Biking fans — new and old — flock to a renewed Philadelphia Cycling Classic after decade-long hiatus

A decade-long void was filled: the whooshing winds of the peloton, the whooping and cheery sounds of cowbells, the whiffs of greasy food, and sips of cold beer.

All of it returned to the city’s vistas Sunday as the Philadelphia Cycling Classic, one of the nation’s most storied races — drawing cycling’s Olympians, national champions, and emerging talents to the City of Brotherly Love — made its resurgence. Funding snafus and waning support begone; biking in Philly is back.

For an international field of riders, the 14.4-mile looping, winding, and climbing course that weaved from the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to Manayunk was a giant chessboard of strategy, aerodynamics, and aerobics. For revelers, it was a great equalizer, a unique, unfettered opportunity in sports to see athletic prowess, drama, and world-class competitors up close.

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That rarity was not lost on spectators, some of whom experienced the legacy race, which ended in 2016, and others for whom this was a novelty.

Ashley O’Neill’s stepfather talked relentlessly about the classic of yore’s folklore, but she never witnessed it herself. “The people [gathering] together, the happiness,” O’Neill, whose 41st birthday was also Sunday, recalled her stepdad saying, “but for years there was no race.”

Dylan O’Neill chimed in: “To have the city lose something like this is a huge loss for the entire community.”

As the Trenton couple huffed through humid air to reach a lookout on the famed “Manayunk Wall,” they talked about plans to come back, year after year.

“We hope they keep doing it,” Dylan O’Neill said. “It’s such a unique thing, and Philly is the perfect place to do it.”

During its run from 1985 to 2016, Philadelphia’s criterium reigned, known for its theaterlike scene and famed “Manayunk Wall,“ an incline with a maximum 17% gradient.

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“I remember the first race, it was amazing: No one was here and they had a helicopter,” said Thomas Gartside, 77, who moved to Manayunk, near the Wall, a year before the inaugural classic.

Over the years, as the race grew in prestige and attendance, his block got more crowded. In 2016, Gartside said he didn’t watch the spectacle — unaware the cyclists’ return would be an uphill battle.

The next year, the race had run its course; in 2017, organizers canceled the classic, citing increasing costs and decreasing sponsors, much to the chagrin of the city’s cycling community.

“I got a little tired of it, but this is reinvigorating,” Gartside said, looking out at hundreds of merry people packed shoulder to shoulder. Gartside hosted his own small fête, with bagels and coffee.

“Look at all the energy and all the neighbors,” he said.

Organizers have described the free-to-watch revitalized classic as “the people’s race.” Road cycling is also one of the few professional sports where athletes brush right up against fans and front doors, bringing “the stadium to the streets,” said Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker.

Michael Jones, a cyclist with Philly club Major Taylor, was among the throngs of fans who didn’t want to miss a second of the action — a 10-year break was long enough.

Jones even brought his bike along to follow some of the race route. A passerby remarked, “It’s like bringing a glove to a baseball game. But bigger.” And Jones couldn’t have agreed more.

Despite growing up in Philadelphia, the 48-year old was unfamiliar with the classic before getting into the sport himself, which he said transcends generations. Now, back and seemingly bigger than before, the race was electrifying, Jones said.

“It’s just so fantastic that so many people are down here taking in the scenes,” he said about the Fan Fest crowd.

“It’s just beautiful to see.”

If the verve of the morning’s women’s competition is any indication of the next era of cycling in Philly, it will be nothing short of “amazing,” according to Stefy and Sean Beury of West Mount Airy.

“The hype, the buildup, and the media attention to get more awareness and attention, in general, to the event and to bring more cycling back to Philly,” Stefy Beury, 47, said. “It’s just been awesome.”

It’s possible, Sean Beury, 54, said, that success on Sunday could inspire future road races, but he hopes the race motivates younger Philadelphians to start riding.

Eyes glued to a phone, siblings Tess and Fitz Dolan counted down the seconds it took the women’s field to arrive at the Wall, tracking their movements on a livestream of the race.

The teen mountain bikers’ ages were in the single digits when the race went away and they never had a chance to see it in person. On Sunday, they refused to lose sight of the riders.

“It’s so cool to see them do this,” said 16-year-old Tess Dolan, “we are used to these roads and we bike there. The women are putting in a lot of work and they are just rocking it.”

Her older brother, Fitz, was equally in awe by the bikers’ performance. The 18-year-old has biked the Manayunk Wall once and considers it to be a challenge for any cyclist. “They made it look so effortless,” he said.

Seeing the women’s strength and the jolliness of the spectators inspired Tess to put the Wall on her bucket list.

“It’s important for us to see them,” she said.

“It gives us inspiration to go outside and get on the bike.”