Route announced: Tour stage to finish in downtown Cape Girardeau

Click here to download a map of Stage 2 of the Tour of Missouri.

Professional cyclists taking part in the Tour of Missouri will take a winding route through northern Cape Girardeau County before racing along North Main Street into downtown Cape Girardeau.

On Thursday, race organizers unveiled the detailed routes for each stage of the race. Cape Girardeau will host the finish of the second stage Sept. 8, with residents along East Cape Rock Drive and North Main Street getting some of the best views as the riders pass.

Map of Stage 2, which will finsih in Cape Girardeau, provided by the Tour of Missouri.

The second day of the seven-day race will begin at 11 a.m. in Ste. Genevieve, Mo., with riders expected to cross the finish line in front of Hutson Furniture, 43 S. Main St., between 3 and 4:15 p.m. The 112.4-mile course includes two climbs in the first 30 miles in which the competitors will climb 500 to 600 feet over a distance of five to six miles.

The route announcement, made by Steve Brunner, sales director of King of the Mountain Sports, and Chuck Hodge, technical director for Medalist Sports, is the beginning of a publicity campaign expected to build enthusiasm for the race.

In the coming five weeks before the race, announcements about which professional riders will take part, the schedule for television broadcasts of the race and the details of local events tied to the race will be made, Brunner said.

The announcement of individual athletes will show the prominence the race has achieved in just three years, Brunner said. The 15 teams, including seven that participated in the recently completed Tour de France, will each have eight riders competing.

"This is going to be one of the best fields ever assembled on North American soil," Brunner said.

Local organizers have been busy helping the tour plan the route through northern Cape Girardeau County, seeking pledges of sponsorship and planning for the race. Assistant Cape Girardeau police chief Roger Fields said he expects it will take 60 officers, stationed at intersections and other key points, to control traffic as the racers approach.

Organizers are already preparing for the biggest crowd in Cape Girardeau since President Bill Clinton visited for a campaign rally in 1996. As many as 30,000 people are expected, Fields said.

"It is a very impressive event," Fields said, adding that he visited Rolla, Mo., and St. James, Mo., last year when those cities hosted the tour. "I would encourage everybody to just witness what all it entails."

Tracey Glenn, chairwoman of the local organizing committee, said the route announcement has been one of the most anticipated parts of her job. Like many of those involved locally, she has been aware of the chosen route but was pledged to secrecy.

"I think it is great," Glenn said of the announcement. "The public wants to know where they can see the race if they are not able to go to the finish site."

The route chosen is one that is popular with area bicycle enthusiasts, said Chris Moore, president of Velo Girardeau Bicycle Club.

The cyclists will be close to Interstate 55, riding on Route W, when they turn east on Cape Girardeau County Road 618. They will ride on County Roads 621, 638, 635, 640 and 657 as they wind through the county to East Cape Rock Drive.

While there is a "pretty good hill" on County Road 618, the remaining road is rolling with no particularly steep climbs, Moore said. "These guys are professional riders, and they won't be scared by it," he said. "It is going to be some good work for them."

The route is popular with local riders who don't train to the level of the professionals, Moore noted. "It is a challenge for the casual rider," he said.

Organizers are still needing volunteers, Moore said. To sign up, visit tourofmissouri.com.

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

43 S, Main St., Cape Girardeau, MO

Tour of Missouri route

The Tour of Missouri today announced the detailed routes for each stage of the cross-state bicycle race. Cape Girardeau will host the finish of Stage 2 on Sept. 8, a 112.4 mile road race that features climbs of almost 500 feet twice along early sections of the route.

The path from St. Genevieve, Mo. to Cape Girardeau will be:

* Start on Merchant Street at Dubourg Place.

* Left turn to the South on Fourth Street to Market Street.

* Left turn to the East on Market Street to Main Street.

* Left turn to the North on Main Street to Merchant Street.

* Left turn to the West on Merchant Street to Fourth Street.

* Left turn to the South on Fourth Street until it becomes Highway 32.

* Southwest on Highway 32 to Route B

* Left turn to the South on Route B to Coffman, Mo.

* Left turn to the Southeast on Route WW to Route T at the Ste. Genevieve-St. Francois county line.

* Left turn to the East on Route T, passing through Silver Lake, Mo., and Perryville, Mo., to U.S. 61.

* Right turn to the South on U.S. 61 to Route P.

* Left turn to the East on Route P to Route C just south of Crosstown, Mo.

* Right turn to the South on Route C, passing the towns of Farrar, Brazeau, Frohna, and Altennburg and New Wells to Cape Girardeau County Road 532 at Pocahontas.

* Left turn to the East on Cape Girardeau County Road 532 to Cape Girardeau County Road 543.

* Right turn to the South on Cape Girardeau County Road 543 to Highway 177.

* Left turn to the East on Highway 177 to Cape Girardeau County Road 607 at Leemon.

* Right turn to the Southeast on Cape Girardeau County Road 607 to Route V.

* Right turn to the South on Route V to Route Y.

* Right turn to the West on Route Y to Route W.

* Left turn to the South on Route W to Cape Girardeau County Road 618.

* Left turn to the East on Cape Girardeau County Road 618 to Cape Girardeau County Road 621.

* Right turn to the South on Cape Girardeau County Road 621 to Cape Girardeau County Road 638.

* Left turn to the East on Cape Girardeau County Road 638 to Cape Girardeau County Road 635.

Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, left, Tracey Glenn with the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce, and Mayor Jay Knudtson unveil a "host city" sign for the Tour of Missouri bicycle race that will stop in Cape Girardeau Sept. 8. (Fred Lynch)

* Left turn to the East on Cape Girardeau County Road 635 to Cape Girardeau County Road 640.

* Stay right continuing East on Cape Girardeau County Road 640 to Cape Girardeau County Road 657.

* Right turn to the South on Cape Girardeau County Road 657 to Highway 177.

Team Discovery's George Hincapie, center, crosses the finish line just ahead of several challengers at the end of the second stage of the Tour of Missouri in downtown Springfield, Mo., Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2007. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

* Right turn to the on Highway 177 to Cape Girardeau County Road 657 (Old Route V).

* Left turn on to the Southeast on Cape Girardeau County Road 657 to East Cape Rock Drive.

* Left turn on East Cape Rock Drive through Cape Rock Park to N. Main St.

* Left turn to the South on N. Main Street to Broadway.

* Right turn on Broadway to Lorimier Street.

* Left turn on Lorimier Street to William Street.

* Left turn on William Street to Main Street.

* Left turn on Main Street to Finish.

* Finish on Main Street in front of Hutson\'s Furniture.

Pertinent Address:

43 S. Main St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.