What to blog about?  Today’s Wall Street meltdown?  Tonight’s debate?  Tomorrow’s trip?  Nope, how about the Tour of Missouri!  The Kansas City Star reports:

The Tour of Missouri has been promoted to the big leagues of international cycling and after only two years.

The Union Cycliste Internationale has announced that next year’s week-long, 600-mile race across the Show Me state will be run under the sport’s highest rating, 2HC, which awards premium international competition points to winners.

This upgrade should attract more attention from fans, the international media and top international competitors including, just maybe, cycling superstar Lance Armstrong who, by the race’s start on Sept. 7 next year may have added an unprecedented 8th Tour de France winner’s jersey to his collection.

Armstrong has announced he’ll race in a California event next February and in another race in Australia leading up to the Tour de France in July.

But nobody knows where else he’ll choose to appear in his heralded comeback from retirement that was announced during last month’s Tour of Missouri.

To woo Armstrong the Tour of Missouri has one big obstacle to overcome: the Vuelta a Espana, the Spanish international pro tour race whose September dates annually conflict with the Missouri race and is one of only three international Grand Tour events on the pro tour that outrank a 2HC race. The others are the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia.

Armstrong has joined the international Astana team that last month chose to compete in the premier Spanish race instead of the Tour of Missouri.  It won.

Check out my post on the ToM.