Tour of Missouri to hit Parkville
Tuesday’s major biking event will start from the Plaza and follow Hwy. 9. coming through Parkville westbound at about 1:28 to 1:33 p.m. and returning between 2:57 and 3:17 p.m. in the first leg of the 600-mile, 6-day tour which ends in St. Louis.
All roads on which the 120 world class riders will travel will be closed to other traffic during the race. This includes Hwy. 9 through North Kansas City, past Riverside, through Parkville, west to Union Chapel, north to Hwy. 45, on 45 to and through Platte City, and return by much the same route. The entourage includes about 40 vehicles in addition to the cyclists.
Participating are eight members of 15 teams of elite riders for the total of 120 who come from several countries.
They will enter Parkville from Riverside at the eastern city limits, and there will be a “sprint,” otherwise called a race within a race, where selected riders will race each other ahead of the pack for a short distance. One sprint is planned to end at the park University main entrance before the riders take the dog-leg intersection through downtown to Hwy. FF or River Road.
Mayor Kathy Dusenbery and the city’s Board of Aldermen are supportive of the tour, and especially for the fact that it will pass through Parkville not just once, but twice.
Dusenbery hopes for a big show of public support for the event.