The 2015 edition of the Philadelphia Cycling Classic sees the return of the UCI Women's World Cup to the city for the first time since 2001. The race takes on the same route as its previous incarnation, with one notable exception: the finish is no longer the flat, fast, wide-open Benjamin Franklin Parkway, it is now the top of the fearsome Manayunk Wall.
With back to back victories in the new formula, Boels Dolmans' Evelyn Stevens will come into the race as the odds-on favourite, but with a reduced team. She'll face new competition from a resurgent Velocio-SRAM squad which recently won in Winston-Salem, and Wiggle Honda, though the World Cup leader Anna Van Der Breggen's Rabo-Liv team has chosen to opt out of the race.
The men take a back seat to the women's action this year, with the UCI 1.2-ranked 110-mile race beginning at 8am and finishing before the start of the World Cup. Expect two-time winner Kiel Reijnen (Unitedhealthcare) to be fighting for victory again, but faced up against a strong Hincapie team which won in Winston-Salem with Latvian Toms Skujins.
