TOUR DE …

Not really … just having fun, though it would be a major disappointment, upset and surprise if inaugural winner George Hincapie doesn’t come back to defend his yellow jersey at the 2008 Tour of Missouri.

That was the word Wednesday in Jefferson City at the press conference to announce this year’s Tour route. Heck, the way the organizers from Medalist Sports were talking you half expect to see ‘em pull out the ol’ tire pump and smack away the overabundance of pro cycling teams nipping at their wheels for an invite to Year 2 of the Show Me State’s grand tour onto the international cycling stage.

Word is out in the professional peloton that the first Tour of Missouri was a rousing success, both on and off the roads, and teams are lining up for invites.

We know Hincapie’s High Road Sports team and Astana, the team of former Discovery boss Johan Bruyneel, are among the half-dozen Pro Tour teams (re: Tour de France teams) that have asked for invites. Others who want to climb on board the Missouri Express starting in St. Joe include European continental teams and of course U.S. domestic teams such as Slipstream-Chipotle, Rock Racing and Toyota United.

This news is a boon for both the Tour and the state, where Gov. Matt Blunt, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder and the folks at Medalist Sports have brought cycling to the masses.

In small towns such as Clinton and Lebanon, and the bigger burgs of Branson, Springfield, Jefferson City and St. Charles, the first Tour of Missouri was the biggest event ever to happen in their towns — a colorful, lycra-spandex, sporting spectacle beyond their wildest dreams. Even the big dogs of Kansas City and St. Louis hadn’t seen anything quite like a pro peloton zipping through the streets at 35-40 miles per hour.

The success of the inaugural Tour of Missouri has prompted people from the host cities and the event organizers to dream big for this year’s event.

– St. Louis city operations manager Ron Smith talked of the city doubling its attendance for the final stage of the Tour of Missouri, from 50,000 last year to 100,000 this year.

– Chris Aronhalt, a managing partner of Medalist Sports, talked of doubling everything — attendance (367,566 last year) and economic impact ($26.2 million, both figures according to the University of Missouri School of Business).

– St. Charles Mayor Patty York spoke of partnering with Rolla so that St. Charles’ and Rolla’s sister cities over in Germany could team up to watch the Tour of Missouri in the middle of the night at an Internet cafe, which is what 200 people in St. Chas’ sister city of Ludwigsburg did last year.

– Kinder talked up days off for students in ToM host cities, more than doubling the fun the Lebanon school district and the professional cyclists had last year when the students of Lebanon mingled with the riders (below) before sending them off for Stage 5.

“That made an impression,” Aronhalt said.

“Lebanon, you added so much,” Kinder told Lebanon Mayor Stan Allen.

Indeed, it did. And an event some may have considered a boondoggle and a waste of money — $1 million from the state tourism budget last year and a similar amount this year — has become a source of pride for Missouri, a crown jewel with an international audience that watched or followed last year’s race on the Internet.

“There are a whole bunch of people who have never heard of Missouri,” Kinder said, “but they have now … because we all pulled together as a team to put this together.”

The team effort last year was most evident in the Branson time trial, where 73 MoDOT trucks lined the highway to give the cyclists safe passage. Not only were the Tour organizers impressed by the show of force but the pro cyclists seemed genuinely touched by the effort to keep them safe.

Wednesday, the affable Kinder noted perhaps the key thing about the Tour for Missouri residents.

“It’s free to the public,” he said.

That’s the beauty of pro cycling: free admission. No overpriced tickets, no overpriced concessions, and no overpriced parking. The sponsors pay the bills — like the teams, sponsors also are lining up to sign on for this year – and the leaders in the state of Missouri had the foresight to seize an opportunity to bring this international event to residents in the big, medium and small towns across the state.

And as a bonus, “We saved the world from the Tour of Kansas,” Kinder said, with a hearty laugh.

–30–