PHILADELPHIA BICYCLE SHOW A NEW HIGHLIGHT FOR THIS YEAR

Great Video Race highlights from The Philadelphia Daily News:

Race Action Video From The Mavic Cam:

Wheel Change at the wall

The wall in the Men's Race

Up and Down the Wall

PHILADELPHIA (June 7, 2009) – In a turn of the table, the women racing in the 16th annual Liberty Classic passed the men racing the TD Bank Philadelphia International Championship, showing just how fast and hard the women were racing their four laps of the grueling course up the Manayunk Wall. But in the end, it was a similar story with a large field sprint, easily won by Germany's Ina-Yoko Teutenberg of Team Columbia-Highroad.

More than 200 amateur cyclists, ranging in age from 11 to 66, took part in the Philadelphia International Championship amateur time trial the morning before the professionals hit the streets. The 8.6 mile course along the Schuylkill River is a race against the clock for each rider, testing individual ability and talent. 

Riders lined up starting at 7:00 a.m. and started at 30-second intervals. A time-trial is different than a road race, which is the headline event on Sunday. The singular goal of a time trial is to simply cover the course in as little time as possible, with a rider pushing the limit for as long as possible. This discipline is also when riders are allowed to utilize the most aerodynamic equipment as possible, with the well-known tear-drop style helmets and disc wheels sported by the more elite riders. 

The 25^th running of the Philadelphia International Cycling Championship is filled with memories.  Jerry Casale, who helped found the race with David Chauner, remembers the day a tree fell across the race course just after the riders passed.  With no time to call a tree surgeon, Jerry enlisted the aid of the spectators who all pulled together and moved the massive tree off of the course… just in time for the next lap.