouri on the calendar, cycling enthusiasts from the West Coast, the Deep South, the East Coast, the Rockies and the Midwest can follow cyclists as they race through local communities across the country. . . .

Finally, after a successful debut in 2007, the Tour of Missouri will again close the calendar, September 8-14, as many of the world's top international teams are expected to return to America for the season finale. After racing from Kansas City to St. Louis in the inaugural edition, riders will again pass through many of the state's major communities while hoping to secure the final points necessary for an overall USA Cycling Professional Tour title.

National Championships in KC: Perfect Cyclocross Weather Sets Snowy, Cold Stage on Day 3

2007-12-16T00:18:00.001-06:00

Race-goers to the USA Cycling National Cyclocross Championships finally got a chance to pull on the extreme weather gear that had been languishing at the bottom of their luggage. It was cold and snowy from the ground up and frozen and unpredictable on the surface.

Following each start, eager, sadistic fans flocked to the course's pressure points to wait for the inevitable bobbles, spills and crashes, and Saturday's races did not disappoint.

Dombroski Defends U23 Title
Amid furiously ringing bells and rabid cheers, Amy Dombroski (Velo Bella-Kona) of Boulder, Colo., became the first to test the course and she found it just fine for defending her Under 23 women's title.

"Last year we didn't have conditions like this," Dombroski said. "I guess the hardest part was warming up on the course and being like, 'Oh my gosh, I actually have to ride this and race this?!' So I think the thing that was harder about this year was the pre-race preparation."

Dombroski took the holeshot and rode away from there to leave Kate Scheider (Fts-North Atlantic Velo) and Kacey Manderfield (Verducci-Breakaway) to duke it out for second place. Scheider led the first lap until Manderfield passed her at the top of the second set of stairs at the far end of the course. Dombroski rode easily to victory, one minute and 13 seconds ahead of Manderfield.

Practice Really Does Make Perfect
Bjorn Selander (Ridley) switched up his training program this past week to include a ride on ice near his Hudson, Wisc. home. He figured the extra practice on ice might come in handy.

Hundreds of miles away in Burlington, Vt., we don't know if Jamey Driscoll (Fiordifrutta) was doing the same. But in Saturday's Under 23 men's race, Selander and Driscoll gave fans a race to remember with a cliffhanger of a sprint finish.

"At mid-race, I was taking really bad lines," Selander said. "I crashed on the stairs, hit my nose and thought I broke it. I got it in my head that 'he's off' but it's the national championships!"

Selander held a narrow lead from the start, just ahead of Driscoll and the other race favorite, Danny Summerhill (Clif Bar). Summerhill faded to the back while Driscoll overtook Selander with two laps to go. Driscoll seemed to be cementing the win until a bad line choice in a vicious off-camber second put him within striking distance of Selander. Opportunity knocked and Selander responded at the far end of the course, where the two stair sections gave him his chance.

"I made sure if I got ahead of him on the stairs, then I could stay in front," Selander said.

Driscoll was first to the finishing stretch pavement, but Selander dug deep to find a rocket that launched him ahead of Driscoll to collect the win.

A GOOD Break For Andy Jacques-Maynes
After suffering a Memorial Day race crash that left him with 15 broken bones, Andy Jacques-Maynes (Cal Giant Berry Farms) spent the remainder of the road season recovering on his couch at home in Capitola, Calif. Then, after his first race back, he broke his collarbone while running across the venue after the race. Saturday in the Masters Men 30-34 race, Jacques-Maynes got another break, but this time it was a good one.

Defending national champion Grant Berry (Rocky Mtn Chocolate Factory) lit a fiery pace from the start and left Jacques-Maynes behind, along with Weston Schempf (C3-Sollay.com), Molly Cameron (Vanilla), and Donald Reeb (CMG-Giant) in his wake. Riding in second, Jacques-Maynes ceded his place to Reeb and Schempf after getting tangled up in course tape toward the end of the first lap.

"The whole race was about how many mistakes you made," Jacques-Maynes said. "If you made one mistake, it was a good lap; if you made five mistakes, it was a bad lap."

Jacques-Maynes caught back on to Schempf and then bridged to Reeb. His big move came late in the race, when he took aim at Berry and shot past to win by three seconds.

"This race has been a goal since I crashed," he said. "I was sitting on the couch, looking for something to get me moving and this race was it."

Crash Halts McCormack's Chances
With less than half-a-lap to go in the Masters Men 35-39 race, Brandon Dwight (Boulder Cycle Sport) was doing his best to fend off a challenge by Mark McCormack (Clif Bar).

