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Tour of Missouri in KCStar and Rolla Daily News
Saturday, October 21, 2006
The Rolla Daily News gives a good idea of why towns will want to have the Tour of Missouri come through--especially as a start or finish city--and why this is a such a major event for Missouri--not only for bicyclists but for the entire state:l
“There are only two other races like this in the U.S., the Tour of California and the Tour de Georgia, so this is a big deal,” he said. “This is the kind of tourism -- outdoor tourism -- that we should be pursuing in Rolla. People may not come here for a lot of things, but they will come here to ride. I think the Tour of Missouri is going to be a huge boost for the area.”
So does Dan Fuhrmann, owner of Route 66 Bicycles in Rolla.
“Not only will it get people jazzed up about riding their bikes, but the residual effects are also going to be huge,” Fuhrmann said. “It’s going to bring a lot of people here to ride because after the tour people are going to want to come here to ride those same climbs and routes of the stage. It will be like when Lance Armstrong came to Rolla -- everybody was jazzed up about riding for quite some time.” . . .
The Tour of Missouri has been slated as one of only five stage races in the newly-created USA Cycling Pro Tour, which will highlight top multi-day races in America. The races will also be granted a high ranking by the Union Cycliste Internationale, the international governing body for the sport of cycling. . . .
The Tour of Missouri will host as many as 16 major international professional cycling teams, including top U.S.-based Pro Tour teams as well as Europe’s top Pro Tour teams. Fred Rodriquez, a three-time U.S. Professional Champion and a rider with the Belgium-based Davitamon-Lotto team, said the Tour of Missouri is situated perfectly for American domestic teams as well as top Americans who have raced much of the season in Europe.
“For an American, having three major stages in the U.S. for the first time is great news,” he said in a press release. “It shows the growth of cycling as a sport. The Tour of Missouri will provide a great opportunity for Americans looking to prepare for the World Championships at the end of the season.”
