Philadelphia International Cycling Classic

Philadelphia International Championship
Race details
Date	Early-June
Region	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
English name	Philadelphia International Championship
Local name(s)	TD Bank Philadelphia International Championship (in English)
Nickname(s)	CoreStates, Manayunk
Discipline	Road
Competition	UCI America Tour
Type	Road race
Web site	philadelphiainternationalcyclingclassic.com
History
First edition	1985
Final edition	2016
First winner	Eric Heiden (USA)
Most wins	Bart Bowen (USA); Kiel Reijnen (USA); 2 wins
Final winner	Eduard Prades (ESP)

Last updated January 27, 2024

The Philadelphia International Championship was an annual bicycle race held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was described as "America's top international cycling classic, and one of the richest and most prestigious one day races outside of Europe." It was one of the longest single-day races in the U.S. at 199.6 kilometres (124.0 mi). The men's event was ranked 1.1 by the International Cycling Union (UCI), the sport's governing body, which made it the highest ranked single-day race in the Western Hemisphere after the UCI World Tour Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal and Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec. It was part of the UCI America Tour.

The race had existed since 1985, but its name changed a number of times, because of the changing of names of its corporate sponsors, due to bank mergers and acquisitions. The title sponsor was originally CoreStates Bank, followed by First Union Bank in 1998, then Wachovia Bank in 2002. In November 2005, Wachovia withdrew its sponsorship. With assistance from former Philadelphia mayor and then-Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell, a corporate sponsor was found in 2006; Commerce Bank made a four-year commitment. Due to its acquisition by Toronto-Dominion Bank in 2007, Commerce Bank became TD Bank in 2008.

The Philadelphia International Championship was once the final leg of a one-week, 3-race circuit called the TD Bank Triple Crown of Cycling. The races took place in Lancaster, Reading and Philadelphia. The opening race was the Lancaster Classic, followed four days later by the Reading Classic, with the finale in Philadelphia three days after that.

Through 2005, the highest placed finisher registered in the United States was named the USPRO champion, whether or not he won the race. The race was often called the USPRO Championship; however, USA Cycling, the national governing body, stripped the Philadelphia race of the USPRO title, wanting to limit the race to Americans. Local organizers insisted the field remain open to the pros from all around the world.

There was a men's and a women's race, the latter called the Liberty Classic . The seven-lap men's race consisted of a three-lap 1.6 km (0.99 mi) opening circuit, followed by seven 23.2 km (14.4 mi) laps of the primary circuit, then a five-lap 4.8 km closing circuit. The total distance was 251 km (156 mi). The women's race was on the same course but started later and was shorter: 4 laps of the primary circuit for 92.7 km (57.6 mi).

The race started on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and then headed along Kelly Drive into the northwest section of the city, through East Falls, Manayunk, and Roxborough, then returned to the Parkway and Logan Circle to complete its loop, passing parts of Fairmount Park along the way.

Top cyclists who have participated include Eric Heiden, who won the race in 1985, Greg LeMond, and Lance Armstrong, who started his professional career when he won the race in 1993.

The cancellation of the 2017 races was announced by the UCI at the end of January 2017, citing difficulty in obtaining sponsorship resulting in financial difficulties for the organisers.

Manayunk Wall

In bicycling terminology, a "wall" is a steep incline. The Manayunk Wall, located by Jerry Casale and David Chauner when they were laying out the course in 1985, refers to Levering Street and Lyceum Avenue in northwest Philadelphia. It begins at Main Street and Levering Street in the neighborhood of Manayunk, proceeds on the well-worn cobblestone Cresson Street under the elevated railway, then back on to Levering Street.

Most of the Wall is part of Levering Street, but it becomes Lyceum Avenue at Tower Street. The steepest section, a 17-percent grade, commences just after the slight left turn when going up at the intersection with Tower Street, and ends at the intersection with Fleming street. It becomes less steep on the stretch with O'Brien's as it crosses Manayunk Avenue. It nearly flattens and ends at Pechin Street in Roxborough, which most news crews set up for broadcasting. The right turn off Lyceum Avenue onto Pechin Street begins The Fall from the Wall. Manayunk Avenue is the boundary of Manayunk and Roxborough.

