8-day 'Tour of Colorado' to replace Tour of Missouri, starting 2011

According to a story in VeloNews, an 8-day stage race in Colorado will take the spot on the pro race calendar previously held by the Tour of Missouri:

After two years of speculation, a new eight-day Colorado stage race is set to roll out in August or September 2011.

According sources that spoke with VeloNews on the condition of anonymity, the event will debut next year as an eight-day UCI stage race, following a schedule similar to that of the now-defunct Tour of Missouri.

Lance Armstrong and representatives from Governor Bill Ritter’s office have worked together since early 2009 to bring a major stage race to the state. Medalist Sports, promoters of the Tours of California, Georgia and Missouri, are involved in the event as well, and according to sources, an official announcement on the event will come next week.

Despite studies showing positive economic impact from the event, the State of Missouri Tourism Board withdrew its title sponsorship of that state’s own UCI race earlier this year. Medalist pulled the plug on the Tour of Missouri in May, opening a slot in the calendar for a new event in 2011. With the Missouri race’s September time slot open, as well as a new, two-race ProTour series in Canada the same month, the late season, pre-world championships timeframe for the Colorado race is a feasible scenario.

I guess this puts the lie to MIssouri Tourism Director Katy Danner's constant insistence that the Tour of Missouri was such a loser that no other state would be interested in picking up its spot on the calendar  . . .