Will the Tour of Missouri return for 2009?

The second Tour of Missouri bike race that ended in St. Louis on Sunday drew more spectators than last year. Is that enough to guarantee its return?

Absolutely not. In a sport that doesn't rely on tickets sales, bicycle race organizers always have to worry about landing a major sponsor. In spite of the Tour of Georgia's popularity, for instance, the race is a question mark until a sponsor is found.

Missouri has been lucky because its major cheerleader is also the lieutenant governor, Peter Kinder. But that luck may be running out as Kinder is up for reelection this year and his opponent is against state support of the bicycle race.

More fans

STLtoday.com reports a healthy jump in roadside spectators this year. The Missouri Highway Patrol said 15,000 more people viewed the first six stages compared to last year, and 55,000 people watched Stage 7 finish in St. Louis this year. That's pretty good considering the heavy rains earlier in the day.

That's about 320,000 spectators.

The main sponsor for the Tour of Missouri is the state Department of Tourism, which injects some $1 million of taxpayer money into the race. Kinder says the payback last year was $26.2 million in consumer spending associated with the race.

Election issue

This year, he says the live webcast that went out to cycling fans in 102 countries helped to “rebrand Missouri” around the world.

One of the major problems facing the Tour of Missouri for next year is that Kinder is up for reelection. His opponent, state legislator Sam Page, has gone on record that using state funds to pay for a bicycle race is a waste of taxpayer money.

I guess we'll know more about the Tour of Missouri's future after the November elections.

Winners

We do know who won all the race categories in 2008. Here they are:

Overall leader: Christian Vande Velde (US), Garmin Chipotle

Sprint: Mark Cavendish (Great Britain), Team Columbia

Young rider: Roman Kreuziger (Czech), Liquigas

Best team: Team Columbia

Let's hope that they won't be known as the last winners of the Tour of Missouri.