2008 Woodie Awards
Organizers dub Missouri's first bike race a success
Pedal to the pavement
Scott Vicker
Issue date: 9/21/07 Section: Sports
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For organizers of the inaugural race, this event succeeded in making a solid first impression.
"We couldn't be happier with the way it was organized, operated and executed," said director of state media inquires for the event Barry Bennett.
Medalist Sports-a company that organizes the Tour de Georgia and the Tour of California-organized the Missouri event as well.
"One racer compared it to the Tour de France. He said this event had a Tour de France feel to it," Bennett said. "When you get compared to the granddaddy of them all, you can't ask for much more."
Bennett also noted that the winner of this year's event, George Hincapie of the famed Discovery Channel Cycling Team, had kind words about the event. Hincapie won the race in a total time of 21:00.33, 1:38 ahead of second-place finisher William Frischkorn of Team Slipstream. Hincapie won the second stage of the race, from Clinton to Springfield, garnering the overall lead in the race.
"We've seen a lot of momentum in our sport over the last several years with the Tour de Georgia and the Tour of California and now the Tour of Missouri and to be able to create this Triple Crown and provide the opportunity to allow these American household names to compete on American soil is a great reward for us," Race Director Jim Birrell said.
The ultimate goal for the state organization for this event was simple-draw attention to the state of Missouri.
"Our expectations were that we would show off Missouri to the rest of the country and the world," Bennett said. "We wanted to promote tourism and spread the word of what is here, outside of Kansas City and St. Louis."
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