Philadelphia Cycling Classic

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.

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 organizers.

In September 2025 it was reported that the classic would return from its ten-year hiatus on August 30, 2026, with professional men's and women's races.^[1][2]

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.

At midnight, the morning of the international championship, an unlicensed race down The Wall took place from 1996 to 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 Downhill race. On September 6, 2008, the Red Bull Soapbox Race^[8] was held at the Manayunk Wall.

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• List of road bicycle racing events