April 14, 2009 (Jefferson City, Mo.) - The current world No. 1-ranked team, QuickStep of Belgium, has been announced for the third Tour of Missouri professional cycling race, scheduled for September 7-13, 2009.

It will be QuickStep's first time racing at the Tour of Missouri.

"It is a big win for Missouri that the world No. 1 ranked team has chosen to participate in one of the world's top bike races," said Lt. Governor Peter Kinder. "The caliber of athletes and teams will translate directly into more spectators and more economic impact for the state and host cities."

"To add the current top-ranked team on the world circuit to the Tour of Missouri is phenomenal," said Chris Aronhalt, the managing partner of event organizer Medalist Sports. "The stature of the event continues to grow, and the participation of QuickStep re-inforces how far the Tour of Missouri has matured in two short years. We are proud of the race's impeccable reputation, and pleased that several of the world's top-ranked teams have requested invites. We now have six Tour de France entrants in the race, a staggering amount for a young race."

QuickStep joins one of the top fields assembled outside of Europe this season.

Previously announced are top United States-based teams Garmin-Slipstream and world No. 3-ranked Columbia-High Road, as well as the world No. 2-ranked Cervelo Test Team, 2009 Tour de France favorite Astana, and one of Italy's top pro tour teams Liquigas. Domestic-based Jelly Belly and recent Paris-Roubaix team entrant BMC Racing have also been announced.

The overall course will take on a very different slant in 2009. For the first time, the race will route east to west, starting in St. Louis and finishing in Kansas City. The past two years, the race routed west to east starting in Kansas City to finish in St. Louis.

According to Aronhalt, race organizers are close to two other big-name team signings. A total of eight teams have been announced to date. A total of 15 teams will be slotted in for the September line up.

The race will be contested over seven days and seven stages. There will be two circuit races (St. Louis, Kansas City), one individual time trial (Sedalia), and four point to point road races (Ste. Genevieve to Cape Girardeau; Farmington to Rolla; St. James to Jefferson City; Chillicothe to St. Joseph).

The overall mileage for the course is expected to be more than 600 miles.

Though a stellar world-class field was presented last year, the three-year-old race is expected to be even better as the Tour of Missouri was granted an upgrade to one of the top five-ranked events outside Europe by international and national federation's for cycling. The upgrade will guarantee more top teams. Additional teams will be announced in coming weeks.

American Christian Vande Velde won last year's race, while countryman George Hincapie won the inaugural race in 2007.

The Tour of Missouri's premier sponsors to date are Missouri Tourism, Missouri Farm Bureau of Jefferson City, Drury Hotels, and Edward Jones, both of St. Louis.