Philly Cycling Classic 2013: Elite men

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January 1 - June 2, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA, Road - 1.2

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Welcome to Cyclingnews' live coverage of the first edition of the Philly Cycling Classic men's race. The newly designed course finishes atop the Manayunk Wall. The men will complete 120 miles of racing over 10 laps.

The elite men are underway, heading off from the top of the Manayunk Wall. The first obstacle they must face is the quick "fall from the wall" - a lumpy, rather tricky descent.

Congratulations to Evelyn Stevens (Specialized-lululemon) for taking the win in the women's race. Stevens out-sprinted Optum's Joelle Numainville to become the first American to win the women's race here in Philadelphia.

While many will say that the Philly Cycling Classic is the same race as previous years, the course and the organisation are different. Gone is David Chauner, who put on the UCI event for many years with his partner Jerry Casale. Jerry passed away last year, and race struggled for funding.

We have Peter Hymas in the media car for the race today. If you're on the Wall, he's happy to take a hand-up or two!

As expected there were a few early attackers as the peloton hit Kelly Drive, but the speed is so high right now that nothing can get away. Currently heading toward Lemon Hill, where there might be a better opportunity for a break to go clear.

Michael Olheiser (Firefighters) puts in a dig. Behind, Jeremy Vennell (Bissell Cycling) needs a front wheel after a puncture.

Olheiser took the KOM points at the top of Lemon Hill ahead of David Williams (5-hour Energy p/b Kenda) and Zachary Bell (Champion System) - currently speeding back down Kelly Drive.

181km remaining from 193km

Olheiser was caught, it's gruppo compatto at the moment, but expect that to change as we head up the Manayunk Wall, where we hear the crowds are "already nuts".

As has been the case in all of Philadelphia history, it's warm and sunny for the race today - temperatures have been creeping up, it's currently 86F, but will top out in the 90s.

The River Bridge, just before "the squeeze" is the point where every team director starts telling riders to move up. The one lane squeeze ends with a sharp left onto Main Street then a flat-out sprint to the base of the wall through Manayunk.

Looks like everyone made it through upright, although one rider had to bunny hop up on the curb to avoid rear-ending riders who were braking. Pretty impressive move, as that curb is about 8 inches high.

Heading through town four riders are going clear: Tom Zirbel (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies), Bobbie Traksel (Champion System Pro Cycling Team), Fabio Calabria (Team Novo Nordisk) and Dion Smith (Predator Carbon Repair) have 15 seconds.

Hincapie Devo team's Robin Carpenter has a big cheering section on Manayunk Wall. He grew up nearby and as a kid watched the pros race - now he's in there with them.

Oh dear, there's been a crash on the fall from the wall. There's one rider down, the rest have gotten back up and gone on. That's a tricky right hander, and the inside line can be very dangerous.

The crashers were S. Charles Zamastil (BreakawayBikes.com p/b Vie 13) and Andrew Seitz (Firefighters), the latter has abandoned. He appeared to be sitting up, but his jersey was torn to shreds.

Although they had only a small gap at the line, Dion Smith and Tom Zirbel took the sprint at the end of the first lap. Chad Beyer (Champion System Pro Cycling Team) took third as he chased at the front of the peloton.

The intermediate sprint point is located on Main Street in Manayunk before the climb, those points went to Bobbie Traksel ahead of Zirbel and Calabria.

162km remaining from 193km

The breakaway is heading to the feedzone and the soigneurs are out, looks like they will be getting an early feed.

You can find a brief report, finish photo and brief results from the women's Philly Cycling Classic here.

158km remaining from 193km

Zirbel is leading the break through Manayunk, pushing the pace ahead of that sprint. They seem to be more focused on cooperating than fighting for the points.

As the break hits the Manayunk Wall, they have 35 seconds. It's hard to climb something like this after going flat out on that 12-mile lap.

Looks like Smith is keen to get those KOM points and try to win the mountains classification. He's riding away from Zirbel to take the KOM again. Zirbel, Williams then Hutchings.

There was some exciting racing over in France today, with former Kelly Benefit Strategies rider David Veilleux taking the stage win in a courageous solo move in the Criterium du Dauphine. And we remember him when he soloed in a similar fashion to win the Charlotte Presbyterian Criterium, years ago.

You can find our coverage of the Criterium du Dauphine stage here!

Results of the sprint in Manayunk on lap 2:
1. Tom Zirbel (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)
2. Dion Smith (Predator Carbon Repair)
3. Logan Hutchings (Elbowz Racing-Boneshaker Project)

At the top of the Wall, we had a solo attack from Curtis Winsor (Team SmartStop p/b Mountain Khakis) - the break only had half a minute, can he make it to them? 

