When the gun is fired Sept. 8 in St. Joseph, 120 bicyclists from around the world will take off on a 600-mile race ending in St. Louis on Sept. 14. The second annual Tour of Missouri will once again turn thousands of eyes toward Missouri’s state highway system.

Missouri government officials are eager to surpass last year’s successes. In its first year, the 2007 race caught the attention of some 368,000 spectators representing a group of about 70 percent Missourians and 30 percent visitors to the state. Missouri’s lieutenant governor’s office and Division of Tourism report the economic impact to Missouri was $26 million – $5 million spent by Missourians and $21 million spent by visitors. 

This year, seven racing days are planned compared to six days last year. The tour route includes some of last year’s roads as well as new ones. Missouri’s rich and varied terrain, rolling back hills and Ozark Mountains offer professional cyclists the challenges they like, according to the project’s organizers. Most of the course is planned on low-volume, rural routes.

The Tour of Missouri is slated as one of one of North America’s top three professional cycling stage races, along with the Tours of California and Georgia. It has been sanctioned by USA Cycling and by the international governing body of cycling as a 2.1 rating, one of the highest in North America.

The Missouri race, a free event staged on public roads, is patterned after the famous Tour de France. The point-to-point racing will be done in seven stages. Through a bidding process, St. Joseph, Kansas City, Clinton, Springfield, Branson, Rolla, St. James, Lebanon, Jefferson City, Hermann, St. Charles and St. Louis won the honor to serve as host for either a race start or finish and to welcome to their communities the American and foreign athletes who include world, national and Olympic champions.   

The cyclists will represent 15 teams sponsored like NASCAR racing teams, says Chuck Hodge, the race’s technical director representing Medalist Sports. The Atlanta, Ga. -based company is the sport marketing and management company contracted with Missouri to manage the event and provide operational services  

MoDOT’s Role

MoDOT’s planning for the Tour of Missouri began early this year. A statewide steering team led by Central Office Transportation Planning, consisting of central office and district experts in traffic, maintenance, community and government relations, railroads and planning, has worked several months with Medalist Sports to outline a race route that is safe and attractive for both race participants and race observers.

MoDOT staff representing the districts along the race route – Districts 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 – has taken the lead in identifying the final race route, developing traffic management plans, and driving and logging information about the route.

Now that the route is set, the MoDOT focus is one of sharing information with the public about traffic interruptions along the state highways during the race.

“We’ve worked hard to contribute to making this a successful event for the state of Missouri,” said MoDOT Director Pete Rahn. “As the race goes along, safety for the traveling public and for the cyclists is our major concern.

“We’re proud that the national and international coverage of the race will highlight our state,” Rahn said. “Missouri’s highway system will be a significant feature of those watching the event from around the world.”    

The Race is On

Cyclists from 20 countries will compete in the Tour of Missouri as George Hincapie attempts to defend his 2007 Tour of Missouri championship. Thousands of worldwide fans watching in person or on national and international television, will see three types of races during the Tour of Missouri – traditional road races, circuit races and a time trial.

A daily race winner will be celebrated during an awards ceremony at the finish line. However, the overall Tour of Missouri winner will be the racer with the lowest cumulative time over the course of the week. Points are also awarded based on winning identified sprint races on individual times and on stage wins.

For more race information, race route details and photographs, visit www.tourofmissouri.com and www.modot.org.