Commerce Bank Triple Crown gets rolling in Lancaster

Lancaster, Pennsylvania will host the first of three races in the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling which kicks off with the Tom Bamford Lancaster Classic on June 7. Spectators are expected to show up in large numbers to watch the cream of US domestic riders battling on the same roads they drive to work on each morning. Over 200 professional cyclists including Olympic medallists and Tour de France riders will descend on Lancaster for one of the city's largest annual sporting events.

"Last year, we had one of the most successful race series ever in our history," said David Chauner, director of organisers Pro Cycling Tour LLC. "Thanks to our extremely enthusiastic sponsor, Commerce Bank, the tremendous support of the Commonwealth of PA, the cities of Philadelphia, Lancaster and Reading, we have a great formula for success and we plan on making it even bigger and better this year."

Last year's pro men's race was won by American Jackson Stewart who bided his time on the deceptively difficult 85 mile course before starting his sprint early and powering away from the tiring pack of finishers. After racing for three hours, nine minutes and 20 seconds, Stewart collected the biggest win of his life. Other big names to watch out for are Juan Jose Haedo (Team CSC), Sergey Lagutin (Navigators), Ben Jacques-Maynes (Priority Health) and Tim Johnson (Health Net).

The course in Lancaster is a technical winding circuit that cuts through the city with many sudden short hills and tight turns. Starting and finishing on Queen Street, this year's race utilises Duke Street as well as Williamson and Rockford Roads making up a challenging circuit of 6.55 miles which will be completed 13 times by the pro men for a total race distance of 85 miles. At stake will be a share of the $15,300 that will be offered in prize money.

The action starts at 11:30 am with the elite amateur men's 35-mile race followed by the pro women's 25 mile race held on the downtown circuit at 1:15 pm. These early races will prime the large crowds for the professional race to follow at 3 pm. The course will use the same start/finish and infrastructure as the pro men's race but will be comprised of a short 0.6 mile downtown circuit with four turns and a short sprinter's hill each lap.