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Landis in trouble ... again

Floyd Landis, who had his 2006 Tour de France victory stripped from him because of abnormally elevated testosterone levels, is in trouble again.

A French judge has issued an international arrest warrant for U.S. cyclist Floyd Landis in connection with a case of data hacking at a doping laboratory, The Associated Press reported today.

French authorities allege that Landis used hacked files in his unsuccessful attempt to halt a two-year suspension that came as a result of the doping tests. Landis had alleged files at the French doping lab had been mishandled or erased.

The story says Landis had refused to answer a summons seeking his testimony. An international warrant also was issued for longtime Landis adviser Arnie Baker.

Landis finished 45th at the 2009 Tour of Missouri.

Labels: cycling, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 12:59 PM

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Central Illinois race is qualifier for Nature Valley Grand Prix

Hillsboro, Ill., may not be Paris, but it does play host to a bicycle race called the Hillsboro-Roubaix Road Race. The 9th annual edition of the race takes place April 10, and it's a qualifier for the Nature Valley Grand Prix, a June stage race taking place in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

So why would a small Central Illinois county seat town about 60 miles north of St. Louis have a race named after the Paris-Roubaix classic? This description from the race sponsors, the International Christian Cycling Club, gives you a clue:

"The racers will traverse the brick streets of Hillsboro while racing over a 28.75 mile loop that has all you want in a spring classic. Flat open back roads with no cover from the spring winds, rolling terrain, short but challenging climbs, twisty descents and village streets paved with bricks.  Sorry no pavé , but the bricks will have you diving for the smooth gutter!"

The additional incentive for amateur men (Cat 1) and women (Cat 1 and Cat 2) is to earn a spot in the Hidden Valley race. Five other races nationwide will serve as qualifiers for the event. Riders selected through these events will earn free entries to the June 16-20 event and receive generous travel stipends, team clothing, housing, ground transportation, and staff support for their composite teams. They will also receive pro-level recognition before, during and after the events, including pre-race call-ups and participation in promotional and media appearances.

ICCC uses Hillsboro-Roubaix as a fundraiser for the Montgomery County Cancer Association, which helps county residents in need of financial or transportation help for cancer treatment.

Registration opens Feb. 1.

Labels: cycling, Illinois, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 4:43 PM

Friday, November 06, 2009

Former 'Saved by the Bell' star is a bicycle racer

Admit it, you probably know actor Mark-Paul Gosselaar from his role as Zack Morris in the high school sitcom "Saved by the Bell."

It turns out he's a bicycle racer, too.

In a story this week in The New York Times, Gosselaar talks about his other life as a Cat 2 bicycle racer on the Amgen-Giant Elite Masters team.

In his last recorded race at USA Cycling, Gosselaar finished 25th in the Dana Point Grand Prix in the 35-39 Masters division.

“He’s a really good rider,” Chris DeMarchi, a teammate on Amgen-Giant, told the Times. “It amazes me, with all the hours he puts in with TV time.”

These days, Gosselaar is playing a lawyer in the TNT show "Raising the Bar," and he's appearing in the Off-Broadway play "The Understudy."  The Times article hints that Gosselaar can't let himself get too lean, otherwise he might lose out on some roles.

Labels: cycling, racing, television

Roger 0 comments links to this post 8:36 PM

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Tour of Missouri: Don't forget the women!

Levi Leipheimer, George Hincapie, Mark Cavendish, Christian Vande Velde and Thor Hushvold -- among others -- aren't the only elite cyclists who will be competing for Tour of Missouri glory.

The Tour of Missouri Women's Series will be run as part of the annual Gateway Cup series of bike races over four days in St. Louis. Here's the schedule of women's races:

• Tour of Lafayette, 8:30 p.m. Friday (Sept. 4): This is a 0.9-mile course around Lafayette Park.
• St. Louis Hills, 3:30 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 5): This is an 1.25-mile course around Francis Park in the St. Louis Hills neighborhood.
• Gira Della Montagna, 4:15 p.m. Sunday (Sept. 6): This is a 0.9-mile course in The Hill neighborhood, an enclave best known for its Italian restaurants.
• Tour of Missouri Pro/Am, 11:45 a.m. Monday (Sept. 7): The 1-mile course shares the start-finish line with the Tour of Missouri at the new City Garden on Market Street and passes Busch Stadium, the home of the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals (In case you're wondering, the Cardinals playing in Milwaukee on Labor Day).

You can see detailed maps of the course at the Gateway Cup schedule page, as well as download a Word document with the schedule of Gateway Cup races.

Who will be there? Two-time U.S. national champion Brooke Miller, racing for Team Tibco, won the inaugural Tour of Missouri women’s race in 2008, and the Tour of Missouri site says she will return to defend her title.

Tour of Missouri organizers say Kelly Benjamin, a past stage winner and 2007 overall women’s champion, will be returning. Also expected are U.S. criterium champ Tina Pic and sprinter Laura Van Gilder.

In addition to Team Tibco, the Colavita/Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light, Team Type 1,
LipSmacker, Team ValueAct, Capital, Vanderkitten, Proman and the Webcor Builders teams are expected to compete in the Tour of Missouri Women's Series.

In addition to the racing, the women will participate in a soiree and team presentation beginning at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at SqWires Restuarant in the Lafayette neighborhood. Tickets are $35 and are available through the Big Shark bicycle shop. At 7 p.m. Sunday, a panel discussion about the future of women's cycling is planned at the Residence Inn by Marriott Downtown St. Louis. The event is free, but you need to contact coordinator Amy McMinn to get on the attendance list.

Labels: racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 11:03 PM

Friday, August 14, 2009

No Lance at Tour of Missouri

In a series of news conferences this week, Tour of Missouri organizers have been more or less confirming that Lance Armstrong won't be racing in the Missouri race Sept. 7-13.

Armstrong's soon-to-be former team, Astana, is committed to the race, but Armstrong will be in Quebec on Sept. 11 for a fundraiser ride for a cancer center in Montreal.

Don't expect Tour de France winner Alberto Contador to represent Astana in Missouri, either. The St. Joseph News-Press reports Contador will be racing in the Vuelta a Espana in his native Spain.

Chris Aronhalt, managing partner with Medalist Sports, the company directing the tour, says there's still hope Armstrong could show up in Missouri for the final weekend, but not as a competitor.

There's still plenty of reasons for cycling fans to flock to Missouri in September. Defending champion Christian Vande Velde will be back as will Mark Cavendish. Cavendish's Team Columbia-HTC teammate George Hincapie hopes to compete if he can recover from an injury in time.

Tour of Missouri organizers also confirmed this week that Tour de France King of the Mountains winner Franco Pellazotti will represent Liquigas in Missouri.

Speaking of Hincapie, it appears Hincapie will be joining Armstrong on Team RadioShack next year, not a big surprise given Hincapie was Armstrong's top lieutenant in his Tour de France wins. Armstrong confirmed Hincapie's move in an interview with Outside Magazine.

Labels: racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 10:12 AM

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Tour de France 2009

There's no doubt that the folks over at Versus are absolutely thrilled that Lance Armstrong is back in the Tour de France. There no doubt Armstrong's presence should boost ratings for the cable TV channel, and it also helps there will be six other Americans in the race.

The question, of course, is how well will Armstrong do. Is he capable of winning after spending three years away from the world's most prestigious bicycle race. My hunch is that if anyone is capable of pulling it off after such a long absence, it's Armstrong. However, Astana teammate and 2007 Tour de France champion Alberto Contador is considered the favorite to win.

I guess we'll see what happens on the road. Versus' coverage of the Tour de France begins at 8:30 a.m. CDT with the Stage 1 time trial in Monaco. As been the case in recent years, Versus will air plenty of Tour de France coverage until the July 26 finale in Paris. Go to the full schedule for details; keep in mind that all times listed on the Versus schedule are Eastern Daylight Time.

Another Astana teammate, American Levi Leipheimer, has to be considered a contender for a podium spot, as could Illinois native Christian Vande Velde, who finished fourth last year then came back to the States to win the 2008 Tour of Missouri. George Hincapie back for another go, although it will be odd to see him not riding in support of Armstrong.

I probably won't write about the Tour in great detail, mainly because there's so many sources out there who can provide much more insightful coverage than I can, including Versus, VeloNews, Bicycling magazine and other news sources on the right column of my blog.

Have fun following the Tour!

Labels: Lance Armstrong, racing, Tour de France

Roger 0 comments links to this post 1:40 PM

Monday, June 22, 2009

RAAM leaders expected in St. Louis area today

UPDATED: If you're in the St. Louis area and want to catch a glimpse of the two leaders of the men's division of the Race Across America, today's probably the day.

Four-time champion Jure Robic made it to Jefferson City, Mo., at 12:50 p.m. CDT today, and Dani Wyss arrived in Camdenton, Mo., at 11:15 a.m. today.

If they continue at their current pace, Robic will arrive in Washington, Mo., about 5:30 p.m. today, at the Mississippi River just across from Alton, Ill., about 10 p.m. and Greenville, Ill., shortly about 12:50 a.m. Tuesday. Wyss is expected to arrive in Washington about 7:40 p.m., the Mississippi River at 12:14 a.m. Tuesday and Greenville at 3:08 a.m. Tuesday.

