Tour de France controversy affecting the Tour of Missouri?

Some had doubts the state could pull it off, but key sponsors were announced this week — so now it’s official. Some of the top cyclist teams in the world will converge on Missouri, beginning in Kansas City, for a six-day, 600-mile race in stages across the state.

“It’s been very hard for me to explain to people how big it is,” said Brent Hugh, executive director of the Missouri Bicycle Federation. “As a friend of mine says, it’s like the Super Bowl on wheels.”

Or it could be a dicey time to start a cycling race. The sport is taking a big public relations hit with Tour de France riders dropping like flies this week for alleged doping. But supporters of the Missouri race are optimistic. . . .

“We’re concerned about the negative publicity coming from the Tour de France, of course, but at the same time we’re pleased to see the crackdown” on doping, said Chris Aronhalt, managing partner for Medalist Sports.

He still projects more than half a million spectators across the state for the Missouri race because it’s free and it’s like a festival.

Cyclists in the Tour of Missouri will be subject to the same drug-test requirements as in other professional races. Aronhalt said no one had tested positive in any of the Georgia or California races.

Kenneth Walker, an avid cyclist and racer who started the Major Taylor Foundation of Greater Kansas City to encourage African-American kids to ride, said he doubted the doping scandal would keep many people away.

The cycling community knows that even if some racers cheat, most of them don’t, he said. And people outside the cycling community may not be paying that much attention to the scandal, he added.

Walker acknowledged that turnout would be the key to the future of the race, but he was bullish.

“I think this will be, ultimately, the biggest sporting event to take place in the state of Missouri,” he said. “It’s the opportunity to see international bicycle racers. That’s what I’m excited about.”

The Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team, ranked first in the world, will be among the competitors here. Team member Levi Leipheimer — as of Thursday in third place in individual standings in the Tour de France — is expected to participate. Full team rosters are to be announced soon.