Buried amid all the glitz and splash of the preview of the new, improved Team Slipstream-Chipotle was a nugget that should give fans of the Tour of Missouri some thing to look forward to.

The team plans to return to Missouri. This is pretty big news. A few months ago, Slipstream walked away with the team title, the best young rider and second place in the individual standings. But the team is launching a new era. It signed several elite riders on the European circuit _ David Millar, Magnus Backstedt, Julian Dean, and Americans Dave Zabriskie, Tom Danielson, Tyler Farrar and Christian Vandevelde _ in an effort to be invited to the biggest races in Europe. The combination of star power, the strong anti-doping program and its American-based support make it a major player.

So, the Velonews report from Mr. (Neal) Rogers Neighborhood that the team planned to ride in Big Three races in the States (California, Georgia and Missouri) bodes well   for the Tour of Missouri, which again will compete with the three-week Vuelta a Espana for European teams. Slipstream could bring the likes of Millar and Backstedt and Zabriskie to the state, increasing the race’s cachet in the European peloton.