Janet Christiansen continues to lead the women's solo race. She arrived in El Dorado, Kan., at 12:54 p.m. today. She's predicted to arrive in Washington about 9:43 p.m. Tuesday, the Mississippi River about 6:06 a.m. Wednesday and Greenville about 9:09 a.m Wednesday.

In between, many of the teams that started RAAM on Saturday will be catching up with the individual riders.

Keep in mind these times are based on estimates made by RAAM officials and are subject to change. The estimates on the RAAM site are in Eastern time, while I've changed them to Central time.

In case you're interested in seeing the racers, the Washington time station is on Missouri Route 100 just west of Missouri Route 47. They will proceed across the Missouri River through Dutzow, New Melle, Wentzville and O'Fallon before hitting the flatlands of St. Charles County to West Alton. The Mississippi River time station is at a service station just south of the Clark Bridge leading to Alton. Once in Illinois, they will take Illinois Route 140 through Alton, Bethalto, Hamel and Alhambra before getting to Greenville. The Greenville time station is at the intersection of Illinois Route 127 and U.S. 40.

Labels: RAAM, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 1:30 PM

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Don't forget about Tour de WingHaven

If you're looking for some hot Father's Day bicycle racing, come out tomorrow to the Tour de WingHaven in O'Fallon, Mo.

The Tour de WingHaven is sanctioned by USA Cycling as a National Racing Calendar event, meaning top teams such as Jelly Belly, Team Type 1, and Colavita-Sutter Home will be there. Also slated to be there is 2005 U.S. pro champion Chris Wherry.

Action begins at 8 a.m. with the Cat 4/5 race culiminates with the Pro/Cat 1 race at 2 p.m. The feature event is an 84-mile, 28-lap race.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch had a nice story about the event today.

You can find out more about the event at the race's Web site, including how to get to the parking area.

The competition should be hot, and so will the temperature. Tomorrow's high is expected to be in the mid-90s.

Labels: cycling, Missouri, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 7:50 PM

Friday, May 01, 2009

Lindenwood University cycling team turmoil

A dispute between a former member of St. Charles-Mo. based Lindenwood University's cycling team and the team's coach has spread to the pages of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Paddy Kilmurray, the captain, told the Post-Dispatch on Thursday he was kicked off the team. Kilmurray, a sophomore from Australia, said the coach, Adrienne Murphy, would frequently drink wine and beer at away races and then drive the team's van, and he said he was removed from the team for bringing up the allegations to university officials.

Scott Queen, a spokesman for Lindenwood, said Murphy denied Kilmurray's wide-ranging allegation. He said Murphy admitted to drinking one glass of wine with dinner during a competition and that she was not aware it was against university policy to drink while supervising students.

Murphy took over the team in January, and Queen told the Post-Dispatch that she and Kilmurray had a history of conflicts. He had been suspended from one race, and Queen said Kilmurray was dismissed for insubordination.

Lindenwood is a member of the Midwest Collegiate Cycling Conference and is classified as Division I by USA Cycling-Collegiate.

Labels: cycling, Missouri, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 10:49 AM

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Tour de WingHaven gains prestige

In its short history, the Tour de WingHaven has gained a reputation as a top Midwestern single-day race, and USA Cycling has solidified the race's status by putting it on its 2009 National Racing Calendar.

This year's event will be Sunday, June 21, in O'Fallon, Mo., and it's the only Missouri race on the 31-event National Racing Calendar. Racing will begin at 8 a.m. for Cat 4/5 racers, and the event culminates with the 84-mile men's pro race. The course is a 3-mile closed loop through WingHaven, which bills itself as a 1,200-acre residential and commercial community in O'Fallon.

McEagle Properties, which created WingHaven, is the presenting sponsor of the event. Here's what Chris McKee, McEagle's president, has to say about the event:

"As the developer of the WingHaven community, McEagle is excited to have the opportunity to bring a top level, national caliber, professional sporting event to the community. This event will not only showcase our developing community along with promoting an active and healthy lifestyle, but will also provide a family-friendly and free to the public European-style event to WingHaven, the city of O'Fallon, and surrounding areas. What a great way to spend Father's Day with your family!"

Last year's winner, Dan Holloway, now races for the professional Garmin-Slipstream U23 cycling team. The Tour de WingHaven began in 2006.

Labels: cycling, Missouri, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 9:53 AM

Thursday, March 19, 2009

News on the St. Louis bicycle racing scene

O'Fallon Grand Prix: I know I'm a few days late reporting this, but Metro-East Cycling got some good news from the O'Fallon (Ill.) City Council on Monday. The City Council voted 12-2 to approve the race.

"I think the fears are overgrown and overdramatic," Ward 3 Alderman Rick Reckamp was quoted as saying in the Belleville News-Democrat. "I don't think there should be a problem. The event was well-run last year."

The two aldermen who voted against the race were concerned about the vounteers who will work event and that teenagers would be directing traffic. Metro-East Cycling assured civic leaders that no one younger than 18 would be volunteering at intersections.

Tour of Hermann: While I was out and about delivering Tour de Stooges brochures today and yesterday, I saw lots of fliers for the Tour of Hermann Ominum Stage Race on April 18-19 in beautiful in the heart of Missouri's beautiful wine country.

Two stages, a time trial and a criterium race, will be run April 18 in Hermann. A road race will take place on the 19th on a rather challenging course that uses Highways H, E, VV and 100. It's about as challening of a course as you're going to get in the Midwest. There are a wide range of categories available for men and an open women's category. If you need an early season challenge, this is it!

Labels: cycling, Illinois, Missouri, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 2:33 PM

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

O'Fallon mulls Grand Prix bicycle race

The Metro-East Cycling club wants to put on the second annual Grand Prix bicycle race on May 30 in O'Fallon, but the Belleville News-Democrat reports that some aldermen think the club has to do more to insure the safety of participants and spectators before they will back the event.

"Last year, there were teenagers standing in the street stopping and directing traffic," Ward 5 Alderman Dennis Renner said during an O'Fallon City Council Community Development Committee meeting. "The council tightened restrictions on charities collecting money at intersections because they were afraid someone was going to get hurt. So how can we allow teenagers to stand in the street and direct traffic?"

Organizer Steve Schmidt says the club will require volunteers to be at least 18 years old this year and will be given swimming noodles to make them more visible, but Alderman Michael Bennett isn't convinced the swimming noodles are enough to make them visible.

Police Chief John Betten was skeptical about the race last year, but he has no qualms about allowing the race this year. "I had not seen how one of these events is orchestrated or how they come off. But it went surprisingly well and seeing it helped put a lot of those fears to rest," Betten said during the meeting.

The full City Council will vote on allowing this year's race at Monday's council meeting. Last year, the race drew about 250 participants and spectators, and race organizers hope to draw 400 people this year.

Labels: cycling, Illinois, racing

Roger 1 comments links to this post 1:01 AM

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Leipheimer wins Tour of California -- again

For the third straight year, Levi Leipheimer is the champion of the Amgen Tour of California. That's not a big surprise, given he took over the lead Monday and had the Astana team to protect him. One of his teammates, of course, is Lance Armstrong, who rode in support of Leipheimer during this race and finished 7th overall.

David Zabriskie was second overall, 36 seconds behind Leipheimer. Michael Rogers finished third.

Mark Cavendish was the top sprinter, Jason McCartney was the King of the Mountain, and Robert Gesink was the top young rider. Not surprisingly, Astana won the team competition.

The 96.8-mile final stage in San Diego County today featured aride up snowcapped Palomar Mountain, where the cyclists reached the 5,123-foot level on a two-lane highway with 21 switchbacks. Frank Schleck won the stage.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of California

Roger 1 comments links to this post 7:35 PM

Landis briefly in the limelight

For the most part, Floyd Landis has been sitting back in the shadows of the Amgen Tour of California. Going into today's final stage, he's is 32nd place, 10 minutes and 26 seconds behind leader Levi Leipheimer.

While most eyes have been focused on Leipheimer and Astana teammate Lance Armstrong, who's in sixth place 1:46 behind and riding in a supporting role for Leipheimer, Landis briefly jumped into the limelight Saturday during a post-stage press conference.

The New York Times noted Landis is looking forward to the final stage Sunday, which includes an ascent of Mount Palomar, which had served as a training ride for him near his home in Temecula. The Times noted he answered some of his questions with "the sort of self-deprecating humor that added to Landis’s charm."

“I’ve never raced up it before,” Landis said. “My experience usually involves having a burrito at the bottom. I’m not going to be able to do that.”

Landis refused to answer questions about his past, which includes being stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title because of positive tests for banned substances. To read the full transcript of Landis' remarks, go to VeloNews.

Another American cyclist whose career was tainted by doping allegation, Tyler Hamilton, isn't faring well this race. Hamilton is in 95th place -- out of 97 riders -- and he's 49:25 behind Leipheimer. Hamilton has been riding in support of his Rock Racing team.

"I have a little bit different perspective on things," Hamilton told the Denver Post. "I'm just enjoying it, when before I didn't enjoy it as much. I'm 37 years old. I turn 38 in less than two weeks. Maybe this is my last Tour of California, so I'm going to enjoy it."