McCormack was glued to Dwight's wheel, poised to make the kind of late-race charge that won him dozens of races during his professional road career.

But with the finish line nearly in sight, suddenly McCormack was gone.

"We got to the last two stair run-ups and he was right behind me," Dwight said. "But then I didn't hear anything. I turned back and he (McCormack) was nowhere in sight,"

What the Boulder, Colo., resident did not see was in the congestion of passing several lapped riders behind him, a narrow gap on the rutty trail quickly closed for McCormack, sending him crashing down hard to the snow-covered ground.

"We caught a couple guys in the very last little down-up off-camber and I had nowhere to go and crashed," McCormack said. "The line that we were using disappeared. He (Dwight) got through the lapped guys really well and I didn't get by them in time. Once you fall that close to the line, you'll never catch up."

Racing his age group at nationals for the first time, McCormack traded the lead with Dwight and eventual third-place finisher Richard Feldman (Durance Cycleworks-Lehma). But with two laps to go, Dwight closed the gap to McCormack knowing he would have to make his move as soon as possible.

"I knew that if it came down to a sprint finish, there was no way I was going to be able to beat him," Dwight said. "I was fortunate to be in the right spot at the right time."

The race was supposed to feature the largest field of the four-day event, with 171 riders registered. But with the bitterly cold conditions and steady snowfall, only 93 riders opted to take to the starting grid.

Back Row Start Doesn't Stop Coats
The last time Alan "James" Coats (Morgan Stanley/Specialized) raced cyclocross in Kansas City, the temperature was in the single digits, the wind chill was 30 degrees below zero and the course was a sheet of ice. It was the 2000 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships.

Coats swore at the time he'd never come back. But there he was on Saturday, ready to give it another go in the Masters Men 40-44 race, in conditions that were only somewhat nicer.

"My teammates and my co-workers at Specialized Bicycles - where I work - convinced me to come out," he said.

But even when he lined up for the start, Coats said he was second-guessing his decision. With the starting order determined by order of registration, the Morgan Stanley-Specialized rider found himself looking at the backs of a lot of racers from his vantage point in the 12th row.

"I've been a past national champion, but it was back in 2003 and in a different age group, so the official wouldn't give me a break," he said. "But with the amount of road section at the start, I moved my way up as far as I could, then backed off and started charging forward."

In the end, Coats won by 30 seconds over Gannon Myall (California Giant Berry Farms) of Lafayette, Calif.

From the sounds of it, Coats won't be swearing off a return trip to Kansas City for nationals next year.

"The course was awesome and this venue was just amazing," he said.

The Old Boss - Same As The New boss
Ned Overend (Specialized) returned this year to defend the national title that seemed to come so easily last year in Providence, R.I. He opened up the race with a slim lead until things started to fall apart in the middle of the first lap.

"I had a good start and a good line-up," Overend said. "I had a pretty good lead, maybe 15 seconds. Then I crashed hard into the fence and released the lock on my shoe. So I had to stop and re-tighten it."

Mark Kutney (Van Dessel) zipped by Overend and clung desperately to the lead for a lap until Overend slipped by at the race midpoint.

Overend seemed to settle into the lead by the third lap but the course's fickleness kept him on his guard.

"You think you're going along good and you're gaining confidence and then your front wheel just goes away," he said.

Despite his best efforts to make contact with Overend, Kutney slid off the pace to finish 46 seconds behind Overend.

Wittwer Gets Help From Son
It's hard enough racing your bicycle through blowing snow. But nearly as difficult for Masters 55-59 winner Fred Wittwer of Charlottesville, Va., was trying to figure out whether he was in first place. Three other age-group categories were on the course during his race, creating a string of competitors that stretched over more than half of the course.

"It was really tough because we caught the end of the Masters 50-54 group pretty early on so it was just bedlam," Wittwer said. "After the second lap, my son figured it out and he was giving me time splits. So it worked out all right."

Wittwer successfully defended the title he won a year ago. And in doing so, he surprised even himself.

"I didn't think I had good technical skills, but today I felt great about my race," he said. "On the last lap, I didn't have any brakes. My rims iced up so when I hit the brakes, I just kept going."

USA Cycling National Cyclocross Championships - Saturday Results

Under 23 Women: 1, Amy Dombroski (Velo Bella-Kona), Boulder, Colo., 36:20.

Under 23 Men: Bjorn Selander (Ridley Factory Team), Hudson, Wisc., 43:43.

Masters Men 35-39: 1, Brandon Dwight (Boulder Cycle Sport), Boulder, Colo., 45:04.

