Henry Meyer is a legend of the Tour of Kansas City. Henry raced in all of the Tours from 1964 through 1982. He began racing bikes in the Kansas City region in 1933 and narrowly missed garnering a place in the 1948 U.S. Olympic team, having missed opportunities during this younger, stronger years of ’40 and ’44 because of the War.

It was in honor of Henry Meyer’s achievements and efforts for improving bicycle racing, both in the past and currently, that the American Youth Hostel donated the “Henry Meyer” award, to the Tour of Kansas City. The Henry Meyer award is a permanent trophy upon which is engraved the name of the Senior Division (Elite) winner. Several of the past winners’ names are legends in bicycle racing. For example, Wayne Stetina, Marc Thompson, and of course Jeff Pierce, the 1980 winner who won the final stage of the 1987 Tour de France for the American 7-11 team.