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of California

Roger 0 comments links to this post 1:41 PM

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Tour of California 2009

In a matter of hours (3:30 p.m. Central Time), the Amgen Tour of California gets under way with the 2.4-mile prologue. Cycling broadcaster Phil Liggett has ranked it "as the fourth or fifth biggest race in the world,'' and who am I to doubt him!

Clearly, the vast majority of eyes will be upon Lance Armstrong, who is racing for the first time in the United States since ending his retirement, But Armstrong insists he will be riding in support of Astana teammate and two-time defending Tour of California champion Levi Leipheimer.

The eyes also be on a group of former dopers, including Ivan Basso, Tyler Hamilton, David Millar and Floyd Landis, who won the 2006 Tour of California before later that year stripped of his Tour de France championship. The San Jose Mercury News likens the field to the "equivalent to inviting Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Jason Giambi and Alex Rodriguez to play ball."

But it's possible the winner could be someone like defending Tour de France champion Carlos Sastre, defending Tour of Missouri champion Christian Vande Velde and American cycling legend George Hincapie.

I'l try to cover the race the best I can from 2,000 miles away, but I suggest you follow some of the links on the right side of the page to get up-to-date coverage from people who are there. You also might want to follow California-based blogs such as Cyclelicious to get the inside story. You also can watch it on Versus, which is airing the Tour of California with nearly the same frequency as it does the Tour de France. (Note: The times listed on the Versus schedule are Eastern Time.)

The Tour of California site is offering a live tracker of the event, and you can watch the race for free at Cycling TV.

Labels: cycling, Lance Armstrong, racing, Tour of California

Roger 0 comments links to this post 12:37 PM

Friday, January 23, 2009

Landis to ride in Tour of Missouri

Floyd Landis, coming off a two-year ban because of a doping violation at the 2006 Tour de France, says he's planning to ride this year's Tour of Missouri with his new domestic cycling team, OUCH. The team plans to ride the major U.S. races, starting with the Amgen Tour of California in February.

"Starting with the Tour of California, every race we enter we’ll be entering to win," Landis told Outside magazine. "Not that it will be easy. The Tour of California is huge, so it’s kind of a stressful first race back. And there are some very strong domestic teams we’ll be up against this season: BMC, Bissel. Guys come along each year who you’ve never heard of and surprise you. There’s real talent in the U.S. And great races. After the Tour of California there’s the Tour of Utah, the Tour of Missouri. I’m looking forward to it."

Landis' entry in the Tour of Missouri isn't official yet. The Kansas City Star reports that the only team that has received an invitation to compete in this year’s race is the Garmin-Slipstream team led by Christian Vande Velde, the 2008 individual champion. The September race still is in its planning stages.

Landis also had an extended interview with USA Today in which he not only confirmed plans to ride in the Tour of Missouri, but said he has no more faith in anti-doping controls.

"Those are half-(hearted) tests and they know it, but I have no choice if I want to race. You have to agree to those terms. But I trust those guys less than just about anyone I've ever met," Landis said.

After a long legal battle with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency over a test that showed he had an illegally high testosterone-epitestosterone ratio after his dramatic win in the 17th stage of the 2006 Tour de France. Landis ultimately was stripped of his overall Tour title because of the test.

One cyclist who's welcoming Landis' return is one-time teammate Lance Armstrong. The 7-time Tour de France champion, racing this week in the Tour Down Under in Australia, told Australian media the people should "forgive and forget" and welcome Landis and other cyclists who have done their time for doping violations.

"It's good that the strongest people in the world are in the strongest races in the world," Armstrong said in the Herald Sun. "You've got to remember that Floyd might have been found guilty but at the end of the trial, if you polled people more than 50 per cent thought he was innocent."

Speaking of Armstrong, he's is 38th place in the Tour Down Under after today's stage, in which he finished 47th. He's 39 seconds behind Australian Allan Davis after four stages with two more stages left.

Labels: cycling, Lance Armstrong, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 9:59 AM

Sunday, January 18, 2009

The comeback begins

In case you're wondering -- and I'm sure you are -- Lance Armstrong began his comeback today in the Tour Down Under. The seven-time Tour de France champion finished 64th, safely within the peloton in the Cancer Council Criterium in Adelaide, Australia, 24 seconds back of winner Robbie McEwen.

The criterium does not count, however, in the overall standings of the Tour Down Under. Racing begins in earnest Tuesday. Here's a short excerpt from the VeloNews account:

Those who doubted Armstrong’s ability to find his racing legs again should not have. For much of the hour-long criterium, he rode at the front, at ease, and as if he never left the sport, his legs still a willing slave to the rhythm of professional bike racing.

Toward the end, Armstrong slipped toward the back of the field.

"I'm glad it's over," said the American, who is far more suited to stage racing than hectic criteriums where the threat of crashes is ever present.

If you're hoping to see Armstrong's exploits in Australia, Versus is probably your best bet. Versus will be airing half-hour highlight shows at 3 p.m. Central Time today, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and 2:30 p.m. Central Time on Saturday. Versus will air a full-hour show at 4 p.m. Central Time next Sunday (Jan. 25).

In addition, you can watch the final stage of the Tour Down Under live at 9 p.m. Central Time Saturday (Sunday afternoon in Australia) at Versus.com.

Labels: cycling, Lance Armstrong, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 10:26 AM

Friday, November 14, 2008

No Tour de Georgia in 2009

Professional bicycle racing in the United States took a blow today with the cancellation of the 2009 Tour de Georgia.

After struggling to pay its 2008 obligations and missing out on Lance Armstrong's return to racing, the Tour de Georgia announced that it's going to skip 2009 and focus on returning in 2010.

"The rise in the cost of gas" and the current "tough" economic picture hurt us, Phil Jacobs, a member of the race's board of directors told the Savannah Morning News.

In a Tour de Georgia press release, Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle said: "Since April, we have had an enormous response from our partners on ways we can strengthen the Tour for the future, and we have been listening. Our host cities want to have time to prepare tourism packages and our health providers are enthusiastic about developing plans to use the Health and Wellness expos to spread their message across the state. Our cycling friends from across the state want to partner with us to create participant activities which are inclusive of the whole family. We have listened to their advice and have decided to skip one year so that the Tour de Georgia can once and for all be ahead of the game in the planning process. This is a decision I feel is wise and one that will strengthen the Tour de Georgia for years to come."

While the race still drew good crowds in 2008, the newspaper noted that race organizers had to reach settlements to pay portions of their bills.

Tour de Georgia organizers also were hoping Lance Armstrong would return to race in 2009 as part of his comeback, but Armstrong has indicated he will be racing some of the European classic races and the Giro d'Italia next spring.

Georgia-based Medalist Sports manages and promotes the Tour de Georgia as well as the other two major U.S. stage races, the Amgen Tour of California and the Tour of Missouri. So far, there is no evidence that the Missouri and California races are in the same condition as Tour de Georgia.

The re-election of Peter Kinder as Missouri's lieutenant governor probably assures continued state backing of that race until Tour of Missouri organizers can come up with enough sponsors from the private sector to support the race without state help.

Labels: cycling, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 10:39 AM

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Tour of Missouri to get airtime on NBC

National exposure for the Tour of Missouri bicycle race is growing.

This Saturday, the Jeep World of Adventure Sports will do a segment about the Tour of Missouri that will air Sautrday on NBC (1:30 to 3 p.m. CST on KSDK-TV, Channel 5, for those of you who live in the St. Louis area; check your local listings for other parts of the country).

The segment will include behind-the-scenes footage from Team Garmin-Chipotle shot throughout the seven-day race. Garmin-Chipotle rider Christian Vande Velde, an Illinois native, was the overall winner of the 2008 Tour of Missouri.

(Note: Garmin and St. Louis-based Energizer are partners with Jeep in sponsoring the show.)

Saturday's episode is the final episode of the 2008 season and marks the debut of the Jeep World of Adventure Sports “Green” initiative. Segments dedicated to raising awareness for the issues affecting our environment globally will continue to air throughout the 2009 season.

Labels: cycling, racing, television, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 6:11 PM

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Lance says it's so

Lance's Comeback to Cycling in 2009 -- powered by http://www.livestrong.com

Lance Armstrong is back, as you can see from the video from LiveStrong.com.

Based upon sources, VeloNews first reported Armstrong would try for an eighth Tour de France title last year, and other media outlets picked up on the story.

In a story posted today at Vanity Fair, Armstrong confided to writer Douglas Brinkley -- a neighbor of his in Austin, Texas -- that he will race. Here's an excerpt:

As we sat in our terrace chairs overlooking the manicured vista, Armstrong nervously fingered the yellow band on his wrist. He insisted he had something on his mind. “Something huge,” as he put it. I braced for the worst.

Then, in almost robotic fashion, he said, “I’m going back to professional cycling. I’m going to try and win an eighth Tour de France.”

For a moment I gaped at him. Was I being punked? (Armstrong would later tell Doug Ulman, the president and C.E.O. of L.A.F., that my eyes bulged into saucers, like some boinged-out character in a Ralph Steadman illustration.) As the news sank in, though, I realized he was deadly serious. I knew from Armstrong’s memoir, "It’s Not About the Bike," that his VO2 max (the gauge by which the human body’s capacity to transport and use oxygen is measured) is superhuman, his ship-sail lungs uncommonly efficient.

