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My Tour Of MO experience- thanks

May 14, 2009
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I am volunteering as a traveling course marshal for the first time ever here at the Tour of Missouri and I am having a blast!!! I want to thank anybody who e-mailed or called the Gov. in support. I have been at it for two days now and I just wanted to comment on how great the crowds are. They are wonderfull. People who know nothing about the sport of cycling have turned out to support the race. They are asking questions and willing to look at this sport with a new appreciation. All the people I have been able to talk to have all been either current cycling fans or people who wanted to come out and see what all the hoopla is about. I can not say enough as to how incredible it has been to get to talk to people who are new to the sport about how it plays out. The high light of my day was talking to a group of 8th grade girls who were allowed out of school just to watch and could only ask excitedly how much longer before they saw the riders. I asked them if they knew what the were going to see today. They replied no and were happy to listen as I explained who was who and there positions. I had a spare cow bell which they got a kick out of after I told them it was a very European thing to do. They loved it. Their dads were willing to talk shop about a sport which they normally picked football over on any given Sunday & were willing to appreciate what these athletes go through to race. There were kids watching of all ages at a lot of locations and even high school marching bands. As we drove through the country away from towns we were seeing old and young a like grabing their front porch chairs to watch the race go buy. People were waiving and cheering at every race vehicle that went by including the police. In St. Louis while trying to manage traffic control people were just as curious and some were being helpful to the marshals lending an extra hand. It was great to see people from all walks of life standing next to each other sharing in the excitement of what they were watching. While the race circuited the city everybody spoke to each other with out judgement or stereotypes. It was amazing. The cyclist are something else as well. They are for the most part approachable and appreciate the attention even in the small towns. Even though they haven't been to the TDF, team Jelly Belly are a pr dream. They are very patient and welcoming of their fans. I love being able to see Garmin,Columbia & Astana and the whole list TDF competitors in my own back yard. Wow Wow Wow! I look forward to the poeple I will meet as I help course marshal and travel from town to town the rest of the week. For any one who is a cycling fan who can get here I recommend catching a stage and contacting Gov. Nixon to say thanks and hope to see it next year. I hope everyone gets the chance to volunteer at an event like this. Once again thanks to anybody who contacted Nixon and thanks for anyone who reads this and lets me share!!!!!-G:p
 

Dr. Maserati

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Jun 19, 2009
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Thank you for a fabulous article.

Your enthusiasm reminds me of everything I enjoy about bike racing, everything that is great about the sport and how much I was excited when the big races came to my part of the world.

The color, spectacle and excitement of the crowd are all things I can close my eyes to and still see clearly now.

There are many problems with Pro Cycling - in particular with those who govern the sport - but your passion and excitement inspires those that share the love of the sport to continue to support it.

Cycling is still a fantastic sport.
Well done.
 
A

Anonymous

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Great article, thanks for sharing..

But...

Do us a favour, i struggle with reading large blocks of text.. could we have some paragraphs please.. (i copied and pasted into word and put them in myself.. i really couldnt read it)
 
Jul 14, 2009
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Jelly Belly did right by picking Danny V. That guy has helped hundreds of Jr.s and is great at the pro level, to hear him tell it he was the best on Schwinn/Wheaties and no know that is not true. Keep up the good work. Tell Jonas from Kelly Ben that he should grow back his mullet.
 
gwessel2 said:
The cyclist are something else as well. They are for the most part approachable and appreciate the attention even in the small towns.

It wasn't surprising to see the American riders taking the time to sign autographs and pose for pictures, but I was really impressed with the Euro stars (Pellizotti, Cav, Hushovd, etc.) going out of their way to sign autographs and pose for pictures with the fans on the pre-stage walk to the bus. The fan excitement on the lead up to the final sprint at Stage 1 rivaled anything I've witnessed at other pro sport venues in the States. These are the type of fans that cycling was meant for - only hope they don't get exposed to the cynical and jaded bores in here.
 
Aug 22, 2009
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fatandfast said:
Jelly Belly did right by picking Danny V. That guy has helped hundreds of Jr.s and is great at the pro level, to hear him tell it he was the best on Schwinn/Wheaties and no know that is not true. Keep up the good work. Tell Jonas from Kelly Ben that he should grow back his mullet.

name dropper
 
Jul 10, 2009
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I think you summed up my experience for this race as well. I was amazed at how many people I had to explain racing to which is a good thing since it means non cyclist are getting exposure to the sport.

I had a great time at stage one this year. I had not been able to see the first two years due to work and I was also amazed at how fantastic and patient the riders were with signing autographs and having their pictures taken with us fans. I know Cavendish has a reputation for speaking his mind but he did sign a boatload of autographs. I even had a short 3-4 minute conversation with Jens Voigt (he was probably glad to hear someone speak German here).

I was able to get photos with a lot of my favorite riders Leipheimer, Voigt, Hushovd, Pellizotti and many more. I was lucky enough to get a water bottle from Levi and Jens which are pretty cool souvenirs since they are my two favorite riders.