Tour De Lafayette 2025

     It's a warm sunny day on the first day of the Gateway Cup 2025. Today is the first day of the four days of bicycle races. I have attended several of these racing events held in Lafayette Square on the streets surrounding Lafayette Square Park in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. It is 1 pm on Friday a scene seen for over a decade Junior Bicycle racers pedaling the one mile square of Lafayette Square Park on Labor Day Weekend August, 29th, 2025. The annual event is in it's 40th year. The event began during the Fourth of July Weekend Celebration the fair known as the Vail Prophet Fair of VP Fair in 1986. Joe Torrisi thought have races on the same weekend as other races held in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

     The Tour de Lafayette offers something for all ages.

The race begins each of the four days with the Community Ride; this is a chance for the spectator to ride the course as the bicycle racers will all day. Mid-race cycle is the kids races sprints (tricycle to 12 years old.) which is capped with the Professional races. 

     "USA Cycling, the governing body for bicycle racing in the United States, has established a system of racing categories to classify riders based on their skill and experience levels. These categories help ensure fair competition by grouping riders of similar abilities together. The categories for Road, Track, and cyclocross range from category Novice (beginner level) to Category 1 (Highest Level)." USA Cycling Website

The event has vendors that offer products, apparel, food, and beverages that are available for purchase. The streets are lined with Cycling Race Teams and their canopies. Spectators are able to cheer on cyclists along the course. The streets are closed to traffic at least a block away from the course; so move around and simply enjoy the day of racing.

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By Darren Dwayne Frazier

Photographs by Highland Productions LLC

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