But at age 37? A 2,000-mile, 23-day race, much of it uphill? By next July? I asked him, rather ungraciously, if he wasn’t too old to get back into shape that quickly.

He laughed. And he was off and running. “Look at the Olympics. You have a swimmer like Dara Torres. Even in the 50-meter event [freestyle], the 41-year-old mother proved you can do it. The woman who won the marathon [Constantina Tomescu-Dita, of Romania] was 38. Older athletes are performing very well. Ask serious sports physiologists and they’ll tell you age is a wives’ tale. Athletes at 30, 35 mentally get tired. They’ve done their sport for 20, 25 years and they’re like, I’ve had enough. But there’s no evidence to support that when you’re 38 you’re any slower than when you were 32.

“Ultimately, I’m the guy that gets up. I mean, I get up out of bed a little slow. I mean, I’m not going to lie. I mean, my back gets tired quicker than it used to and I get out of bed a little slower than I used to. But when I’m going, when I’m on the bike—I feel just as good as I did before.”

Armstrong said he is "100 percent" committed to competing next year.

Armstrong doesn't have a team, yet, and his camp acknowledges there's still a lot of work to do. But given Armstrong drive, I have no doubt he will find a way to be in France.

The Vanity Fair article covers a wide range of topics, including speculation he will run for governor of Texas and his ongoing work with cancer research. It's a rather length story and spends a lot of time setting the scene, but the article is worth the effort.

Labels: cycling, Lance Armstrong, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 4:34 PM

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Vande Velde joins Tour of Missouri field

The Tour of Missouri got a big boost with announcement today that Tour de France fifth-place finisher Christian Vande Velde will be part of this year's field.

Vande Velde, a native of the Chicago suburb of Lemont, is giving the Tour of Missouri a boost in much the same way the addition of 2007 Tour de France winner Alberto Contador and 2007 third-place finisher Levi Leipheimer gave the inaugural race a boost last year. I would think Chicago-area cycling fans would want to come down to Missouri to see their hero sometime over the course of the race. Vande Velde rides for the American Garmin-Chipotle cycling team.

The 32-year-old Vande Velde, one American cycling’s big revelations in the post-Lance Armstrong era, surprised the world by finishing less than a couple minutes out of the podium at this year’s Tour de France. Known as a top trialist most of his career, Vande Velde showed amazing climbing skills and has matured into one of the world’s best all-around riders. Earlier in the year, he finished 3rd overall in the Amgen Tour of California and last year finished second overall at the Tour de Georgia, two of North America’s biggest races. He finished 17th overall in the road race at the Olympic Games two weeks ago.

Vande Velde will be joined by Garmin-Chipotle teammates that include U.S. Olympic team member David Zabriskie, Tour de France team member Danny Pate and Will Frischkorn, who finished second overall at last year’s Tour of Missouri and narrowly missed winning a Tour de France stage last month.

Zabriskie is the only American to ever win a stage of all three of professional cycling’s Grand Tours (France, Italy, and Spain), and is a two-time time trial champion and former Tour de France race leader. Pate won Stage 5 of last year’s Tour of Missouri, breaking away to win into St. Charles. Pate is a former Under-23 world champion.

Also joining the field is 2008 Tour of Switzerland champion Roman Kreuzinger.

The Tour of Missouri opens Sept. 8 with a stage from St. Joseph to Kansas City and closes Sept. 14 with a circuit race in St. Louis.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 2 comments links to this post 8:50 AM

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Kristin Armstrong wins gold medal

Veteran American cyclist Kristin Armstrong became only the second American woman to win a gold medal in an Olympic road racing event by winning the women's time trial today.

Kristin Armstrong -- no relation to 7-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and not to confused with Lance Armstrong's ex-wife of the same name -- won the 14.6-mile time trial in 34 minutes, 51.72 seconds — 24.29 seconds better than Emma Pooley of Great Britain. Switzerland's Karin Thuerig was third, almost a minute behind the time set by Armstrong. American Christine Thorburn finished fifth.

In fourth place was France's Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli, who is 49 years ago. I personally remember seeing Longo win the women's road race in the 1986 World Championhips in Colorado Springs, Colo. Somewhere hidden in my slide archive, I have a picture of Longo being interviewed after her victory. It truly is amazing how an athlete can stay at the top of her game for so long.

Armstrong, who turned 35 on Monday, cried tears of happiness as "The Star-Spangled Banner" played during the awards ceremony. The only other American woman to have won a gold medal in a road event is Connie Carpenter, who won the inaugural women's road race in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

UPDATE: Later today, American Levi Leipheimer took the bronze medal in the men's time trial. Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland won the gold by riding the 47.3-kilometer circuit in 1 hour, 2 minute, 11.43 seconds. Gustav Larsson of Sweden was 33.36 seconds behind Cancellara, while Leipheimer was 1:09.68 behind. American David Zabriskie was 12th, more than 3 minutes behind Cancellara

Labels: cycling, Olympics, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 12:20 AM

Saturday, August 09, 2008

Olympic Men's Road Race medalists

Stop reading this post if you want to wait until you see NBC's coverage later this morning to find out the medalists in the Men's Road Race.

Gold: Samuel Sanchez (Spain), 6 hours, 23 minutes, 49 seconds
Silver: David Rebellin (Italy), same time
Bronze: Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland), same time.

Levi Leipheimer was the top American finisher in 11th place, 20 seconds behind Sanchez. Christian Vande Velde finished in 19th, 30 seconds behind Sanchez.

That's all from here. I really need to get to sleep, and I really don't know how many more nights I can spend watching online coverage during this Olympiad.

Labels: cycling, Olympics, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 4:28 AM

Online coverage of Olympic men's road race: A quick review

Some quick observations about the online coverage of the Olympic men's cycling race:

• If you haven't already done so, the first time you click on the video for Olympic coverage, you will have to download Microsoft Silverlight. If you run a PC on XP or Vista, you should have no problems. If you run a Mac, you'll be OK if you have an Intel processor. If you have any other kind of Mac, forget it. Although I run OS X at work, my G5 does not have an Intel processor, so I couldn't watch the race.
• I am impressed with the video quality -- the sharpness is wonderful compared to some other streaming video pictures I've seen, and the color saturation is superb for online video.
• You will be watching a feed with no audio commentary; you'll have to wait until the race is broadcast on NBC or its sister networks to hear it. NBC's commentary team consists of Pat Parnell, play-by-play; Craig Hummer, play-by-play; Kenan Harkin, analyst; Paul Sherwin, analyst; and Marty Snider, reporter.
• The Live Commentary feature is similar to commentary features seen on other online video sites such as that for the Tour of California. Be sure to click the "More" tab from time to time. The Live Commentary did not report that American David Zabriskie has dropped out halfway through the race, but a story under the "More" tab did.
  
• The Play-by-Play feature was broken during the men's road race. Hopefully, it can be fixed before future races.

Have fun watching Olympic cycling!

Labels: cycling, Olympics, racing, technology, television

Roger 0 comments links to this post 1:47 AM

Friday, August 08, 2008

Olympic cycling TV times

Here's the list of TV coverage planned by NBC and its sister stations for the St. Louis area (all times Central Time Zone). You also may want to check NBCOlympics.com for your community because the coverage times may vary. In most cases, the cycling coverage will be included among coverage of other sports, and times are subject to change:

Saturday, Aug. 9
9:00-9:30 a.m, 11:30 a.m.-noon, 1:30-2:30 p.m.: Men's road race (NBC)

Sunday, Aug. 10
Noon-5 p.m.: Women's road race (NBC)

Wednesday, Aug. 13
4-10 a.m.: Men's time trial (MSNBC)
7-9 p.m.: Women's time trila (NBC)

Friday, Aug. 15
9-11 a.m.: Track events (USA)

Saturday, Aug. 16
1 a.m.-1 p.m.: Track events (USA)
11 a.m.-noon: Men's individual pursuit (NBC)

Sunday, Aug. 17
1 a.m.-1 p.m.: Track events (USA)
11 a.m.-1 p.m.: Women's individual pursuit (NBC)

Monday, Aug. 18
4-11 a.m.: Men's team pursuit final (MSNBC)

Tuesday, Aug. 19
1-7 a.m.: Track events (USA)
9-11 p.m., 11:30 p.m.-1 a.m.: Men's BMX (NBC)

Wednesday, Aug. 20
7-10 p.m.: Men's and Women's BMX (NBC)

Friday, Aug. 22
4-9:30 a.m.: Women's mountain bike (MSNBC)

Saturday, Aug. 23
11:30 p.m.-4 a.m.: Men's mountain bike(NBC)

Labels: cycling, Olympics, racing, television

Roger 0 comments links to this post 7:31 PM

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Olympic cycling online

My blogging buddies on the West Coast, Cyclelicious and BikingBis, already have posted times to watch Olympic cycling online at NBCOlympics.com in the Pacific Time Zone. I'm doing the same for those of us who live in the Central Time Zone:

• Friday, Aug. 8: Men's Road Race, 10 p.m.-4:30 a.m. Saturday (UPDATED AUG. 8)
  
• Sunday, Aug. 10: Women's Road Race, 1:30-4 a.m.
• Tuesday, Aug. 12: Women's Time Trial, 10:30 p.m.-12:05 a.m.
• Wednesday, Aug. 13: Men's Time Trial, 12:30-4:10 a.m.
• Friday, Aug. 15: Men's and women's track individual pursuit; men's team sprint, 3:30-6 a.m.
• Saturday, Aug. 16: Women's individual pursuit first round; men's kerin, points race, and 4000m individual pursuit finals, 3:30-6:45 a.m.
• Saturday, Aug. 16: Men's team pursuit; men's and women's sprint qualifying rounds, 9-10:45 p.m.
• Sunday, Aug. 17: Women's 3000m individual pursuit final; men's & women's sprint round of 16 and round of 8, 3:30-5:45 a.m.
• Monday, Aug. 18: Women's points race; men's and women's sprint quarterfinals, 3:30-6 a.m.
• Tuesday, Aug. 19: Men's madison; men's and women's sprint classifications, semifinals and finals, 3:30-6:50 a.m.
• Friday, Aug. 22: Women's Mountain Bike Race, 2-4:15 a.m.
• Saturday, Aug. 23: Men's Mountain Bike Race: 2-4:45 a.m.

