Fitchburg Longsjo Classic partners with benefactor

The Fitchburg Longsjo Classic (FLC), an American race that draws 900 amateur and pro cyclists annually to its four-day classic stage race in North Central Massachusetts, named the Pan Mass Challenge (PMC) as its Charity Sponsor for 2008. The organization's Ride to the Races will serve as a PMC fundraiser.

"We are pleased to be a part of the PMC family," said FLC President George Gantz. "The PMC has done so much for the sport of cycling and for cancer research. Some of our volunteers and racers have ridden the PMC. Now we get a chance to support it as part of our own cycling event."

"There is real symmetry in two long-standing New England traditions, representing two different sides of the wonderful sport of cycling, working together for the good of the sport and humankind," said Billy Starr, founder and executive director of the PMC.

PMC attracts 5,000 riders and 2,500 volunteers to central and south-east Massachusetts for a two-day cycling event in August each year. The PMC has raised more than US$200M in support of cancer research at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute - $33M in 2007 alone. This year's event is set for August 2-3.

The Fitchburg Longsjo Classic is set for July 3-6 and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2009. The FLC's Ride to the Races program, to be held July 6, was initiated in 2006 and provides an opportunity for recreational cyclists to enjoy watching the racing spectacle and also riding themselves on some of Art Longsjo's training routes.