There are plenty of riders going back to their team cars as the peloton joins the breakaway on Kelly Drive, this may give the foursome more of a lead.

The breakaway is providing some entertainment for softball players who just finished their match on the Strawberry Mansion climb. They've got more than a minute's lead on the bunch now.

146km remaining from 193km

There are a lot more people on Lemon Hill as Dion Smith once again leads Zirbel to the top of the climb. It seems with the new formula the race has regained some of the popularity of old.

Hutchings seems to be having a little trouble hanging on after the climb, but he's having a snack to get some more energy.

140km remaining from 193km

David Williams has dropped back to his team car to have a chat with the director as the break heads past the feedzone and towards Manayunk on Kelly Drive.

140km remaining from 193km

With the circuit being just under 20km long, the teams are only allowed one car per team. 5 Hour Energ has sacrificed its car for Williams, while the other three teams have their cars back for the riders.

With the circuit being just under 20km long, the teams are only allowed one car per team. 5 Hour Energ has sacrificed its car for Williams, while the other three teams have their cars back for the riders.

The breakaway is off Kelly Drive and heading into Manayunk for first the sprint, and shortly after the third trip up Manayunk Wall.

Status quo for the breakaway as they head into Manayunk. Looks like Zirbel will share the cash, and let Hutchings take the lead across the sprint line.

O'Brien's watering hole is open for business! One of the residents rigs up a shower of cool water for riders to go through at about 150m to go on the Wall. Zirbel chooses to go through it.

There are gaps forming in the peloton as they climb the wall for the third time. A couple riders were dropped on the first trip up, and a few more have come off this time.

Down the fall from the wall for the fourth of ten laps, our breakaway's lead has been reduced to just 30 seconds. There could well be a reshuffling by the end of this lap.

The Champion System team is leading the chase of our four escapees as the race hurtles down Kelly Drive toward the Strawberry Mansion climb. The cars have been pulled from the gap and counter-attacks are going from the field.

The peloton is lined out single file under the lush, green landscape of Strawberry Mansion Drive. For being so close to a major urban center, the Philly course is refreshingly park-like.

A series of attacks from the peloton from Mountain Khakis, Champion System and others only served to disrupt the chase. The gap is at 25 seconds and now that Jamis has taken firm control we could see that come down. Heading to Lemon Hill now.

Two of the Garneau-Québecor riders, Woods and Hughes, had a tangle and went down in the back of the field. Meanwhile, McCarty (BIssell) is going back to get bottles while Jamis continues to lead the field to Lemon Hill.

This could be the last lap for Dion Smith to get KOM points as the breakaway heads down off of Lemon Hill onto Kelly drive with just 15 seconds.

123km remaining from 193km

The pressure at the front has caused a split in the peloton, with US Pro champion Fred Rodriguez at the tail end of a 39-rider chase just 15 seconds behind the leaders, and the rest of the peloton 1:10 behind.

119km remaining from 193km

It's unusual for the peloton to chase a move down like that so early, but it might be due to an ominous looking bank of clouds descending upon the city. There are storms predicted for the afternoon, which could create havoc for the riders, especially on the fall from the wall.

As the front group heads to the sprint line in Manayunk for the 5th trip, the second bunch is closing in, now 30 seconds behind.

The peloton has hit the Wall for the fifth time, and many riders are struggling to keep in contact, while others are moving forward, sensing the increase in pace.

It looked to me as if Dion Smith managed to get back to the front for that KOM sprint.

Anton Varabel (Jet Fuel/Norco Bicycles) had very bad timing in getting a mechanical on the wall. Rain is starting to come down, it's very light at the moment, and hopefully it stays that way. The cars might have a hard time getting up the wall in the wet.

113km remaining from 193km

Results from the sprint number 4 (not 5 as stated earlier) in Manayunk:

One of the Novo Nordisk riders has gone down on the fall from the wall.

The KOM 4 on Manayunk did go to Smith after all.

Luckily for our riders, the roads on this end of the course are dry. Let's hope it clears up over Manayunk for the next fall from the wall.

Our peloton is still split in two as they head out toward Lemon Hill. The brief shower has passed but it has only made it more muggy for the riders.

103km remaining from 193km

Looks like Smith is really gunning for that mountains prize! He's taken it again on Lemon Hill:

100km remaining from 193km

There are splits forming all over the peloton as riders struggle to make it across to the front group.

Looks like Bissell's Phil Gaimon was one of the riders caught out in the second group. They're not getting much in the way of cooperation from the folks behind to get back on.

The leaders are on Main Street heading to sprint number 5 - no word on the front of the race yet as race radio has been more focused on calling up team cars for feeding.

