With the 2009 Tour of Missouri coming up next month (September 7-13), the organizers have released detailed maps for all seven stages.
Fans can check out the best street corners for watching the Stage 1 and 7 criteriums in St. Louis and Kansas City or the steepest climbs in the Ozarks on Stage 3 between Farmington and Rolla.
Cyclists looking for a challenge, and who isn't, can use the maps to test their mettle against the pros. I'm thinking that 114-mile ride through the Ozarks would be intriguing. At least one club, Velo Girardeau, is hosting a bike ride along the route from Ste. Genevieve to Cape Girardeau.
15 teams
Although rosters haven't been announced, all the teams have been chosen. They include ProTour teams in the Tour de France — Astana, Columbia-HTC, Cervelo Test Team, Garmin-Slipstream, Liquigas, Quickstep and Saxo Bank.
Other teams include domestic teams announced — Jelly Belly, OUCH presented by Maxxis, Bissell Pro Cycling Team, Colavita / Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light, Kelly Benefit Strategies and Team Type 1.There's also a Swiss-American team — BMC Racing, as well as Canada's Planet Energy cycling team, managed by Steven Bauer.
This year's race covers 612 miles from St. Louis to Kansas City. There will be two crits (St. Louis and Kansas City), one individual time trial (Sedalia), and four road races (Ste. Genevieve to Cape Girardeau; Farmington to Rolla; St. James to Jefferson City; Chillicothe to St. Joseph).
Maps
Here's the break down with links to the maps (.pdfs). More information is available at the Tour of Missouri website.
The race runs on a Monday through Sunday. Here's the schedule:
Stage 1: Sept. 7 — Criterium in St. Louis
Stage 2: Sept. 8 — Ste. Genevieve to Cape Girardeau
Stage 3: Sept. 9 — Farmington to Rolla (Ozarks)
Stage 4: Sept. 10 — St. James to Jefferson City
Stage 5: Sept. 11 — Individual time trial in Sedalia
Stage 6: Sept. 12 — Chillicothe to St. Joseph
Stage 7: Sept. 13 — Criterium in Kansas City
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