Cash-strapped bike group cancels 29th annual race

ORGANIZERS of this year's Philadelphia International Cycling Championship have hit a wall - and it's not the one in Manayunk that cyclists climb during the iconic race.

TD Bank's decision not to renew its title sponsorship of the race and rising costs from the city forced the Pro Cycling Tour to cancel what would have been the 29th annual championship, said David Chauner, a founder of the event. The race had been scheduled for June 2.

Meanwhile, another bicycle race, the Keystone Open, was to be held for the first time this year in Philly but also has been canceled, partly because the race was a "tough sell" to sponsors, said Robin Morton, a spokeswoman for Keystone Open.

"We've encountered a lot of pushback from Phila corporations in part due to the 'Lance Armstrong scandal,' " Morton wrote in an email. "We have not be [sic] able to come up with the amount of sponsorship required."

Organizers of both events said they still hope to hold their races in 2014.

"Rather than limp ahead, we decided the best thing to do was to find new partners, which we're close to closing in on now, and reintroduce the race in 2014 even stronger," Chauner said.

However, just hours after word of the cycling championship's cancellation broke Monday, U.S. Rep. Bob Brady announced that he would meet Friday with race organizers, the Manayunk Development Corp., and city officials "in an effort to salvage" this year's race.

That news was like the music of a bicycle bell to the ears of Jane Lipton, executive director of the Manayunk Development Corp., who said she was "completely surprised" by the race's cancellation.

"This race is really important to Philadelphia, it's the only international event we host here," Lipton said. "However we as Philadelphians can figure out a way to step up to the plate and make this thing an absolute given from now to whenever; I think it's really important."

"Taking the race away is kind of like taking nostalgia away from a nostalgic city," said Juliet Sabella, 28, who owns The Wall Cycling Studio, an indoor cycling center at the base of the renowned Manayunk Wall. Championship cyclers must overcome a 17 percent grade at the "wall" to the sounds of inebriated spectators cheering them on. Sabella's studio had its grand opening on the day of the race last year.

A spokesman for TD Bank gave no reason why the bank chose not to renew its sponsorship, except to say that it evaluates sponsorships based on a "number of factors," including "positive community impact" and opportunities for brand exposure in a "fun and meaningful way."

Chauner said that title sponsorship for the race runs in the high six figures. He said city costs have risen 60 percent over the last four years and now come in at the low to mid-six-figure range.

"It's not the city's fault," he said. "It's just the reality of the economy coupled with a tighter sponsorship environment."

Mayoral spokesman Mark McDonald said the city would not issue a response to the race's cancellation until Tuesday.

Morton, spokeswoman for the Keystone Open, which was to be held for the first time in July, said the race has been a "tough sell."

"It's really not the climate to be selling a new bike race," she said in a phone interview. "We just needed more time. I'm sure it's the same for the championship."

Alex Doty, executive director of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, said the cancellation of the championship race does not a reflect attitudes toward bicycling in Philadelphia.

"What has been striking about the race is that it has struggled at a time when biking is clearly thriving here," he said."I'm hoping there is a way we can bring back the race as the center point of a celebration of cycling in Philadelphia."

Chauner said he'd like the event to become more "grass-roots" focused and include not just pros, but people who are interested in the sport for health and recreation.