Univest Cyclosportif ride to benefit local charities

The 8th Annual Univest Grand Prix will once again host a Cyclosportif recreational ride to benefit the Indian Creek Foundation for the developmentally disabled. For the second year, Tour de France veteran Jonathan Vaughters will lead recreational cyclists on a pre-race ride that travels the same route as the official Univest Grand Prix race course. Vaughters will be joined on the course this year by Brian Walton, Olympic Silver Medalist at the Atlanta Games in 1996 and current director of performance at Cadence Performance Cycling Centre in Philadelphia.

Leaving at 8:00am from the start/finish line on Main Street in Souderton, cycling enthusiasts can choose to ride either 40 or 60 miles of the course and experience the same challenges that await the Elite Men later that morning. Open to the public, registration is available online at www.univestgrandprix.com, or on race day beginning at 6:00am in Univest Plaza.

Riders finishing within the five-hour time limit will be eligible for thousands of dollars in prizes including a custom fit Bianchi FG Lite bike frame. "Like the race itself, the Cyclosportif is one of the great European cycling traditions the Univest Grand Prix brings to the United States," said race director John Eustice, "Modelled after famous public cycling events like L'Etape du Tour and geared toward getting more people on bikes, the Univest Cyclosportif is the first event of its kind in the Unites States."

The Cyclosportif is the centrepiece of a day of community events, including children's sprints and games, a volunteer fair and more. Children's races will be held on Main Street from 12:30-1:00pm. Registration will begin at 11:30am near the start/finish line and will be open until 12:30pm.

For more information see: www.univestgrandprix.com