Winners of the Philadelphia Cycling Classic recall ‘the theater’ the race once was, and can be again
From the stadium-like feel of Ben Franklin Parkway, to the grueling half-mile stretch of the Manayunk Wall, two riders recall their indelible memories of the event.
There’s a stretch along the 14.4-mile course of the Philadelphia Cycling Classic that remains a core memory for Freddie Rodriguez.
It’s been more than a decade since his last professional race, but the former American road racer described the course as a scene that engaged all five senses.
Rodriguez referred to it as “the theater.”
“As you come into Ben Franklin Parkway, there’s the park on the right that feels like you’re riding into a stadium,” Rodriguez recalled this week, ahead of the race’s return after a 10-year hiatus. “It all almost feels like a track, like a velodrome; it’s a really cool feeling, and then you head down Kelly Drive, which is open and where the race opens up. And just the mix of people out watching a bike race and all of us [racers] riding really hard, it’s really a great part of what makes this race so special.”
While the famed Manayunk Wall gets all the notoriety, Rodriguez contends multiple sections of the course are appealing, not just to riders, but to spectators alike. From going through Lemon Hill to the bottleneck of riding down Main Street Manayunk, Rodriguez says all of it is “iconic to the race.”
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Rodriguez, who won the men’s event in 2001 and placed in the Top 10 on four other occasions, including a pair of third place finishes (2008, 2012), says there was a time when the annual Classic, which has been referred to by many different names over the years, was the preeminent road race in the country.
“I’m not kidding, it was the No. 1 one-day race in America,” Rodriguez, who will be on-scene, but as a commentator alongside former racers John Eustace and Mark Holden for 6abc’s broadcast. “And I do believe it’s now again the number one day race in America. Hopefully, this will also help set a foundation for professional racing in the United States.”
‘Ten laps of that thing’
It’s hard to look at the Eric Heiden’s cycling career and not call him an overachiever. The former Olympic speed skater, turned cycling road racer, won the first ever Philadelphia Cycling Classic when it was referred to as the Philadelphia International Championship in 1985 and parlayed a Hall of Fame sports career in cycling and speed skating. Now, he’s on a new journey as an orthopedic surgeon at his practice in Utah, previously serving as team doctor for a number of U.S. Olympic teams and even a stint for the NBA’s Sacramento Kings.
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His favorite memories mirrored Rodriguez, noting that the stretch along Kelly Drive offered a “recharge.”
“For me, the nicest thing was riding along the river there, the Schuylkill River, just where it was nice and cool,” Heiden recalled. “It was flat and you could kind of recharge before you took that ride and headed into Manayunk, which was very hard.”
But his memory of tackling The Wall, the near half-mile stretch of Levering Street in Manayunk, is a memory he’ll also never forget — but not because it was another favorite.
“We had to do 10 laps of that thing,” Heiden told The Inquirer. “And, I’m not a very good climber; [in fact], I was a little heavy for that climb. Even if you’re a good international racer, it’s a challenge getting up that thing; I’m not going to lie to you. I mean, it’s like 20% grade. Yeah. You look at that, and as you come around the corner you’re going, ‘Whoa, nelly.’”
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Heiden, who originally used bikes to cross-train for his Olympic speed skating career, ended his cycling career as an inductee into the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame. Racing in Philly, he says, was a big part of that.
“This race proved a lot to me, not just in my abilities as a racer, but how much I was able to do,” he said. “To me, this was the first legitimate national championship where the distance was significant. The organizers, those guys were passionate about the sport, and they really put together a good experience for the riders and for the teams.
“It was really professionally run. Our team came there expecting to win the national championships, and we had all the top guns and 7-Eleven showing up. It meant that much and was a race that was taken very seriously.”
What does the return of the Philadelphia Cycling Classic represent? To ask Heiden, it’s a time-honored tradition, one that speaks well for the future of the sport in America.
“This race has a strong tradition in the USA, and in the history of USA cycling,” Heiden said. “To see it once again resurrected gives us a lot of hope on where cycling is headed these days.”
