Director Mitch Gerhart interviews cyclist Michele Bote, of the HPC Cycling Team,  from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA.  The interview took place at the 5/13/08 press conference for the Commerce Bank Reading Classic Pro Cycling Race / Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling in Reading, Pennsylvania’s City Hall.  Click here to view the video

PHILADELPHIA – May 14, 2008 - Organizers of the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling have announced the 25 professional men’s teams that will wage a three-race battle on the hardscrabble streets of southeastern Pennsylvania in early June. To the victors will go the lion’s share of a $93,500 prize purse that includes a $10,000 bonus for the overall series winner.

COURSE PREVIEW: COMMERCE BANK LEHIGH VALLEY CLASSIC 

Expect sprinters to make their mark

  

PHILADELPHIA – May 7, 2008 - Starting at 1 p.m. on June 3^rd, 25 of the world’s premier professional cycling teams will wage a 12-lap, 85-mile battle on the winding roads of Pennsylvania’s third largest city. At stake in this Allentown showdown is victory in the Lehigh Valley Classic, opening leg of the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling.

The stage for round No. 1 is a new-for-2008 course that traces a rectangular path from downtown Allentown, across the Lehigh River, and up the scenic and rolling Lehigh Parkway before returning downtown via West Hamilton Street. While by no means a climber’s course, this 7.1-mile circuit will test riders with a steady stream of punchy, leg-sapping rollers. But barring the unforeseen, the endgame will likely belong to the sprinters.

First Junior Pro Cycling Tour Grand Prix Qualification Round Completed – Three to Go (04/23/2008)

PROFESSIONAL MEN’S TEAMS NAMED FOR

COMMERCE BANK TRIPLE CROWN OF CYCLING

 

Pro Tour Teams Top List as America’s Biggest One Day Race Nears

 

 

 PHILADELPHIA - April 17, 2008 - Organizers of the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling have announced the 25 professional men’s teams that will wage a three-race battle on the hardscrabble streets of southeastern Pennsylvania in early June. To the victors will go the lion’s share of a $93,500 prize purse that includes a $10,000 bonus for the overall series winner.

 

Battling for the cash will be a deep field that includes three teams slated to start July’s Tour de France, the Danish-based CSC formation and American powerhouses Team High Road and Slipstream Sports. But this is not necessarily a harbinger of a one-sided affair. Home-grown teams such at Toyota-United, Health Net and Pennsylvania’s own Rite Aid squad will surely do their best to topple the big boys.

AMERICAN TEAMS ANNOUNCED FOR
AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS
TOUR OF PENNSYLVANIA
PRESENTED BY HIGHMARK HEALTHY HIGH 5®
 

PHILADELPHIA (April 3, 2008) –  Eleven Elite Cycling Teams from around the United States have been selected from over fifty applications to compete in the American Eagle Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania Presented by Highmark Healthy High 5®, a U-25 cycling stage race taking place from June 24 thru June 29, 2008.  The lucky eleven will face the seven international squads from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Netherlands and South Africa that were named on March 18. With two more international squads to be announced shortly, organizers will reach the event’s full field size of twenty, six-man teams by mid-April.  A wait list has been established with the possibility of adding two more domestic teams if the field can be expanded from 120 riders to 132.

CALLING ALL JUNIOR RIDERS: QUALIFYING EVENTS SET FOR JUNIOR PCT AT COMMERCE BANK PHILADELPHIA CHAMPIONSHIP IN JUNE

PHILADELPHIA (March 28, 2008) – Aspiring junior cyclists will have a chance to race in the bright spotlight of North America’s biggest one-day professional bicycle race during the 24^th running of the Commerce Bank Philadelphia International Championship on June 8, 2008.The Junior PCT, a points race for qualifying junior cyclists age 18 and under, will highlight the region’s best young talent as they compete on a portion of the same Commerce course as the international pros.

The Junior PCT race will include up to 28 junior cyclists, ages 15 to 18, with the top seven riders selected from the Junior PCT Qualifier category of each of the four events listed below.

The event will take place after the finish of the women’s race (Commerce Bank Liberty Classic) and approximately on lap six of the men’s event while the pros are out on the course.There will be a mandatory rider check-in at 22nd Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on the day of the race, Sunday, June 8 from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.

CALLING ALL JUNIOR RIDERS! QUALIFY FOR JR PCT (03/27/2008)

Aspiring junior cyclists will have a chance to race in the bright spotlight of North America’s biggest one-day professional bicycle race during the 24th running of the Commerce Bank Philadelphia International Championship on June 8, 2008. The Junior PCT, a points race for qualifying junior cyclists age 18 and under, will highlight the region’s best young talent as they compete on a portion of the same Commerce course as the international pros.

The Junior PCT race will include up to 28 junior cyclists, ages 15 to 18, with the top seven riders selected from the Junior PCT Qualifier category of each of the four events listed below.

EXPO OPPORTUNITIES NOW AVAILABLE FOR 

BICYCLE RACE

THAT CROSSES PENNSYLVANIA

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (March 20, 2008) – Consumer product companies and community  organizations wanting direct access to active adults and families will find them by the thousands as part of the all new American Eagle Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania Presented by Highmark Healthy High 5 ® .  The six-day event is a first-of-its-kind cycling stage race featuring national and international riders, ages 18 to 24, that will run June 24 to June 29, 2008, from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. 

CITY GEARS UP FOR 2008 COMMERCE BANK READING CLASSIC

Opportunities Are Growing for Community & Family Involvement

READING, Pa. (March 19, 2008) – Officials are again gearing up for what has become the city’s largest single-day, free, sporting event, the Commerce Bank Reading Classic, this year on Thursday, June 5th. This world-class professional cycling race is the second leg of the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling series and features nearly 200 of the sport’s professional athletes competing for the leader’s jersey. As in previous years, the demanding 75-mile race is sure to push the international peloton to its limit over the course of 11 laps on a challenging 7.6-mile circuit that connects downtown with Mt. Penn.

New Start Times
This year marks the third consecutive year that Reading will host the event, and a few changes are in store to maximize the experience for everyone. For starters, the races will begin an hour earlier than in years past. The Elite Amateur Men’s race will start at 10 a.m.; the Pro Women will go off at 11:15 a.m.; and the featured international Pro Men’s race will begin at 1 p.m.