Competitors in the Tour of Missouri cross-state bicycle race will arrive in Cape Girardeau after riding from Ste. Genevieve on Sept. 8, tour organizers announced this morning.

Cape Girardeau is one of 11 host cities announced for the weeklong-event that will take place from Sept. 7 to 13. The tour will begin with a circuit race in St. Louis on Labor Day, Sept. 7, before moving out into the state.

The tour, championed as a tool for economic development by Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, will reverse from the west-to-east path it has taken in its first two years. Following Cape Girardeau, the tour will make stops in Farmington, Rolla, St. James, Jefferson City, Sedalia, Chillicothe, St. Joseph, with a finish in a circuit race in Kansas City.

During a news conference, Kinder said the race is bringing tourists who are more affluent, spend more and stay longer than the average tourist visitor to the state. He noted the Internet hookups that drew interest from 139 countries and "4 million watched on national and regional television. It is only getting bigger."

During the conference, Mayor Jay Knudtson said the city has enthusiastically embraced the chance to take part in the tour. "We have a bicycle community in Cape Girardeau that is absolutely excited and ignited about the opportunity to participate," Knudtson said.

For more information, check back at semissourian.com or read Wednesday's Southeast Missourian.