JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Event organizers and Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder today (Tuesday) announced the start and finish host cities and the overall course for the third Tour of Missouri professional cycling race, scheduled for Sept. 7-13, 2009. And, this year’s tour includes Chillicothe serving as a host city. “The Tour of Missouri is a professional sporting event of the highest caliber,” said Amy Supple, director of the Greater Chillicothe Visitors Region. “We are incredibly excited to be able to host the tour. I have every confidence that our stage of the race will be an impressive one.”

The Greater Chillicothe Visitors Region worked with the City of Chillicothe, local cycling enthusiasts and others to submit a proposal to host the Tour of Missouri. A site visit in early January with local officials cemented Chillicothe’s selection. A group of approximately 10 Chillicotheans were on hand in Jefferson City today to watch as Mayor Chuck Haney spoke at the press conference.

Chillicothe, promoted as the home of sliced bread, will play host to its first stage as cyclists will face a moderately flat start while moving into short steep hills toward the finish at St. Joseph. St. Joseph, the fifth largest city in the state, will play host to its first tour finish after serving as host to the overall start last year. Other cities playing host to a leg of the tour are: St. Louis, St. Genevieve, Cape Girardeau, Farmington, Rolla, St. James, Jefferson City, Sedalia, St. Joseph, and Kansas City.

“We had a record amount of cities inquire about the Tour of Missouri,” said Lt. Gov. Kinder. “It is a testament to the success of the race. We faced a very difficult process of eliminating some great cities. Our commitment, however, is to continue to route the course to all areas of the state. This year, for the first time, we will visit the southeast part of Missouri while spending a longer time north of Interstate 70. In addition, we will be able to highlight some of the agricultural regions.”

The overall course will take on a very different slant in 2009. For the first time, the race will route east to west, starting in St. Louis and finishing in Kansas City. The past two years, the race routed west to east starting in Kansas City to finish in St. Louis. Stage by stage courses will be announced at a later date. “In keeping with tradition, we will change the course from year to year to keep it fresh,” said Chris Aronhalt, the managing partner of event organizers Medalist Sports of the Atlanta area. “There will be new drama on the race route and we expect a few more hills. Overall, we have some great and very excited host cities.”

The race will be contested over seven days and seven stages. There will be two circuit races (St. Louis, Kansas City), one individual time trial (Sedalia), and four point to point road races (St. Genevieve to Cape Girardeau; Farmington to Rolla; St. James to Jefferson City; Chillicothe to St. Joseph).