Masters Men 40-44: 1, James Coats (Mogan Stanley-Specialized), Campbell, Calif., 37:42.

Masters Men 50-54: 1, Ned Overend (Specialized), Durango, Colo., 38:13.

Masters Men 55-59: 1, Fred Wittwer (Charlottesville Racing Club), Charlottesville, Va., 43:34.

MEDIA ALERT! In order to offer the best race conditions possible, USA Cycling will re-run the Masters Men 60-64, 65-69 and 70+ national championship races Sunday at 11 a.m. The three categories will compete in a 30-minute race that originally fell in an "open course" practice time slot.

Racing begins Sunday at 8 a.m. with the Singlespeed Mixed category.

More information
For a complete schedule, race results, the daily blog, more action photos* or to purchase official race apparel, visit: www.kccrossnationals.com.

More photos are available at www.kccrossnationals.com/NEW_SITE/Photos/news3.html

Missouri native Dan Schmatz to lead THF Realty Amateur Team

2007-12-14T22:47:00.000-06:00

According to a VeloNews story:

Facing retirement can be a frightening prospect for a professional cyclist - but not for BMC rider Dan Schmatz.

The 33-year-old St. Louis native turned Coloradan is approaching the end of his six-year road-racing career. But for Schmatz, it's just a new beginning. The coming months will bring him and his wife, Myriam, their firstborn child, as well as a new role - managing an amateur team for 2008. . . .

The idea for the new team came to him while driving home from the Tour of Missouri - a race where he infamously broke his collarbone following a collision with an armadillo. With his wife pregnant, Schmatz recognized that he could no longer be away from home for long stretches. So Schmatz, who works part time as a property manager for St. Louis-based THF Realty, pitched the team-sponsorship idea to THF owner Michael Staenberg.

Hincapie to defend Tour of Missouri title in 2008

2007-11-29T17:38:00.000-06:00

In an interview with Bicycling Magazine, George Hincapie indicated he will be back to defend his title in the 2008 Tour of Missouri--along with his new teammates from T-Mobile:

Will your program with T-Mobile be basically the same as in the past? And will we see you racing the big stage races in the US?

It should be the same with emphasis on the Classics. I'll ride Tour of California for sure and I'm slated to ride Tour of Georgia, but only if I've recovered from the Classics, so that one is up in the air. I'll defend my title at Tour of Missouri too.

How important do you think these stage races are to racing in the USA now?

I think they are really important. It's amazing how many people are out there watching those races. It's a good sign for the growing popularity of the sport. It's important that the big US teams and big US riders get to do these races, too. Hopefully now that Discovery is finished this won't change and the US riders will bring their teams from Europe to these races.

Tour of Missouri as 7 day race?

2007-11-01T07:44:00.000-06:00

A VeloNews article announcing the 2008 UCI America Tour calendar lists the Tour of Missouri dates as September 8-14.

A little work with the abacus reveals this to be a 7-day race, starting on Monday and ending on Sunday.

The Tour of Missouri is still listed as classification 2.1, which is a step below the Tour of Georgia and the Tour of California at 2.HC. As in 2007, these three are the highest rated tours on the men's calendar.

Just One Day

2007-10-21T08:22:00.000-05:00

By Gina Poertner

MoBikeFed wants to hear about your fan or volunteer experience during the 2007 Tour of Missouri. Send stories/ideas/photos to webmaster[at]mobikefed.org. Many tour/volunteer photos are online.

Day 5 of Missouri's Big Race starts out on the chilly side as I assemble my bike for a morning ride. My friends Doug Kiburz and Ed Watkins invited me to do the Tour of Missouri VIP Ride with a great group of people which included Springfield native John Howard (3-time Olympic cyclist, Ironman Triathlon world champ, world records, etc.) and ultramarathoner Dean Karnazes (well known for his 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days). Fortunately for us mortals, this was a leisurely 30-miles on the Katy Trail. I've had the pleasure of getting to know Doug, Ed, and John after meeting them last spring at MoBikeFed's Advocacy Day in Jefferson City.

