Gerard Casale, 71, cofounder of Philadelphia cycling event

Gerard "Jerry" F. Casale Jr., 71, of Ambler, cofounder of the annual Philadelphia International Cycling Championship, died Wednesday, March 7, of complications from cancer at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

Mr. Casale and two Olympic cyclists, Dave Chauner and Jack Simes, decided to organize an international cycling event in the United States after participating in the World Cycling Championships in Barcelona, Spain, in 1984.

Mr. Casale, who had been chief mechanic for the U.S. team in Barcelona, later told PezCycling News that he suggested Philadelphia as the site of the event.

"It's my hometown," he said. "My family started Hill Cycle in Chestnut Hill in 1929."

Mr. Casale, Chauner, and Simes approached city officials about putting on a race.

"They told us to pick a course and they'd give us a permit," Casale told PezCycling News. "The city thought we would just have a short loop on the Ben Franklin Parkway, but we wanted a hill and also for the race to go through a local neighborhood." The men focused on Manayunk and a formidable climb up Levering Street and Lyceum Avenue, which Chauner christened "The Wall."

The first race in 1985 was sponsored by CoreStates Bank. For the last three years, TD Bank has sponsored the 156-mile race with about 180 pro cyclists representing 20 countries.

The winner in 1985 was Eric Heiden, gold-medalist speedskater-turned-cyclist. In 1993, the race was won by Lance Armstrong, who went on to win the Tour de France seven times.

Mr. Casale and Chauner eventually established Pro Cycling Tour, a promoter of cycling events. As the company's operations manager, Mr. Casale managed staging and logistics for the Philadelphia race and for events in Atlanta; Chicago; Houston; Minneapolis; New York; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; San Francisco; San Jose, Calif.; and Washington.

He was also founder and president of Special Events Suppliers and was in charge of staging the road and track cycling events for the 1996 Olympic Games and Para Olympic Games in Atlanta and coordinated public events such as World Series victory parades, Fourth of July celebrations, and Philadelphia's Vintage Grand Prix.

"He had a way with people. He knew how to motivate staff and volunteers," Chauner said. "He was solid as a rock even when there was a crisis." Mr. Casale was named an honorary trooper by the Georgia State Police, Chauner said.

"I did marketing, he did operations. We were a good team. Jerry was a big brother to me," Chauner said.

"We met when I was about 13. I was out riding with friends. I broke a cable and stopped at Hill Cycle.

"He had just gotten out of the Army and was helping out at his father's shop."

Mr. Casale graduated from North Catholic High School in 1958. He then served in the Army Signal Corps in South Korea.

After his discharge in 1962, he was a systems engineer for Bell Telephone before going to work full time at Hill Cycle.

Mr. Casale, who competed in track cycling races in his youth, was "a top-notch mechanic," his son Nicholas said. To lure serious cyclers to the shop, his son said, Mr. Casale began to import high-end race clothing and cycling gear in the 1970s. He hired Chauner to work part time at Hill Cycle and mentored him and other promising pro cyclists. Chauner competed in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City and the 1972 Olympics in Munich.

Mr. Casale closed Hill Cycle after his father died in 1993.

Besides his son, he is survived by his wife, Philomena "Cookie" Mangino Casale; sons Gerard III and Joseph; and six grandchildren.

A Funeral Mass will be said at 11 a.m. Monday, March 12, at St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church, 33 Conwell Drive, Maple Glen. Friends may call from 9:30 a.m. Burial will be in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Cheltenham.

at 215-854-2913 or sdowney@phillynews.com.