EVENT DESCRIPTION: As part of the Tour of Missouri, Kansas City will be among the few cities in the nation to host some of the world’s top women cyclists. The inaugural Country Club Plaza Women's Pro Am Criterium is an Olympic-level invitational cycling race featuring a field of professional women cyclists, including national champions, world champions and Olympians competing for a $7,500 cash purse.

WHO: Up to 100 of the world’s top women cyclists

WHEN: September 8

TIME: 1 p.m., prior to the men’s arrival for the conclusion of Stage One of the Tour of Missouri

WHERE: Country Club Plaza will be the site of the one-kilometer course.

• Start/finish line on Ward Parkway
• Left on Central with an immediate left on Nichols through the expo area 
• Left on Pennsylvania passing by restaurant row with an immediate right on 48th to Jefferson 
• Left to Ward Parkway and back to the start/finish

WHAT IS A CRITERIUM? A criterium is a timed, multi-lap, one-day race on a closed, short course that’s typically one mile or less. This leads to tight groups with frequent turns.

HIGHLIGHTS: 

• The Country Club Plaza Women's Pro Am Criterium will race through the Country Club Plaza on a one-kilometer course.
• The woman will race on a flat course around the Country Club Plaza for approximately an hour.
• Kansas City’s famed Country Club Plaza is a 14-block open-air shopping district filled with romantic Spanish architecture, statues and dazzling fountains.

SPECIAL EVENTS AT THE COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA:

• The Country Club Plaza will be ground zero for the Tour of Missouri in Kansas City. A special celebration at the Plaza will create a festive atmosphere for the entire family to enjoy Tour of Missouri. Activities include:
  • A Health & Wellness Expo, held near the circuit’s finish line at the Plaza, providing local businesses and organizations with the opportunity to promote their healthy products and services to thousands of race spectators. The Expo will run before, during and after the race, from noon to 6 p.m.
  • Family activities at the Expo including a Kids Zone and free children’s bike helmet giveaway starting at noon.
• The exciting finish to Stage One of the Tour of Missouri will conclude at the Country Club Plaza at approximately 4 p.m.
• A combined awards ceremony for the men’s and women’s races will be held at the Country Club Plaza following the finish of the men’s race at approximately 4:30 p.m.

KEY PLACES TO WATCH THE TOUR OF MISSOURI IN KANSAS CITY: 

• The Country Club Plaza will be a prime spot to watch the Women’s Criterium, the end of the men’s Stage One circuit race and to experience the Tour of Missouri festivities.