Hundreds of cyclists and thousands of spectators packed into some quintessential St. Louis neighborhoods over the holiday weekend for the latest installment of the Gateway Cup. It's been around for more than three decades. But can we expect it to be around for years to come?
"Gateway Cup is perpetual," organizer Mike Weiss promises.
Weiss tells KMOX News big-name local sponsors continue to be interested, which makes the Cup possible. He also says unique to the event is the amount of neighborhood-level support from people and businesses.
"As long as everyone keeps banding together, we're going to be able to keep putting this on over and over," he says.
But sporting fans might remember how the world-renowned Tour of Missouri statewide racing competition was cancelled after a political change in office.
"The Tour of Missouri was an amazing event, a very visionary event for the state of Missouri, bringing together the cities and the small towns," Weiss says. "Gateway Cup brings together the neighborhoods in one city."
"St. Louis has got it, and we've got it for good," he adds.