The Tour of Missouri has announced a further eight squads which will join the Tour de France winning Discovery Channel outfit at its September race. Jonathan Vaughters' Professional Continental Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle will join International Tour de Toona winners HealthNet-Maxxis and Toona runners up Toyota-United at the inaugural Tour of Missouri, on September 11-16.
"Professional cycling in the United States continues to grow, and it's reflected in the strength of the American-based teams racing mostly in the western hemisphere," said race director Jim Birrell. "Most of these teams field a strong contingent of the best American riders, as well as top international guys."
The other five new announcements are Navigators Insurance, Colavita-Sutter Homes, Jelly Belly, BMC and the USA National Team. "We look forward to the Tour of Missouri," said Colavita-Sutter Homes director Tom Schuler. "This is a great way to end the season for the top domestic teams. It starts with a quality event with the Amgen Tour of California and ends with a the Tour of Missouri. And, we always look forward to battling the international teams."
According to the race's competition director and former Tour de France rider Kevin Livingston, the race will add six, possibly seven additional teams, made up almost exclusively of internationally-based teams, some which have raced in the Tour de France.
"The BMC Cycling team is ecstatic about participating in the inaugural Tour of Missouri," says Gavin Chilcott, director of the BMC Pro Cycling Team. "These major tours are great for the sport in the United States. We plan on bringing a very strong team that will be suited to the terrain in Missouri. And that team, of course, will feature Missouri-native Dan Schmatz."
Rosters for each team will not be announced until early September.