Even someone with weird work hours like me is going to be hard-pressed to stay up for the online coverage, so I will post those in the next day or two. Meanwhile, you can find listings at NBCOlympics.com.

Labels: cycling, Olympics, racing

Roger 1 comments links to this post 1:54 PM

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Registration open for Gateway Cup

The Tour of Missouri isn't the only big bicycle racing event taking in the next few weeks in the St. Louis area. The annual Gateway Cup series of criterium races takes place Labor Day weekend (Aug. 29-Sept. 1)

Details are a bit skimpy on the Gateway Cup's new Web site, but you can sign for individual races or the entire series at 2WheelTech. The cost for men is $40 per race or $130 for the entire series. For women, the cost is $25 per race or $80 for the entire series.

For detailed information about the four days, you can download a PDF flier through USA Cycling. Once again, races for everyone from kids to Pro, Cat 1 and Cat 2 are available.

The Gilded Age Tour de Lafayette takes place the evening of Friday, Aug. 29, in St. Louis' Lafayette neighborhood. On Saturday, Aug. 30, the Gateway Cup moves to downtown St. Louis for the Midwest Testing Tour of Washington Avenue, an afternoon and early evening event.

The Giro Della Montagna takes place the afternoon of Sunday, Aug. 30, on The Hill, St. Louis' Italian neighborhood. Trailnet's Bicycle Fun Club also will have a ride on The Hill that morning.

The Gateway Cup closes the morning and afternoon of Labor Day (Sept. 1) with the Emerson Motor Loop Bicycle Race in University City's Loop business district.

It should be an exciting weekend of bicycle racing, and it will definitely whet you appetite for the Tour of Missouri, which ends in St. Louis on Sept. 14.

Labels: cycling, racing, St. Louis

Roger 0 comments links to this post 4:20 PM

Monday, August 04, 2008

Garmin-Chipotle to race in Tour of Missouri

Tour of Missouri organizers announced today that the Garmin-Chipotle team will return to ride this year.

Garmin-Chipotle, known last year as Team Slipstream, won the inaugural event's team title. The press release did not say whether Illinois native Christian Vande Velde, who finished fifth in this year's Tour de France, would be part of the Tour of Missouri roster, but my hunch is that he will in much the same way Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer were persuaded to ride for Discovery Channel in last year's race.

Will Frischkorn, who finished second to George Hincapie, and stage winner Danny Pate also are part of the Garmin-Chipotle squad.

“We will be back to win,” Jonathan Vaughters, director of the Garmin-Chipotle team, said in a press release. “This is not an end-of-the-season fun race for us. This is a serious objective for our team. It’s a major event.”

The top U.S. teams will participate in this year's Tour of Missouri and will be joined by international teams such as Liquigas and Rabobank. Here's a full list of the teams:

Columbia (USA)
Liquigas (Italy)
Rabobank (Netherlands, developmental team)
Garmin-Chipotle (USA)
BMC (USA)
Sparkasse (Germany)
Tecos (Mexico)
Symmetrics (Canada)
Health Net presented by MAXXIS (USA)
Toyota-United (USA)
Rock Racing (USA)
Colavita Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light (USA)
Bissell (USA)
Kelly Benefit Strategies - Medifast (USA)
Jelly Belly (USA)

For more details about the race, see the press release.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 7:39 PM

Tour of Missouri seeks your help

Michael Grote of the Tour of Missouri Breakaway Club just sent out this note to bicycle clubs in Missouri and nearby state:

As you may already know the Tour of Missouri will be taking place September 8th through the 14th. The Tour of Missouri is a seven day professional cycling event featuring elite international men’s teams with stages across Missouri.

Additionally, the Tour of Missouri will host an invitational pro-am women’s race taking place on Monday, September 8, in Kansas City, Missouri. This event builds on the great success of last year’s inaugural Tour of Missouri that inspired cyclists throughout the state and attracted many new fans to the sport.

In order to continue to make this event successful while, exposing Missourians and mid-westerns alike to this great sport, we need your help. As you can imagine a professional bike race through the state takes tremendous resources to guarantee that the event is challenging but safe for the riders, enjoyable for the spectators and supports the race’s continued development in Missouri.

I am asking you to support cycling in Missouri by joining the Tour of Missouri Breakaway Club. The Breakaway Club is an individual donor program that supports the race and ensures its success in 2008 and beyond. More importantly though, it provides great opportunities for you, as a sponsor, to be intimately involved in the action of the Tour of Missouri.

I hope that you will consider this request to support the sport of cycling and the Tour of Missouri this year.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at your convenience at 573-424-5120 or at tourofmissouri@ga2.us.

Thank you for your consideration of this request and your support of the Tour of Missouri.

A $5,000 Champion's Level, a $500 Podium Level ($400 for couples), a $75 Peloton Level ($100 for couples) and Patrol levels for individual levels. The benefits include jerseys at the higher levels and discounts for the lower levels. For those of you who sign up by Aug. 7, your names also will appear i n the Tour of Missouri program.

You can find out more benefits and download forms at the Breakaway Club's page.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 1 comments links to this post 12:31 PM

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Greg LeMond speaks out about abuse

Three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond will speak to a public audience for the the first time about the sexual abuse he suffered as a child, the Kansas City Star reports.

LeMond will give the keynote speech Aug. 7 at a fundraiser for the Sunflower House in Kansas City, Kan. Sunflower House works to protect and support child victims of sexual abuse in Johnson and Wyandotte counties.

LeMond managed to keep the abuse a secret until the May 2007 arbitration hearing for Floyd Landis, the 2006 winner of the Tour de France who had been stripped of his title after tests indicated he had used testosterone.

At that hearing, LeMond testified he had urged Landis to come clean about any drug use. He told Landis about the abuse. Later, he received a phone call from Landis’ business manager threatening to reveal it if LeMond testified.

In the article, Lemond talks in detail about the abuse. Here's a brief excerpt:

To this day, LeMond says his memories of the abuse are hazy. For years he blocked out the details. He was 11 or 12.

“I do remember when it first happened. … It was a family friend.”

The man, LeMond said at the hearing, was named Ron. He was a pal of LeMond’s father. The family lived in Nevada. His father was in real estate. The friend was 17 years older than LeMond.

“He would ski with us at Lake Tahoe,” LeMond recalled. “He was literally like an uncle.”

Ron visited numerous times and would sleep in the extra bed in LeMond’s room. He showed LeMond pornography. It excited the young boy.

Then one night, everything changed. LeMond was asleep.

“Before I knew it, he did something to me that I never knew about,” LeMond said.

Reporter Eric Adler did an excellent job with the phone interview, in which LeMond described how the abuse affected him as a teen and an adult. I encourage you to read the story.

I know there are people out there who don't particularly like LeMond, in large part because of his criticism of 7-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. But in my view, LeMond's 1986, 1989 and 1990 Tour de France victories did much to expose Americans to the sport of cycling and paved the way for Armstrong and other American cyclists to succeed on the pro cycling circuit.

Labels: cycling, Greg LeMond, Kansas City, racing

Roger 2 comments links to this post 11:12 PM

Friday, July 25, 2008

More tackiness in bicycling

While the tacks that flattened hundreds of tires Wednesday on RAGBRAI got lots of ink because of the massive nature of the Iowa ride, a bicycle race near Columbia, Mo., also fell victim to vandals last week .

The Columbia Tribune reported this week that a dozen of the 50 participants in the Missouri Show-Me State Games bicycle race last Saturday. The flat tires took place on Route DD near Hatton in Callaway County.

"These are people in the state who want to go out and improve their health and get more into exercise," race organizer Raymond Sapp told the Tribune. "And then somebody comes out and tries to hurt them by throwing tacks in the road. It’s sad."

Unfortunately, these punks who threw the tacks in Missouri probably have no idea their actions could seriously injure someone. Let's hope these knuckleheads are stupid enough to brag about their tacky feat and someone reports it to law enforcement.

Labels: Missouri, racing, safety

Roger 0 comments links to this post 12:18 AM

Friday, July 18, 2008

Tour of Missouri adds women's criterium

The Tour of Missouri already has grown from a six-day to a seven-day event in just one year. If that wasn't enough, the Tour of Missouri is adding a women's criterium race to the mix.

The women's race will take place Monday, Sept. 8 in the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City. The race will be a 55-minute plus 5-laps event slated to start at 1:30 p.m.