The Ride...
The group of about 25 cyclists arrives in Augusta and await loaner bikes for John and Dean. I had been having trouble with a shifter for a few days, so John asked to see my bike to take a look. It was doing OK and ended up being fine during the ride, so I'm thinking maybe it had performance anxiety. After standing in the cold for a while, John suggested we go sit in the truck where we compared battle scars from various cycling mishaps. This is one tough dude who's been through it all! Loaner bikes for the guys didn't arrive by start time, so Ed drove them to the bike shop in Defiance. Everyone else had gone while we were waiting around, so Doug and I hauled some serious butt 8 miles down the trail to meet up. We get to Defiance and John and Dean are tweaking bikes and asked for my hex wrench. Four men, a bike shop, and they're asking me for tools. Dean got his bike done and John was still working on his, so I went out front to see what else was going on and talk to Dean. Here comes Ed who's trying to round up all of us, mumbling something about herding cats. He said, "I bet if we tell him Gina's out front he'll hustle out here." So this is what I was dealing with - 4 guys and me. Ed lined us up like any great Directeur Sportif, shot some photos, and drove Doug's truck back to St. Charles while the rest of us had fun on the Katy.

After one last photo, we head down the trail at an easy pace with John and I in front and Dean and Doug behind us. Quite the little peloton! John wants to warm up, taking off like a shot and I get the bright idea to try to keep up (what the heck was I thinking?). I catch up after significant slowing on John's part and we settle into a 17-18mph pace. He told me he had never been on the Katy, so taking him on his first ride out there was a real treat. At 16 miles, we decide to slow down to let Doug and Dean catch up. After a mile or so of wondering where they are, I reach for my cell to call Doug never stopping the bike – there should be laws against this. They were about a mile behind us so we stopped at the sag at the 21-mile mark to wait on them. John shares his Clif Bar with me while we chat with the very friendly folks who provided the sag. Doug and Dean arrive and the conversation turns to rail-trails. Dean wants to run across the country on the American Discovery Trail, which the Katy is a part of, so he wants it done right now. I told him we're working on it!

A few minutes later we take off for the last 7 miles to the ToM finish line in St. Charles. John was setting an 18mph pace again, and Doug and Dean kept up this time (note sarcasm here). Just so you know, 18mph on a rail-trail's crushed limestone surface was a bit of work for me on my road bike with skinny tires, not to mention a tad rough. I recommend either a mountain bike or wider road tires for better traction and less rattling of the bones.

During the ToM I volunteered with the US Anti-Doping Agency. Because I went on this trail ride, the USADA coordinator was all uptight that I wouldn't get to my assignment on time. He even called my cell phone while I was on the trail and sounded like he desperately needed a Valium as he asked where I was and when I'd get there (he really is a good guy and does his job well). He told me the night before that I'd be chaperoning Hincapie.

When we arrived at the finish line, I took off for the USADA drug testing trailer, which was only a few blocks away. It turns out that I had time to go take a shower and make it back without causing them a major cardiac event. After reporting in, I headed back to the finish area - a walk I desperately needed after the cold ride to loosen up a little. I went straight for the VIP tent to refuel with some very tasty food while I listened to the race commentators. Dean stopped to chat for a minute, then I was off to my post at the finish line.

The Race...
The cheering crowd makes for an exciting atmosphere as the racers make their way to the finish. George crosses the line and I jog with him to the awards area to sign him in. It was interesting to listen to the riders talk after the race as they replayed key parts. Following the awards, Hincapie and a Park Ranger biked down to USADA as I jogged between them. George asked if I was going to run all the way down there and I said sure, why not. I said, "I biked the trail with John Howard this morning, and now I get to run with George Hincapie, all that's left is a swim." He just chuckled. We got to a bridge and a slight downhill, so I fell behind at that point. I kept jogging the last block to the trailer and Doc teased me that I'd have to run faster to keep my job. I looked at Hincapie and said, "You dropped me at the bridge, you were supposed to pull me!" He laughed again, I finish his paperwork and take off to dinner across the street with the ToM Security team.

The Tour...
This day and this week exceeded my expectations. I saw many of my cycling friends throughout the race, some who drove all day to watch one stage. I met several people who are becoming friends and have ridden events with them since. I got to know some of the riders, like Jeff Louder who kept winning King of the Mountain. We talked after the race most days about how his ride went. And Ivan Dominguez. I was assigned to chaperone him on Stages 1 and 6. When I approached him with the clipboard at Stage 6, he said with a smile, "I get you again!" Watching him with his fans and the press, I've never seen an athlete so gracious.

For those of you who attended or volunteered at the ToM, you know what I'm talking about and have your own awesome stories. To the rest of you - make it a point to attend or volunteer at next year's race, even if for just one day. It's the most fun this Kansan has ever had in Missouri!

When she's not riding her Schwinn SuperSport GLX, Gina Poertner serves as President of the Kanza Rail-Trails Conservancy and Director of Life Balance Health & Wellness in Emporia, Kansas. Gina is Chair of the Organizing Committee of the new (and yet-to-be-named) Kansas bicycle and pedestrian federation.