The Tour Of Missouri

The Tour of Missouri






How much fun is this. My love of the Tour de France is well documented and looked upon somewhat problematically by many of my friends as it seems to veer over to obsessive compulsive as I am going home every night to watch the race replay. But it is good stuff. Everyone can ride a bike which is one of the appeals of the sport....but not everyone can ride up a 20 mile hill...at speed.

So I was excited that our possible foot tapping Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder worked his ass off from his ceremonial spot in government to put together the Tour of Missouri. The Tour of Georgia has been around a long time along with various events in Colorado and California and Texas but this was big time cycling coming to Missouri of all places. The race was in 5 stages and took you from KC to Springfield, Branson, Columbia, Jefferson City and finally St. Charles and St. Louis. How cool is that?

I remember some pro cycling race that went through U-City on a circuit race that took these guys tearing down Delmar over and over again and it effected me powerfully. When watching on TV you really cannot fathom how fast they are going. thee idea of “drafting” on a bike, in other words letting someone else break the wind for you, seems to be a minor advantage at best. Until you see these guys tear by in a back at 30 or 40 miles and hour. You feel the wind of their passing and realize at that speed you really can be sucked along by a slipstream... it amazed and frightened me.

Do to work schedules I really was not able to watch any of the tour until it’s final day in downtown St. Louis. The day also had a day baseball game and football game so downtown was chaotic at best. The route headed downtown to lap Kiener Plaza on one end so I was looking forward to looking down on it from my firms conference room on the 23rd Floor of 800 Market.

Unfortunately I am...as many of you know.... an idiot. The race started and ended at Union Station and then went west avoiding the heart of downtown and Keiner Plaza by about 8 blocks. Arguably it is hard to be so stupid but for me it came easily so after watching half the Rams game I made the walk up the street to see a little bike racing. All I can really say about is....wow. I cannot fathom the speed these guys roll along in and their proximity to one another. I think there might have been a time in my life....16-23 or so where I would have considered this a cool thing to try. Such is not the case now. Rolling along at that speed on a bike with one hundred other guys riding around me...several of them inches from my wheel would absolutely freak me out. So I am old and weak....so what?

Hincapie and the Discovery Team were rolling into town with Hincappie in the lead and the Disco boys planning to go out with a bang instead of a whimper. Tour de France winner Alberto Contador was on his squad and the best line of the whole Tour of Missouri came from Hincappie who said “I have a Tour de france winner bringing me water bottles.” That is seriously messed up.

This was at best a troubled year for cycling...the second one in a row. Too much doping and too many people forced out of the Tour de France in what even their defense lawyers would term “awkward” situations. So coming to Missouri, rolling through the Ozarks and down the Missouri River with a 100 or so Europeans and South Americans might be just the thing to return boring, old school respectability to cycling. Nothing screams respectable like invoking Harry Truman and “The Show Me State.”

Hincappie ended up winning by protecting his lead and a brilliant Discovery team sailed slowly off into the sunset. All in all it was a party and I hope to watch a time trial next year. I hope it comes back next year. Might save me a trip to France.