freshare.net
A ‘deceivingly tougher’ Tour of Missouri will challenge the field of 120 world-class cyclists from 15 elite professional teams when they line up for the September 8th – 14th Tour of Missouri, race organizers announced today in the overall race finish city St. Louis.
Stage 2 starts in the historic city of Clinton on Tuesday, September 9, at 11 a.m., and is expected to end in Springfield around 4:15 p.m. with three finish circuits through the streets of downtown. The highlights of the 126-mile road race stage include two Edward Jones Sprint Lines in the cities of Stockton and Willard.
There are two main changes to the Stage 2 route in Greene County this year. In Willard, the racers will turn from U.S. 160 onto Greene County AB and go through Willard rather than staying on 160. That change was made both to provide more presence for the Tour in Willard and also to alleviate traffic delays on that portion of U.S. 160.
The Tour enters Springfield on Division Street and this year’s course will continue on Division straight to Jefferson Avenue, where it will turn south and head for the finish circuit. Last year’s course jogged up to Commercial Street to Jefferson, but there will be Streetscape work taking place on Commercial Street so the course will stay on Division.
The Stage 2 finish line will be in the same area of Kimbrough Avenue at East Trafficway. The Mediacom Ice Park lot will again host a Health and Wellness Expo with booths and entertainment from noon through the finish. The second annual Community Bike Ride will take place on Monday evening, Sept. 8, for families to experience the circuit that the cyclists will be racing the next day.
More information on the Springfield-Greene County Stage 2 events will be available at http://www.tourofspringfield.com. The presenting sponsor for the Springfield-Greene County event is CoxHealth Systems. Other local sponsors are: Oasis Hotel and Convention Center; Doubletree Hotel/Springfield; Lamplighter Inn; Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau; Springfield-Greene County Park Board; City of Springfield; Greene County; Greater Springfield Sports Commission; and Urban Districts Alliance.
Stage 2 is the longest stage of the 2008 Tour and is a remake of last year’s decisive stage of last year’s inaugural Tour of Missouri, as eventual race champion George Hincapie took over the yellow leader’s jersey. Hincapie will come back to defend his title, it was announced in May. The relatively flat stage winds through western Missouri, following a similar route from last year where Hincapie broke away with several riders and won the stage.
“Again, the great state of Missouri will play host to these world-class athletes from more than 20 countries this September,” said Lt. Governor Kinder. “This year, we’ve worked to make the course more challenging and with a few new twists, including new terrain, new cities, homage to our Armed Forces on September 11th and another grand finale in St. Louis.”
Added Race Director Jim Birrell: “In response to surveying a lot of the cyclists from last year’s race, we’ve made it a bit more challenging with some more hills,” said Birrell. “While Missouri doesn’t have any major mountains, it is a very hilly state. We have incorporated some of the big rollers within the state and come up with some very good courses. One of our course advisors was Kevin Livingston, originally from Missouri, who rode at a world-class level in Europe for almost a decade and was a great climber. He pointed us in the right direction.”
Last year’s inaugural race suited Toyota-United’s Ivan Dominguez, who won the opening stage in Kansas City and the closing stage in St. Louis, has become a big fan of the Tour of Missouri despite the tougher terrain.
“As a sprinter, I like the flat terrain, so more hills are not necessarily so good for me,” said Dominguez, who won more races on the North American circuit than any racer. “But, there are three good stages for me in Kansas City, Springfield and St. Louis, so, I am excited. And, it is always a challenge to go up against some of the top sprinters from the European pro teams. Last year’s race was very good for my Toyota-United teammates. There were lot of spectators, especially for a new race. And, it’s always good to win. Of course, Kansas City and St. Louis are now my new favorite towns.”
The Tour of Missouri is supported principally by Missouri Department of Tourism, Edward Jones, Drury Hotels, Missouri Farm Bureau, Emerson, Anheuser-Bush, Missouri Wine and Grape Board. It is a free, public, international event that began in 2007 and attracted an estimated 370,000 spectators over six days. The event is managed and marketed by Medalist Sports, Inc., of Atlanta, Ga., and KOM Sports of Colorado Springs, Colo., the leaders in cycling management and marketing in North America.
The Tour of Missouri, Inc., is set-up as a non-profit organization for the sole purpose of staging a world-class cycling event for the purposes of promoting tourism, community affairs, and its sponsors.
For more information, contact: Louise Whall, Director of Public Information, 417.864.1010; Priscilla Visintine, Tour of Missouri, 314.422.5646
Download complete stage-by-stage information. (171k PDF)at http://www.springfieldmo.gov/webapps/news/attached/tom08_stages.pdf