The Philadelphia Cycling Classic is set to return to the US city next summer, after its 32-year-run ended in 2017 due to a lack of sponsorship, it was announced this week.
The task to revive the race fell to local businessmen Carlos Rogers, Eric Robbins and former mayor Michael Nutter. They worked out that the Classic would cost around $2 million, to cover city services, prize money and accommodation for visiting cyclists, and last year secured a deal with national propane-provider, AmeriGas, to continue the race.
“This is the people’s race,” Nutter told the The Philadelphia Inquirer. “It spans an area of 14-plus miles from Centre City to Fairmount Park to Manayunk. The cyclists take in all of that and I think our course is a dynamic that I don’t think cyclists will find in other places. Whether it’s wheels, a puck, a ball, or anything else, Philadelphians just embrace sports and athletes. It’s a celebration of the city.”
In its prime, the race attracted professional cyclists from all over the world, including the Lance Armstrong (who won in 1993), Greg LeMond, and the race’s first-ever winner, Eric Heiden, five years after he won five gold medals in speed-skating at the 1980 Winter Olympics.
“Yes, it’s about an international bike race that we’re hosting in one of the greatest cities in the country,” co-organiser, Eric Robbins told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “But it extends far more than that. It’s a celebration. It’s a time to escape all the craziness in the world and just have a good time with our friends and neighbours and put on a hell of a bike race at the same time.”