"Starting while Stage 1 of the men's event is underway, the Tour of Missouri Women's Criterium will showcase the speed and energy of the women's professional circuit while building excitement and anticipation for the hard-charging finishing circuits of the men's race," according to the race's Web site.

Stage 1 of the men's race is slated to begin in St. Joseph on Sept. 8 and ends at Country Club Plaza.

In case you haven't visited the Tour of Missouri site for a while, you will notice Armadillo Xing T-shirts for sale. For $18, you can own your own T-shirt and "help keep the armadillos at bay."

The shirt recalls the unfortunate accident during the 2007 Tour of Missouri that knocked St. Louis-area native Dan Schmatz from the race. Schmatz tumbled to the ground after hitting the armadillo, fracturing his collarbone.

Labels: racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 7:33 PM

Monday, July 14, 2008

Doing the Land of Lincoln proud!

Yes, indeed, Christian Vande Velde is the pride of the Land of Lincoln, as far as the cycling world is concerned!

Vande Velde, a native of the Chicago suburb of Lemont, is just 38 seconds behind new Tour de France leader Cadel Evans after today's Stage 10, which featured the difficult climbs of the Col de Tourmalet and Hautacam. Evans and Vande Velde finished in the same group that finished 2:17 behind stage winner Leonardo Piepoli. The only rider between Vande Velde and Evans is Frank Schleck, who is a mere second behind Evans in the overall standings.

Vande Velde, 32, rides for Garmin-Chipotle and is the son of U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame member John Vande Velde. Until this year, he was best known for playing a supporting role in two of Lance Armstrong's seven Tour de France victories. He has come into his own this year. He wore the maglia rosa one day in this year's Giro d'Italia, took third in the Tour of California and seventh in the Tour of Georgia.

Now that Vande Velde is among the leaders, I guess we need to figure out how to spell his last name. Even though the official Tour de France site and Versus are spelling it Vandevelde, I'm going with Vande Velde because that's the way the Garmin-Chipotle team, The Associated Press, VeloNews and his byline on his Tour de France Journal in the Chicago Tribune (I'm linking to the account that appeared in today's edition) spell it. That's good enough for me!

Labels: Illinois, racing, Tour de France

Roger 0 comments links to this post 10:42 AM

Monday, July 07, 2008

Will Frischkorn? Who's he?

I was surprised to see this morning that American racer and Tour de France rookie Will Frischkorn not only came in second in today's Stage 3, but is sitting in third place in the general classification.

If that wasn't enough, Frischkorn was named the most aggressive rider of the stage, and his American-based squad, Team Garmin-Chipotle, is leading the team classsification.

Just who is Will Frischkorn?

Well, Tour of Missouri fans may remember that Frischkorn finished second to George Hincapie in last year's inaugural event. Frischkorn finished 1 minute, 38 seconds behind Hincapie in the six-stage race.

Frischkorn, 27, was born in Charlottesville, Va., and now lives in Boulder, Colo., according to his biography at the Team Garmin-Chipotle Web site. Frischkorn won the 2007 Univest Grand Prix and he won the U.S. Under-23 National Championship Road Race back in 2002.

Being in third place in the Tour de France, even this early in the race, is a career highlight.

"I felt pretty darn good," Frischkorn said in an interview on the Tour de France Web site. "I’m ecstatic to have done this. It’s weird to feel a little disappointed right now actually.”

Why was he disappointed? Because he had a chance to win the stage.

“The sprint at the finish was a long one," Frischkorn said in the interview. "It started from two kilometers out really. (Samuel) Dumoulin hit out and I had literally been planning to attack after coming back from my previous turn of pace but he timed it perfectly. That really started the game.

“He rode a great finish and I hesitated just a little bit with 400 meters to go and I think that’s where I made my mistake but I take my hat off to him, he was great."

Dumoulin won the stage, but fellow Frenchman Romain Feillu, who was part of the lead breakaway, is wearing the yellow jersey. Frischkorn is 1:42 behind Feillu in the general classification. The breakaway finished 2:03 in front of the peloton.

Frischkorn, one of four Americans in this year's Tour de France, is writing a journal about his experience at VeloNews. It should be interesting to see what he writes about Stage 3.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour de France, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 12:07 PM

Friday, July 04, 2008

Tour de France 2008

Part of the reason I include the news feed that I do in the right column of this blog is because I know sources such as VeloNews can provide much better coverage of the Tour de France than I can in this humble little blog. Nevertheless, here's my two cents worth on the race:

I'm extremely disappointed former Discovery Channel riders Alberto Contador, the defending champion, and Levi Leipheimer, who finished third, won't be there because of the decision of Tour de France to exclude Team Astana from this year's event because of the team's past doping transgressions.

I suppose one could argue that Contador, Leipheimer and former Discovery manager Johan Bruyneel should have had some clue that Astana would be targeted for punishment, but I don't find it particularly fair that a restructured Astana team should be so severly punished for sins of previous team members.

With Leipheimer's absence, I have to wonder how much interest there will be in this year's Tour de France by casual cycling fans. The die-hard fans, of course, are going to care about the race, but the lack of an American among the major contenders will reduce coverage of the race by the mainstream media.

In addition to the greatness of the race -- even a heavy-handed management style cannot rob the Tour de France of its splendor -- there are two American teams in this year's race. One is Team Columbia, which includes former Discovery lieutenant George Hincapie, and Garmin-Chipotle, which is best known for its anti-doping stance. Christian Vande Velde is the best-known American on that team.

If your local newspaper or TV station provides inadequate coverage of the Tour de France, the three best sources are probably VeloNews, Versus and the Tour de France site itself. Versus, as always, will provide almost-constant TV coverage of the race. Gene Bisbee also provides a list of sources at his BikingBis blog.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour de France

Roger 0 comments links to this post 1:53 PM

Monday, June 23, 2008

Tour of Missouri to be ‘deceivingly tougher’

Organizers of the Tour of Missouri bicycle race Sept. 8-14 say this year's course will be "deceivingly tougher" than the course for last year's inaugural event.

For one, the race has grown from six to seven stages, and organizers say there are more hills this year.

That won't be comfort to the racers, many of whom were surprised by how hilly Missouri can be.

This year's Tour of Missouri starts in St. Joseph on Sept. 8, and roughly follows the Missouri River to Kansas City. "The first 50-plus miles feature a series of relentless small, uncategorized climbs, some of which form a panoramic view of the Missouri River. This differs from the relatively flat out-and-back course featured on the course last year for Stage 1," according to a description of the stages.

Stage 2 (Sept. 9) once again starts in Clinton and winds up in Springfield. This is the stage where George Hincapie pulled off a major breakaway that enabled him to win the 2007 event. Hincapie will be back to defend his title.

Stage 3 (Sept. 10) will be an 18-mile time trial on the hilly roads of Branson and is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

Stage 4 (Sept. 11) starts in Lebanon and will take competitors through a hilly course to Rolla. Plans call for the route to go through a portion of Fort Leonard Wood as a tribute to U.S. troops. The route also features a 12 percent grade near Waynesville.

Stage 5 (Sept. 12) begins in the wine country town of St. James and goes up and down a series of small hills to Jefferson City, the state capitol.

Stage 6 (Sept. 13) differs from the next-to-last stage in 2007. Last year, that stage started in Jefferson City and ended in St. Charles. This year, the stage will start in Hermann, the heart of Missouri's wine country, and ends in St. Charles. The new route eliminates the relatively flat part of the course between Jefferson City and Hermann, but the difficult climbs on Augusta Bottom and Schluersburg roads near Augusta remain, and a difficult climb of Old Colony Road near Defiance has been added to the course. From Old Colony Road, the route continues to O'Fallon, Mo., then heads into the flat Mississippi River valley before heading into St. Charles.

The final stage (Sept. 14) remains a circuit course in the city of St. Louis. Instead of starting and finishing at Union Station on Market Street, the start-finish line will be in front of City Hall a few blocks east on Market. Racers will be making five trips around the 14-mile circuit.

This year's course will start on Market, continue on Forest Park Boulevard, loop through a portion of Forest Park, returns to the Central West End -- a popular place to watch the race because of all the outdoor cafes -- turns east on Forest Park Boulevard, turns north on Compton Avenue, returns downtown on Olive Street to Tucker Boulevard, then back to Market.

In case you're wondering, the St. Louis Rams will have a home game at noon Sept. 14 against the New York Giants, but the St. Louis Cardinals will be on the road, so traffic may not be as big of an issue.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 10:48 AM

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Robic crosses the Mississippi River

Race Across America solo men's leader Jure Robic made it to the Mississippi River at 9:22 a.m. CDT today. He's on his way to Greenville, Ill., and he's expected to arrive there sometime between 11:50 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. today. He now has about a 200-mile lead over David Haase, who has passed the Camdenton, Mo., time station.

The Mississippi River is well over its banks and still rising, putting portions of Missouri Highway 94 between St. Charles and West Alton under water. That forced RAAM officials to develop a detour. RAAM competitors now must bike into St. Charles on West Clay Street and take Highway 94 to the north end of the city. From there, they are being shuttled by their support vehicles to the frontage road of Highway 367 between Dunn and Redman roads in north St. Louis County. They'll hop back on their bikes and continue north to the river. If you want to see details of the detour, see RAAM's Live Race Blog.

