Cycling classic to be led by ladies

AT TOMORROW'S Philadelphia International Cycling Classic, women will get their first chance to lead the pack.

For the first time in the event's 32-year history, the women's UCI Road World Cup will be headlining the day's races, beginning in the afternoon, while the men's UCI America Tour will start at 8 a.m.

"This is generally known as the best one-day cycling race in the world," Mayor Nutter said yesterday during a news conference at City Hall to kick off the event. "The races are expected to be highly competitive and exciting to watch."

During the kick off, Nutter spoke of Philly's growing reputation as a cycle-friendly city and posed with wife, Lisa, and race competitors in front of a sleek Fuji road bike.

He credited his wife, who he referred to as Philadelphia's "First Lady Cyclist," with helping focus attention on women this year.

In addition to putting the women's race at the forefront of the event, Nutter said Lisa Nutter propelled him to make the $30,000 prize money the same for male and female cyclists.

Lisa Nutter, who is not competing in tomorrow's race, said she began cycling after retiring from running several years ago and now trains to race competitively at a velodrome in Trexlertown near Lehigh Valley. She said she was inspired to advocate for women riding in this weekend's race after a friend described some of the disadvantages female cyclists face in the industry.

"When we ride together every weekend . . . [we] cover a lot of topics," she said. "One of them was about her career and how tough it is for professional women to find the opportunities to ride."

Among the several competitors attending yesterday's news conference was Australian-born Jo Hogan, of Team Tibco SVB, who said the women's World Cup race brought her to Philadelphia for the first time. Tomorrow's event is one of 10 other races in the women's World Cup, she said.

The more than 100-mile race begins and ends at the top of the Manayunk Wall, a famed cycling spot near Levering Street and Lyceum Avenue in Northwest Philadelphia and attracts professional riders from Roxborough to Melbourne. The course stretches 12.3 miles alongside the Schuylkill River until cyclists loop back at Lemon Hill in Fairmount Park.

For Manayunk native Robin Carpenter, the race will be right in his back yard. Carpenter, an up-and-coming cyclist on the national scale, said he used to ride up and down the wall on his way to high school. This time, he'll be followed by a pack of at least 100 riders, all going for the gold.

"I've ridden that course a hundred times," he said. "It's kind of an absurdly stereotypical fairy tale."