North American teams announced for Tour of Missouri bike race

Tour of Missouri organizers say nine North American cycling teams will compete among the 15 that will race around the state from Sept. 11 to 16.

In addition to the Discovery Channel team, which announced earlier, the North American teams are Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle, Toyota-United, HealthNet presented by Maxxis, Navigators, Colavita Oil/Sutter Homes, Jelly Belly, BMC and the USA National Team.

Six or seven more internationally based teams are expected to announce for the Tour. Unfortunately, the Missouri race bumps up against the Vuelta a Espana and the Tour of Britain.  Rosters are expected sometime in early September.

The Tour of Missouri is the third UCI-sanctioned bicycle race in the US this year, following February's Tour of California and the Tour of Georgia in April. It would have been one of five, but a stage race in Utah and one in the Northeast US folded early because of a lack of a title sponsor.

The Missouri bike race is using secondary sponsors, as well as a cash infusion of about a million dollars from the state tourism fund, to pay for the inaugural Tour.

Lots more about the Tour of Missouri at local websites BikeMoFed.org and Roger Kramer Cycling.