My limited coverage of RAAM will be even further curtailed because I have to make last-minute preparations for my vacation, a trip across the length of the Katy Trail that starts Monday. I'm sure all you ultramarathon cycling fans will get more than your fix at the RAAM Web site!

Labels: RAAM, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 11:03 AM

RAAM may be in for a wet surprise

Will Race Across America riders be in for a soggy surprise when they approach the Mississippi River this weekend?

UPDATE: Longtime ultramarathon supporter Mike Hahn, who is overseeing the volunteers at the Mississippi River time station, tells me that RAAM officials have found a detour around the flooded part of Highway 94, so the race will go on!

The above video from The (Alton, Ill.) Telegraph shows that floodwaters from the Mississippi are starting to lap over Highway 94 near West Alton, Mo. The footage of Highway 94 is in the second half of this short video. The first half was shot at the Lincoln-Shields Recreation Area just across the Clark Bridge from Alton.

RAAM riders are slated to ride on Highway H and and Highway 94 between St. Charles and West Alton before turning on U.S. 67 to the river. The Mississippi definitely is on the rise in the area -- it's not expected to crest until June 23.

Here's a description of the situation near West Alton from The Telegraph's story:

Part of the access to the Lincoln-Shields Recreation Area in West Alton ... was closed Thursday morning by rising water on the Mississippi River. Not far away, floodwaters were creeping over Missouri Highway 94 near West Alton.

Tens of thousands of frogs and tadpoles could be seen in the shallow floodwater along the shoulder of Highway 94, just upstream from West Alton.

UPDATE: Jure Robic maintains his huge lead in the men's solo division. He reached the Jefferson City, Mo., time station at 10:20 p.m. CDT. He is on target to reach the Mississippi shortly before 8 a.m. today. David Haase is about 180 miles back and is expected to reach the Mississippi sometime between 12:07 and 5:19 a.m. Sunday.

Labels: Missouri, RAAM, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 3:20 AM

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Robic keeps rolling at RAAM

Slovenian Jure Robic is continuing his dominance of the Race Across America. Robic, the defending champion and a three-time winner, arrived in Bucklin, Kan., at 2:07 p.m. CDT. Robic's closest competitor in the men's solo division, David Hasse, is more than 200 miles behind him.

If Robic maintains his overall pace or his current pace, he should be arriving at the Mississippi River time station in West Alton, Mo., any time between 5:30 a.m. and noon CDT Saturday. Haase is anticipated to reach the river sometime after 11 p.m. Saturday, and most of the remaining individuals and teams are expected to pass through Sunday or Monday.

The lead woman, Janet Christiansen, passed the Clayton, N.M., time station at 9:30 a.m. CDT today.

Labels: RAAM, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 2:25 PM

Monday, June 09, 2008

RAAM 2008: They're off!

Race Across America is under way! Both female competitors, Janet Christiansen and Carolina van den Bulk and one male competitor, Richard Rupp, already have made it to Flagstaff, Ariz., as of this morning. The women and Rupp, competing in the 60-older division, started Saturday from Oceanside, Calif. The top solo male competitors, Gerhard Gulewicz and defending champion Jure Robic, started Sunday and have passed Congress, Ariz., as of this morning.

Back here in the Midwest, help is needed for the Greenville, Ill., time station. Help will be needed between Saturday, when the top male competitors are expect to pass through Greenville, and Tuesday, June 17. If you know someone who can volunteer, contact Joy Criner at 618-664-3342; 217-229-4237, ext. 231; or trixtip@sbcglobal.net.

Labels: cycling, RAAM, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 11:35 AM

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Race Across America begins Sunday

Once again, the most dedicated of the dedicated ultramarathon cyclists will take off Sunday on the Race Across America. The solo riders take off at noon PDT Sunday, while the teams don't take off until Wednesday,

There are some changes for this year's event. The biggest change is that the race ends in Annapolis, Md., instead of Atlantic City, N.J. That means there's a major reroute of the course from 100 miles east of the Mississippi River to the end.

Instead of taking the busy National Road (U.S. 40) corridor that RAAM has taken through Indiana and Ohio in recent years, the route will go through the Midwest cycling mecca of Bloomington, Ind.; the quaint German town of Oldenberg, Ind.; Chillicothe, Ohio; and Parkersburg, W.Va. After Parkersburg, the racers will face some challenging climbs in the Appalachian Mountains. Here's a description from RAAM:

As the road (U.S. 50) narrows, it climbs over the Eastern Divide at 3,000 feet above sea level, and then climbs again to the ominously named Mount Storm before dropping into Maryland. Some of the most intense grades of the entire race are found on scenic U.S. 40 in the forty miles between Cumberland and Hancock. The fourth of these climbs, Sideling Hill, subjects Racers to a 1,000-foot ascent in two miles.

The route, however, remains unchanged through the St. Louis region. The time stations will be at Marthasville, Mo.; West Alton, Mo.; and Greenville, Ill. The West Alton time station is just before the cyclists cross the Clark Bridge over the Mississippi River into Alton, Ill. I would expect the riders to start arriving in the St. Louis area either June 13 or June 14.

The western part of the RAAM course has been changed so that it goes through Taos, N.M.

Slovenian Jure Robic won the male solo edition of the 2007 Race Across America -- the third time he has won the race. Robic completed the 3,042.8 miles of the race in 8 days, 19 hours and 33 minutes. His average speed was 14.38 mph.

Labels: cycling, RAAM, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 11:00 AM

Thursday, May 29, 2008

O'Fallon Grand Prix

The Metro-East Cycling club will be putting on its first-ever O'Fallon Grand Prix this Saturday, May 31.

The start-finish line for the races will be in front of Fulton Junior High School, which is located at 307 Kyle Road in O'Fallon, Ill. Racing will begin at 11 a.m., and participants can sign up for the event starting at 8 a.m. and continuing until 30 minutes before the start of each scheduled event.

The event is the biggest cycling race in St. Clair County since the mid-1990s, when a leg of the Gateway Cup series of bicycle races was run in the Signal Hill neighborhood of Belleville.

The Elite Pro/Cat 1/Cat 2 race will begin at 11 a.m. and will cover 90 miles. Races also will be available in other men's categories, masters' categories, women's categories and junior categories. In addition, kids races from tricyclists to bicyclists ages 11-14 will begin at 10 a.m.

"It'll be really fun for people who enjoy bike racing," race director Steven Schmidt, secretary of Metro East Cycling, told the Belleville News-Democrat. "Our course is exciting. It's all on country roads. It's fast, hilly and twisty."

That's true. The map of the course shows all the twists and turns, and I can tell you from personal experience, there are hills on the course!

Racers should be aware of one major hazard on the course. There's a bridge on Simmons Road between Bethel School Road and Kyle Road that has cracks parallel to the length of the bridge. The cracks are wide and deep enough to grab a road wheel and can cause a serious spill. Racers need to be careful to position themselves between the cracks while going across the bridge.

Metro-East Cycling has worked hard on this event. One of the biggest challenges the club faced was getting approval from the O'Fallon City Council. The council did unanimously approve the event at its April 7 meeting, but with the caveat that the police chief has authority to close down the event if the insurance is not provided, communications concerns are not met or not enough volunteers are present.

From what I understand, it sounds like Metro-East Cycling has all its ducks in a row, so let the racing begin Saturday morning!

Labels: cycling, Illinois, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 10:49 AM

Friday, May 02, 2008

Hincapie to defend Tour of Missouri title

George Hincapie, longtime lieutenant to Lance Armstrong and winner of the inaugural Tour of Missouri, will return in September to defend his title in the state’s seven-day stage bicycle race, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Friday.

Organizers of the event made the announcement at a press conference Friday.

I would write more, but I better get a little rest before Tour de Stooges tomorrow!

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 11:23 PM

Sunday, February 24, 2008

2008 Tour of California summary

"Seems it never rains in Southern California.
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before.
It never rains in California.
But, girl, don't they warn ya.
It pours, man, it pours."

With apologies to Albert Hammond, who wrote and recorded the 1970s hit "It Never Rains in Southern California," the finishers of this year's Amgen Tour of California certainly can tell you that it does indeed rain in California.

After getting soaked by the rains drenched some of this year's ride, including the final stage today that ended at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Levi Leipheimer soaked in the glory of having won his second straight Tour of California. Slipstream-Chipotle's David Millar and Christian Vande Velde, a Chicago-area native, filled out the final podium.

2007 Tour of Missouri winner and former Discovery Channel teammate George Hincapie won the final stage, nearly a minute ahead of the pack that included Leipheimer.

Despite the horrible weather -- by Southern California standards -- a large crowd came out for the final stage, according to media reports.

Now that Leipheimer has won the Tour of California, maybe he can win his next battle, getting in the 2008 Tour de France.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of California

Roger 1 comments links to this post 6:56 PM

Monday, February 18, 2008

Let Levi ride!

Fans of Levi Leipheimer no doubt will want to go to his new Web site, LetLeviRide.com, to let their feelings known the Tour de France's decision last week to exclude his new team, Astana, from this year's event because of past doping problems with that team.

In the effort to "save the 2008 Tour de France," Leipheimer is calling on his fans to sign an online petition to have him and his team reinstated in the race.

