Tour Of Missouri

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (December 10, 2008) - The Tour of Missouri, which enters its third year in 2009, formally announced its official dates as September 7th through the 13th, as well as an upgrade to the highest status from the international governing body for the sport of cycling.

The upgrade raises the level to a 2.Hors Category from the Union Cycliste Internationale, the governing body for world cycling, and USA Cycling, the national governing body for the sport in America. The upgrade from 2.1 last year to an 'above category' ranking will put the Tour of Missouri on par with a mere handful of major professional stage races outside of Europe. The only other American race with an equivalent ranking is the Amgen Tour of California, which will be staged February 13-22.

"The success of the first two years is really astounding," said Missouri's Lt. Governor Peter Kinder, who also serves as chairman of Tour of Missouri, Inc., the event's rights holder. "Due to its overwhelming success, the international governing body as well as USA Cycling have recognized all the good work done by host communities, state tourism, race organizers, and, of course, our sponsors. This marks a great step for the event and bodes well for the people supporting this great race."

Lt Governor Kinder added that the 2008 Tour of Missouri attracted spectators from 32 states and 21 countries. An estimated 434,000 saw part of the event, making it Missouri's largest single international sporting event. Television coverage through FOX Sports Midwest and Fox Sports-Kansas City and up to three hours daily live via the web on universalsports.com and tourofmissouri.com extended the Tour's reach to more than four million viewers.

Added Chris Aronhalt, managing partner of Event Managers Medalist Sports: "The meteoric rise of this event is a testament to the leadership and vision at the state level. An event of this size and magnitude can only be achieved with the proper support from both the public and private sectors. The people within the state have embraced this event and adopted it as their own."

The year's race was won by American Christian Vande Velde of the Garmin-Chipotle team. Earlier in 2008, Vande Velde finished fourth in the Tour de France and was the highest-placing American. British sprinting sensation Mark Cavendish won three stages of the race.

"Being a Midwestern guy (from Chicago area), the Tour of Missouri was the perfect way to end the year, with a major race on domestic soil. It's amazing how this event has grown in only two years," Vande Velde said at the end of last year's event. "This has the feeling of a top race in Europe. Plus, the race was super hard…everywhere we went, there were great crowds. It's obviously promoted well and the organization is top notch."

The race will start on Labor Day for the first time and conclude six days later on Sunday. Route host cities will be announced in late January in Jefferson City at a press conference.

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