Tour of Missouri canceled amid budget woes; race once a top stop for world’s best riders

Tour of Missouri canceled amid budget woes

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Organizers of the Tour of Missouri have canceled this year’s bicycle race after state tourism officials declined to help fund it.

Tour of Missouri chairman Mike Weiss said Thursday that organizers pulled the plug on the race after Gov. Jay Nixon’s administration refused to support it.

The race, which started in 2007, was considered one of the world’s top five cycling events outside Europe and attracted riders including Alberto Contador, George Hincapie and Levi Leipheimer. The 2008 race attracted 434,000 spectators and the state estimated a return of just under $30 million in economic impact for its $1.5 million investment that year.

Earlier Thursday, a budget committee for the Missouri Tourism Commission endorsed a $13.4 million spending plan that included no state money for the race.