"There can be no comparison between the Astana team of 2007 and the new Astana," the Web site states. "The entire organizational structure has been rebuilt under the direction of the team’s new General Manager, Johan Bruyneel, who has thoroughly cleaned house. What’s more, Astana has adopted the rigorous doping controls developed by anti-doping expert Dr. Rasmus Damsgaard, and Astana now spends more money on anti-doping controls than any other team in the pro peloton."

In addition to the online petition, T-shirts, hats and stickers will be available soon.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour de France

Roger 3 comments links to this post 12:04 AM

Friday, February 15, 2008

Economic impact of the Tour of Missouri

Two recent reports by Tour of Missouri organizers and the University of Missouri’s Tourism Economics Research Initiative reveal some interesting numbers about the economic impact of the inaugural 2007 event. It already had been revealed that the race was estimated to bring in $26 million into Missouri's economy. Here's some more numbers:

• The estimated number of spectators totaled 367,566 with 255,529 unique stage spectators.
• St. Louis is estimated to have hosted the most spectators at the beginning or end of a stage,
  with an estimated 50,000 at the final stage of the Tour. Of those, 20,089 were at the St. Louis finish line (Union Station), with the rest scatted along the circuit.
• The fifth stage between Jefferson City and St. Charles came in second with an estimated 45,000 spectators. Of that, 7,478 were at the St. Charles finish.
  
• Household travel parties averaged 2.05 people spending $560.85. In Fiscal Year 2006, average expenditures by domestic travelers in Missouri (per household travel party) were $307.25.
• On average, 41.8% of the start/finish line spectators came from outside the local area. Kansas City had the highest percentage (60.19%), followed by Branson (59.24%) and
  St. Charles (48.23%).
• 25.6% of the out-state respondents stated they had not visited the interview site within the
  past five years. 73% said the Tour of Missouri was very important or extremely important
  in planning their trip.

The organizers of the event contend that the higher numbers at St. Louis and St. Charles stages were the number of spectators at the finish. That may be possible, judging from anecdotal evidence I heard from spectators and personal observations. Many people who may have watched an earlier portion of a stage also traveled to the finish line.

You can see the unfiltered numbers in the Tourism Economics Research Initiative's "The Economic Impact of the 2007 Tour of Missouri" (PDF file). Filtered numbers can be found in the Tour of Missouri's Annual Report (PDF file).

Labels: cycling, Missouri, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 12:36 PM

2008 Amgen Tour of California

Will Levi Leipheimer defend his Amgen Tour of California title? We'll find out next week as the event kicks off Sunday with the Prologue in Palo Alto, Calif.

Although I will leave the expert commentary to the sources listed on the right column of this blog and to California-based blogs such as Fritz's Cycle-Licious, I may talk about aspects of the Tour from time to time.

For those of us stuck in the Midwest, the Versus cable TV channel will be providing same-day coverage of the race, beginning at 4 p.m. CST Sunday. If that's not good enough for you, you can watch each day's stages live, "as live" and highlights at Cycling TV. You can see a lower-resolution version (up to 400 kbs) of the race for free, or you can pay to see a higher-resolution version (up to 1,200 kbs).

It will be odd to see Leipheimer and George Hincapie racing for a team other than the now-disbanded Discovery Cycling Team. Leipheimer will be racing for Astana, while Hincapie will be racing for High Road.

Other top racers entered in the Tour of California include Bobby Julich (Team CSC), Paolo Bettini and Tom Boonan (Quick Step), and David Millar and David Zabriskie (Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30).

Sadly, too, this will be the first Tour of California without Jana Ireton as the Specialized Angel. As reported here last month, a woman from Spain will be the new Specialized Angel. Jana said Specialized wanted an Angel who spoke multiple languages.

Jana said she still be along the sidelines watching the races. While I'm sure the new Specialized Angel will be lovely as she blows kisses to the cyclists as they pass, it won't be the same. Jana really impressed me as a class act; she always sent me and other bloggers who featured her thank-you notes for writing about her.

Although the race is only three years old, it is the gem of Medalist Sports' stable of multiday American stage races. Medalist Sports also plays a key role in the Tour of Georgia and Tour of Missouri.

Let the racing begin!

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of California

Roger 2 comments links to this post 11:24 AM

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

2008 Tour of Missouri route announced

Organizers of the Tour of Missouri have announced the start/finish cities for the 2008 race. They are:

STAGE 1 / Monday, Sept. 8
St. Joseph to Kansas City, road race with circuits (90 mi / 144.81 km)

STAGE 2 / Tuesday, September 9
Clinton to Springfield, road race with circuits (125 mi / 201.13 km)

STAGE 3 / Wednesday, September 10
Branson, individual time trial (18 mi / 28.6 km)

STAGE 4 / Thursday, September 11
Lebanon to Rolla, road race with circuits (105 mi / 168.95 km)

STAGE 5 / Friday, September 12
St. James to Jefferson City, road race with circuits (100 mi / 160.9 km)

STAGE 6 / Saturday, September 13
Hermann to St. Charles, road race (110 mi / 177 km)

STAGE 7 / Sunday, September 14
St. Louis, circuit race (75 mi / 120.68 km)

The racers can expect more undulating rolling hills on this year's route. While there aren't any major climbs by professional cycling standards, the riders on the 2007 ride learned that Missouri isn't a flat state by any means.

It wasn't surprising to learn the Tour of Missouri is returning to St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield and Branson, since those were the cities than drew the biggest crowds last year. The addition of a stage allows the Tour to add a stage along old Route 66 between Lebanon and Rolla. The exact routes of the stages will be announced later.

"The Tour of Missouri is perfectly positioned between the Olympic Games in Bejing and the World Championships in late September," said Chris Aronhalt, managing partner of the event organizers Medalist Sports, in a press release. "We can expect the field to include some of the top cyclists who have either competed in the Games or are preparing for the Worlds. This will be a good course for them."

The Tour of Missouri will field 120 of the world's top cyclists, many of whom raced in last year's inaugural race and were very happy with the terrain.

"Winning the Tour of Missouri was one of the highlights of my season. I received tremendous support from everyone and the fans along the route were awesome. The Tour of Missouri goes through some beautiful countryside, and I hope to return in September," George Hincapie, 2007 Tour of Missouri overall winner said in the press release.

Here are some links to some stories about the 2008 Tour of Missouri:

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch
• Kansas City Star
• Springfield News-Leader

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 2:01 PM

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Fired up about Tour of Missouri

Once again, the folks at the Fired Up! Missouri blog are, well, fired up about the Tour of Missouri bicycle race. Here's what the blog -- with a heavy dose of hyperbole -- has to say about the race:

Now comes word that Kinder's bike race ran a $330,000 deficit--- and taxpayers are getting stuck wiping up the mess.

Recently released Missouri Development Finance Board minutes paint a picture of (Lt. Gov. Peter) Kinder strong arming the board he chairs for $350,000 in emergency funding to cover race shortfalls. Kinder also discloses that he is asking (Gov. Matt) Blunt to release state emergency budget reserves to cover other costs.

With all due respect to the folks at Fired Up! Missouri, it's real stretch to get call what Kinder did "strong arming" based solely on the minutes of the meeting. You can read them for yourself and come up with your own conculsions.

The short form is that the board approved the request of $350,000 to cover remaining costs associated with the Tour of Missouri.

Robert V. Miserez, the executive director of the board, said it had approved $100,000 for the race in August and said costs came in under budget, but revenues also came in under budget. Total revenue shortfall costs were approximately $330,000.

Kinder commented that not as much money was raised from sponsorships as they had hoped for, but he expected this would improve for the 2008 event. Vice Chairman John Starr said it is not unusual for an event to take several years to gain enough momentum and seed capital to have a self-sustaining event.

Earlier in the meeting, Kinder reported the economic data from the University of Missouri School of Business for the Tour of Missouri race and indicates the race had an economic impact of $26 million for Missouri and the out-of-state visitors stayed longer and spent more dollars at the race than the average tourists to the state.

The Missouri Bicycle Federation says Blunt and Kinder are supposed to announce the start and finish cities for the 2008 Tour of Missouri and discuss the economic impact of the 2007 race at a press conference Wednesday in Jefferson City.

I'm sure it will be entertaining to see what Fired Up! Missouri has to say about that.

Labels: racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 1 comments links to this post 1:41 AM

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Tour of Missouri press conferences canceled

On Friday, Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt was supposed to hold press conference in St. Louis, Columbia, Kansas City and Springfield about the economic impact of the Tour of Missouri bicycle race on the Show-Me State's economy.

But those press conferences were canceled.

The Springfield News-Leader had reported that the governor, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder and Tourism Director Blaine Lieutkemeyer had planned to visit cities that hosted the tour in 2007. But later, it reported that the press conferences were not on Blunt's calendar for Friday and that they would be rescheduled.

No reason was given for the cancellation, although at least one blogger speculated it was because of grilling Blunt faced at a Thursday press conference over a lawsuit that alleges Blunt played a role in a plan to destroy public records to cover up political activities by his staff.

Meanwhile, the governor and Kinder will announce cities that will participate in the tour later this month and will release information on the race route in February, Laurie Dawson, Kinder's director of administration, told the News-Leader.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 9:46 AM