Here's the press release for Monday's news on The Tour of Missouri:
TOUR OF MISSOURI PRO CYCLING RACE ANNOUNCES
STAGE ONE ROUTE AROUND KANSAS CITY
Press Conference to be Held Monday, July 30 at 11 am
What: The Tour of Missouri, America’s newest elite professional cycling race, will announce course specifics for Stage One, which will start and finish at Country Club Plaza in Kansas City on Tuesday, September 11, 2007.
Who: State officials, race organizers and a Missouri pro cyclist from Team BMC, an elite American cycling team, will be on hand to talk about the stage in Kansas City, race course details, and activities around the event.
Where: Country Club Plaza: 810 Zone, 4686 Broadway. Phone: 816-268-ZONE
KANSAS CITY TO HOST FIRST STAGE OF SIX-DAY
TOUR OF MISSOURI PRO CYCLING RACE
Race Course will Feature Country Club Plaza and Ward Parkway
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (July 27, 2007) – The Tour of Missouri, America’s newest elite professional cycling race, today revealed race and route details for Stage One of the six-day, 600-mile race through the state, starting in Kansas City on Tuesday, September 11, 2007.
This first-time Missouri event will bring over 120 racers from some of the world’s best cycling teams for six action-packed days through Missouri’s most beautiful areas, including the Katy Trail, the Ozarks, wine country and the capitol city, and a grand finale on Sunday, September 16, 2007, an 80-mile circuit race around St. Louis.
"By hosting the first stage of the Tour of Missouri, Kansas City has an incredible opportunity to showcase our great city,” said Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser. “Riders will race from the Plaza through Crown Center and our burgeoning downtown to the Northland and back again. With an international media corps following their every move, Kansas City will be able to showcase its beauty and charm across the globe."
Stage One kicks off at 1 pm from the beautiful Country Club Plaza and takes the racers right up 47th St. through the heart of the Plaza, into downtown and through many of Kansas City’s most beautiful parks, before heading north through North Kansas City, Parkville, Platte City and back, for a total of 85 miles (137 kilometers). Three five-mile circuits up Ward Parkway and down to the Plaza will offer spectators an up-close view of team tactics and any last-minute attacks before the finish, which could see speeds upwards of 50 miles per hour.
“Missouri is a very diverse state and we will be showcasing some of its finest areas,” said Jim Birrell, the race’s director. “From Kansas City to St. Louis, this will be a great postcard of Missouri to the world. The race will start with a bang in the beautiful Plaza District in Kansas City.”
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Added Professional Cyclist Dan Schmatz: “Being from Missouri, I’m extremely excited about this race. It will be great for people within or traveling to the state to see what big-time professional cycling is all about. This will be a great culminating event for the American riders finishing their season. And, we always look forward to racing against some of the big international teams on domestic soil.”
As part of the race festivities, Country Club Plaza, which is hosting the day’s Start/Finish area, will be transformed into a fun-filled Health and Wellness Expo Area, including vendors, bicycle stunt teams and a large movie screen showing all of the action out on the course.
The day before the race will feature an Opening Ceremony in which all teams will be announced. This high-profile event, tentatively scheduled for the Intercontinental Hotel, will mark the opening of the inaugural race.
In fact, Kansas City will turn into a veritable “cycling village” in the days before the event, as racers and race organizers arrive in town, and head out for training rides and route reconnaissance. Cycling fans can also experience some of the roads out on the course themselves as part of a charity ride Sunday, September 9, 2007, to benefit Eldon Roush, a local racer injured in a race last spring. See mobikefed.org for more information about the charity ride.
“The overall course will be deceivingly difficult,” said the Tour’s competition director Kevin Livingston, a Missouri native who rode on two of Lance Armstrong’s successful Tour de France championship teams. “This is an American-type of race could see a lot of attacking and breakaways. The course lends itself to tough chases and could highlight a rider in good form going into the World Championships later that month.”
The complete race route through Missouri will be announced August 6, 2007. See www.tourofmissouri.com for the Press Kit and more information.
About Tour of Missouri
The Tour of Missouri is a 600-mile, six-day world-class bicycle race patterned after the Tour de Georgia and Amgen Tour of California. It is a race that features point-to-point racing. The race starts in Kansas City, September 11 and concludes September 16 in St. Louis, including legs to Clinton, Springfield, Branson, Lebanon, Columbia, Jefferson City, and St. Charles. The race will feature teams of eight from 15 of the world’s top professional cycling teams.
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The race is sanctioned by the UCI, the international governing body for cycling, and USA Cycling, the national governing body for cycling. 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.
EVENT SCHEDULE
September 11 – Kansas City to Kansas City, road race (out and back)
September 12 – Clinton to Springfield, road race
September 13 – Branson, individual time trial
September 14 – Lebanon to Columbia, road race
September 15 – Jefferson City to St. Charles, road race
September 16 – St. Louis, circuit race
For more information: www.tourofmissouri.com
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Contacts:
Mark Thomas
Kansas City Local Organizing Committee for Tour of Missouri
913-248-0709 – office
mark@localcycling.com
Jodi Hall
Tour of Missouri
415.990.1324 – cell
jodi@kom-sportsmarketing.com
Steven G. Brunner
Tour of Missouri
719.272.7022 – office
719.322.7022 – cell
sgbrunner@kom-sportsmarketing.com