O'Brien's Water Hole along the wall sets up a water sprinkler for cyclists to ride through. In early years, no one seemed to mind but as the race became more important, it was criticized as a distraction and reduced.

On June 5, 2002, Manayunk designated the 17-percent grade as the Manayunk Wall. Olympic gold medalist Marty Nothstein presented a plaque.

Downhill Race

At midnight, the morning of the international championship, an unlicensed race down The Wall took place from 1996-2006. "The Downhill" was conceived at Dawson Street Pub. Racers gathered there to walk to The Wall. The race started at Manayunk Avenue and Lyceum Avenue and continued to the bottom of the hill or until where police blocked the street. The race included BMX bikes, tricycles, shopping carts, wheelchairs, skateboards, bed frames and roller skates. The event grew in popularity after being promoted on a radio station in 2003 and several thousand spectators attended in 2006. A young man was injured during the 2006 race when he was blindsided by another individual who was careening down the wall in a shopping cart. Police are generally credited as permanently stopping the race. On September 6, 2008 the Red Bull Soapbox Race ^[2] was held at the Manayunk Wall.

Past winners

General classification

Also served as USPRO Championships for USA riders up to 2005

Year	Country	Rider	Team
1985	United States	Eric Heiden	7-Eleven
1986	United States	Thomas Prehn	Schwinn–Icy Hot
1987	United States	Tom Schuler	7-Eleven
1988	Italy	Roberto Gaggioli	Pepsi-Cola–Fanini–FNT
1989	United States	Greg Oravetz	Coors Light–ADR
1990	Italy	Paolo Cimini	Gis Gelati–Benotto
1991	Netherlands	Michel Zanoli	Tulip Computers
1992	United States	Bart Bowen	Subaru–Montgomery
1993	United States	Lance Armstrong	Motorola
1994	Great Britain	Sean Yates	Motorola
1995	United States	Norman Alvis	Saturn
1996	United States	Eddy Gragus	U.S. Postal Service
1997	Italy	Massimiliano Lelli	Saeco–Estro
1998	United States	George Hincapie	U.S. Postal Service
1999	Denmark	Jakob Piil	Acceptcard Pro Cycling
2000	Australia	Henk Vogels	Manheim Auctions–Mercury
2001	United States	Fred Rodriguez	Domo–Farm Frites–Latexco
2002	Canada	Mark Walters	Navigators
2003	Italy	Stefano Zanini	Saeco
2004	Spain	Francisco Ventoso	Saunier Duval–Prodir
2005	United States	Chris Wherry	Health Net–Maxxis
2006	New Zealand	Greg Henderson	Health Net–Maxxis
2007	Argentina	Juan José Haedo	Team CSC
2008	Denmark	Matti Breschel	Team CSC
2009	Germany	André Greipel	Team Columbia–High Road
2010	Australia	Matthew Goss	Team HTC–Columbia
2011	Denmark	Alex Rasmussen	HTC–Highroad
2012	Russia	Alexander Serebryakov	Team Type 1–Sanofi
2013	United States	Kiel Reijnen	UnitedHealthcare
2014	United States	Kiel Reijnen	UnitedHealthcare
2015	Spain	Carlos Barbero	Caja Rural–Seguros RGA
2016	Spain	Eduard Prades	Caja Rural–Seguros RGA

VisitPA.com Best Climber’s Award

Year	Best Climber	Team
2007	Neil Shirley (USA)	Jittery Joe's
2008	Davide Frattini (ITA)	Colavita–Sutter Home
2009	Valery Kobzarenko (UKR)	Team Type 1

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References

↑ Weislo, Laura; Tyson, Jackie; Frattini, Kirsten (February 18, 2021). "5 North American races we miss". Cyclingnews.com . Future plc . Retrieved June 3, 2022. Philly was the last great one-day race in the USA until its final edition in 2016 but maybe, one day, the streets of Manayunk will echo with the cheers of cycling fans once again.
↑ redbullsoapboxusa.com

External links

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[1] Weislo, Laura; Tyson, Jackie; Frattini, Kirsten (February 18, 2021). "5 North American races we miss". Cyclingnews.com . Future plc . Retrieved June 3, 2022. Philly was the last great one-day race in the USA until its final edition in 2016 but maybe, one day, the streets of Manayunk will echo with the cheers of cycling fans once again.

[2] redbullsoapboxusa.com

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