World-class bicycle racing coming to Traveler Country
You have the this month opportunity to see world-class bicycle racing in Traveler Country. The first Tour of Missouri will bring the Tour de France champion and U.S. National champion to the Show Me State for a six-day, 15-team race starting in Kansas City and ending in St. Louis, Sept. 11-16.
Tour de France champion Alberto Contador of Spain and American Levi Leipheimer, the third-place finisher at that race, have been announced as members of the Discovery Channel Team, along with U.S. National Champion George Hincapie of Greenville, S.C and other top competitors.
The event is patterned after the successful Tour of Georgia and Amgen Tour of California. Race director Jim Birrell calls the event “a great postcard of Missouri to the world” and Lt. Governor Peter Kinder says the race will capture the imagination of the state and could pump millions of dollars into local economies along the route.
Here’s some detail on the legs in or near Traveler Country:
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, STAGE 4 - Lebanon to Columbia, road race, 133 mi. (214 km). START: 10:30 AM EST FINISH: 3:25 PM The race will snake through Guthrie, and Ulman, highlighted by a sprint in Jefferson City, and will finish in downtown Columbia.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, STAGE 5 - Jefferson City to St. Charles, road race, 126.6 mi. (204km). START: 11:30 AM EST FINISH: 3:40 PM Starting against the backdrop of Missouri’s Capitol, the course features a serpentine route along Highways 94 and 100, passing through Augusta, Hermann and Washington en route to the finish in St. Charles, near the Lewis and Clark Rendezvous.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, STAGE 6 - St. Louis, circuit, 74 mi. (119 km). START: 1 PM EST FINISH: 3:50 PM The start and finish will take place Union Station. Riders will race seven circuits of 10-plus miles through urban terrain, including the northeast part of Forest Park and passing by the north and south sides of St. Louis University.
For more information, go to http://www.tourofmissouri.com
