A day at the races ...
Okay, enough cynicism! I was at the race on Sunday. I left Valley Forge Park, about 20 miles away from the start, at 7:30 in the morning with some other members of my cycling club. We rode in on the Schuylkill River Trail which is a very popular cycling route. At 7:30 in the morning there was a trickle of riders heading for Philly from Valley Forge, but as we got closer to the city the trickle turned into a steady stream of riders heading downtown. By the time we turned onto Kelly Drive, the road was a sea of cyclists: some riding the course prior to the race, some heading for their favorite spot to watch, and even some of the pros warming up. I got a nice 25 mph tow behind one of the women pros as we made the last mile down Kelly Drive to the Ben Franklin Parkway.
There was a bustling exhibition area near the start/finish area where vendors had set up their canopies and were selling all things cycling: from new carbon frames to old team jerseys. Unlike prior years when the competitors were treated to the oppressive humidity and heat of southeast Pennsylvania, the sky was blue and the day was clear and warm; a perfect day for a bike race for both competitors and spectators.
The race was led out by a phalanx of Philly cops riding motorcycles with flags flying and lights flashing. The men’s race started first with three laps around Logan Circle passing in front of the steps of the art museum (made famous in the movie Rocky) before they headed down Kelly Drive for the first of 10 fourteen mile laps. By the time they left Logan Circle, Dan Holloway, a young American pro, had already taken a flyer off the front and was fully committed to his breakaway. About 5 minutes or so after the men’s field headed up Kelly Drive, the women’s field crossed the starting line and likewise entered Kelly Drive moving toward Manayunk and its famous wall for their first of four laps around the course.
After watching the start my companions and I rode up to Lemon Hill in time to catch the end of the first lap as the race returned from Manayunk. Lemon Hill is a great place to watch the race. The course is flanked by a grassy hill forming a sort of natural amphitheater. Spectators picnic on the hillside and have a perfect view of the race as it winds up the road. Dan Holloway was the first rider up the hill and received a huge cheer from the assembling crowd. As he climbed up the hill he kept holding his hand to his ear encouraging us to make more noise, and we happily obliged. Several minutes later the men’s field came through all together, doing what looked like a Sunday recovery ride! Peloton spread wide across the road … everybody in the saddle … just kind of cruising. Even I could have hung with them at that pace! Obviously they were not worried about the two riders off the front. But it was not from the front that their troubles would come this day.
Only a few minutes after the men’s field lazily crested Lemon Hill, the women’s field appeared in a decidedly different mood. They were charging at full tilt, out of the saddle, and strung out all over the road. Even before the first lap had been completed a large number of riders were already way off the back, clearly suffering, and fearing (or perhaps praying for) early relegation. One of the great things about the Philly race crowd is that they cheer just as loudly, if not even louder, for the back markers as they do for the leaders. As the remains of the women’s field struggled up the hill each one received a huge ovation of encouragement and appreciation from the crowd. Some of them even managed a brief smile between grimaces.
At this point you began hearing murmurs in the crowd about how close the women’s field seemed to be to the men. Indeed, as we caught glimpses of the race through the trees as it headed back up Kelly Drive, it seemed that the front of the women’s field was even closer to the men’s support caravan. We began talking about what might happen if the women caught the men. Had it ever happened before? What would the referees do? No one was sure, but it added quite a bit of intrigue to the race. We decided to stay put at Lemon Hill for one more lap. The next time around Dan Holloway had opened up an even larger lead and still appeared to be riding strong. The men’s field came through all together once again looking placid; more like a charity ride than a pro race. Then, about a minute later, the women came blazing through again, clearly gaining on the men. This was going to be interesting!
After a hot dog and some home-baked goodies it was time to move on, so we rode up to Manayunk and stopped at the top of the wall in time to catch lap number 4. The Manayunk Wall is one big party on race day. Live bands playing, local radio stations broadcasting, food and drink (a lot of it beer), and scores of people make the wall the most entertaining place on the race course. First up the wall was Dan Holloway getting all of the adulation you’d expect for a young kid draped in a USA jersey, leading a race of international cycling stars in an American town. In spite of the energy directed toward him, the long day spent off the front was obviously beginning to tell. Andrew Talanski came over next, obviously gaining ground on the fading Holloway. We all agreed that Holloway should wait for Talanski so the two could work together against the peloton. Expecting to see the men’s field next we were quite surprised to see the women driving up the wall. Apparently, they had caught the men and the race officials had “neutralized” the men’s field in order to allow the women to pass. This has never happened at the Philly race before and caused quite a bit of excitement. The roar for the over-achieving women’s field was deafening as they came up the wall for the last time. You go, girls!
Finally, the men’s field came up the wall led by Floyd Landis, and looking quite a bit more serious than the last time we had seen them. The neutralization and their lax pace had given a thirteen minute advantage to Holloway and the alarm bells had gone off. Now, the question was could Holloway hold out? The next lap would tell. When Holloway came up the wall for lap #5, he looked more like Rocky Balboa after fighting Apollo Creed: weaving up the steep pitch and “moving all over his machine” as Paul Sherwen likes to say. This time Talanski was right on his heels. Then, only three minutes later, the peloton came screaming over the wall in full pursuit. Game over.
It was now noon, and time for my friends and me to head for home, jersey pockets stuffed full of swag, after another great day at the Philly bike race. In spite of funding problems due to the difficult economy, the organizers managed to pick up the necessary sponsors at the last minute and put on another great show for the fans and the city.
Hopefully they will be able to find the funding to bring back the rest of the series and the live TV coverage again next year. Regardless, the Philly race is still a great event.
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