JT Fisher’s Stage 1 Recap
Stage 1 of the Tour of Missouri has completed, and seems to have exceeded expectations on a number of fronts, including:
GOOD RACING: Obviously it’s common knowledge that there were breakaway attempts early on, and then a long and doomed breakaway that got up to five minutes lead on the peloton at its peak. Since the peloton acted rationally, which it often (but not always) does, the bigger group did not opt to allow the breakaway to capture time in the overall standings. Therefore, it all came back together on the streets of KC, and a group sprint ensued which was won courageously by Ivan Dominguez (Toyota-United). No time gap was awarded to the winner, so we go into stage 2 with several dozen riders each having still one toe tentatively on the podium for the General Classification (i.e., overall win). Ivan has won 13 races this season despite being sidelined for several weeks due to injury.
GOOD FAN SUPPORT: There was a huge crowd at the starting Plaza in Kansas City, and unofficially tallies put spectator totals in the tens of thousands. Website visits were also high and we understand that web site hits for today were in the 6 figures. ATT cordially sponsored the streaming video which operated relatively effectively, and in any case was a vast improvement over text-only updates. [One might have noticed that the racers did spend time among cornfields, which my previous note said would not be the case for most of the ToM – I stand by that, allowing that Stage I was centered around on Kansas City and the word Kansas means “corn” for all intents and purposes.]
GOOD SWAG: [subtitled, “Swag Going Fast As The Riders (or faster?)”: It was reported that the peleton spent a considerable amount of time on the outward leg from Kansas City bustling along at a whopping 14 mph, with the important caveat that “they were riding into the wind.” The fact that the breakaway group nearly rode their legs off and yet could gain only five minutes advantage suggests the peleton wasn’t specifically simply on holiday, and it was breezy, but 14 MPH? NOAH confirms no Nor’Easters spotted in the area of Kansas yesterday… At the same time, It was reported that Vendors carts were moving quite a bit swifter than that, and word has gotten back that they sold far more gear “than they ever have at the Tour of Georgia.” Some vendors apparently reported to race officials they’d sold in one day the allotment of items they’d brought for the *entire week*. Tour officials respond smartly by encouraging fans to buy your swag early . . .
On a less stellar note, there’s still a learning curve in any new endeavor, and it was reported that notwithstanding the good showing of fans out and about, some local businesses along route were apparently surprised the race was happening that day. Growing pains, I suppose.
TODAY’s STAGE: A rolling 202km stretch from Clinton MO, directly south to Springfield. South is important – the wind is from the north today at 5-10, so we won’t see expect to see any more 14mhp crawls out of the peleleton, will we, boys? There are circuits downtown before the finish, and I’ll go out on a limb and wager that the winner will be…a sprinter!
TOMORROW’s STAGE: I’ll be in Branson tomorrow for the time trial and to get some first hand color commentary. That race, finishes uphill and includes more than 800 feet of vertical climbing. Stage 5, from Jefferson City to St. Eight hundred feet ain’t much, but it’s done in a series of very short/sharp climbs of 200 feet at a time. Is Hincapie the man here? We think so.
FRIDAY’S STAGE: From Jefferson City to St. Charles Will be 125 miles of rollers with no major lengthy hills – yet somehow by the end of the day the riders’ legs will have endured 10,000 feet of climbing. [I keep telling you, Missouri isn’t exactly flat.]
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