A friend and I took a short road trip into Platte County to catch the first stage of the inaugural Tour of Missouri, a six-day, 600-mile stage race from Kansas City to St. Louis, which features some of the top professional riders in the world, including riders from the soon-to-be-disbanded Discovery Channel team.
The race started and ended in KC’s Plaza district, but we decided to skip the anticipated crowds (which later estimates put at over 40,000 people for the entire route), and opted for the seclusion and intimacy of rural Missouri.
The race started at the Plaza, headed north through downtown Kansas City and across the Heart of America before entering the small river town of Parkville. After a short climb to the day’s King of the Mountain line, the route headed west on Route 45.
We situated ourselves on a slight rise after a long downhill, just west of where the riders turned onto Route 45. By the time they reached us, the entire peloton was back together, and the group just flew past us at a very high rate of speed, and were gone almost before we realized it.
We then headed up to Platte City and took position at the turnoff from Route 92 onto Route N/4th Street, where the route headed back south toward the city. This turned out to be a good location because the riders and support convoy had to slow down a bit going around the corner, and we had a chance to enjoy it for a little longer.
If you look closely, you’ll see George Hincapie in the picture on the left, the center of the three Discovery riders.
From what I saw, there was a pretty good turnout for the race. On Route 45, there were a half-dozen cars parked on a side road watching the cyclists roll past, and local residents set up lawn chairs in their yards to watch the show. In Platte City the local high school marching band and cheerleaders lined the road as the peloton blew past, and there were a good number of spectators at the intersection and along the streets. Motor vehicle traffic wasn’t held up for very long, and drivers didn’t seem too perturbed by the inconvenience, even if they did seem a bit puzzled at the whole spectacle. However, predictably, local media seemed to spend nearly as much space discussing traffic tie-ups as they did the event itself.
I was halfway tempted to follow the race around the state, but couldn’t quite convince myself to spend the time or money to do so. Still, it was an amazing opportunity to see elite athletes up close, and I’m glad I had a chance to witness it. There’s supposed to be a three-year commitment for the Tour of Missouri, so it should be back next year. I’m definitely looking forward to it!
In addition to the pictures above, I have a number of other shots, which you can view at my Tour of Missouri Image Gallery. For even more photos, browse hundreds of Tour of Missouri images at Flickr.
For more local coverage and photos:
- In Vino Veritas
- KCBike.Info
- KC Bike Commuting
- LocalCycling.com
- Maced with Grace
- Missouri Bicycle Federation
- Roger Kramer Cycling