The front group appears to be all together as they head to the base of the Manayunk Wall at the halfway point of the race. There are a number of chasing groups that are between 15 seconds and a minute behind.

There'sa  full on sprint this time for the line, as three riders open up a gap at the top of the Manayunk Wall.

In the past, the peloton has stayed largely intact on the Manayunk Wall loops, but this year's race is a bit shorter and is being raced much harder than in previous editions.

The front group is hammering down the fall from the wall, single file and luckily enjoying mostly dry roads, that earlier shower having passed on. Our man Peter Hymas up in the media car averted a potential disaster by picking up an errant football from the course before the riders came through. Cyclingnews - reporting the news and keeping riders safe.

It seems that our lead group is only about 18 riders, according to the 5 Hour Energy team, there is a larger chasing group on Kelly Drive about 30 seconds behind, and then many other groups behind fighting to regain contact. It's absolute mayhem - very different from any other edition this race has seen!

91km remaining from 193km

Mike Friedman (Optum) is leading the front peloton, which is well populated by his teammates as they head along Fountain Green Drive. There's a quick, short descent at the end, then it's back onto Kelly Drive to Lemon Hill for the sixth time.

Eric Marcotte (Elbowz Racing-Boneshaker Project) comes through for a pull, we've got some good cooperation from the Champion System, Optum and other teams in this smaller front group, but there is still plenty of heat in the groups behind and many miles to go.

Also present in this group is Hincapie Devo, UnitedHealthecare, NovoNordisk, Louis Garneau, Jelly Belly and 5 Hour Energy.

Up and over Lemon Hill, there was an attack of three riders going for the points, but now everyone else is looking at each other.

The front group just got a close look at what's happening behind as peloton 3 passes the other way on Kelly Drive. Luis Davila is the Jelly Belly rider in the front group.

Along with Friedman we have Kirk Carlsen (Predator), Clay Murfet (SmartStop), Bobby Sweeting (5 Hour Energy), Andres Diaz (Elbowz), Jeff Louder (UnitedHealthcare), and about 15 more as they head toward the squeeze into misty rain.

83km remaining from 193km

Chad Beyer (Champion System) is swapping pulls with Davila, Friedman, Zirbel, and Martijn Verschoor (Team Novo Nordisk) in the leading group, just heading to the squeeze now.

Correction, it's David Lozano Riba (Team Novo Nordisk) in this move.

Jamey Driscoll (Jamis) and Matthias Friedemann (Champion System)  are also in the leading group.

I'm told Dan Holloway (Amore & Vita) is also in this group.

Bruno Langlois (Garneau) and James Stemper (5 Hour Energy) are in this group and Ben Jacques-Maynes (Jamis), as they head up the wall.

The leaders went through the top of Manayunk Wall and we were able to get most of the names: so far

It was Woods who led the first group across the top of Manayunk. Now Friedman decides to attack the front group.

We apologize for the lack of information - we can see "meatball" Mike Friedman off the front of the bunch, but the radio tour has lost contact with the race caravan, so we can't get any further updates until it's fixed.

66km remaining from 193km

Sorry, lap 7. Friedman has taken the KOM on Lemon Hill and heading back onto Kelly Drive. He's got two teammates in the group behind, with Scott Zwizanski being the fresher of the two after Zirbel was in the early breakaway.

There was a very concerted chase from that second peloton, and we wouldn't be surprised if our leading chase grows.

Friedman just got a glimpse of what is going on in that group trying to get on terms, and it was single file.

Friedman has been caught by a group that contained Zwizanski, Langlois, and a Champion System rider, but now in addition to losing RadioTour, we've lost video. Stand by! We haven't developed ESP yet, unfortunately.

There's nothing like a little 'air of mystery' to create suspense during a bike race.

60km remaining from 193km

The leading group is on Main Street, no word on the gap as they approach 3 laps to go.

The leading seven riders are on the wall - Davila takes a look back to see where the chasers might be. We have crackles of life from Radio Tour - let's hope that is a good sign.

Langlois makes an effort to get the KOM points, he comes in first as the chasing group is just in sight - these are a few stragglers from that group: Oscar Clarke (Hincapie), Medina and four others at 35 seconds.

Another three stragglers at 51 seconds, then more at 1:03 but no sign of the big peloton yet.

It seems like the main peloton has no interest in chasing - maybe the three to go sign will inspire them a little? They're 2:18 behind the leaders.

51km remaining from 193km

47km remaining from 193km

Langlois attacks to get more points toward the mountains classification, but the leading 7 are all back together by the bottom.

Sorry it was Clark who made it up, Zwizanski was already in the leading group, so our leading 12 are now

42km remaining from 193km

Dan Holloway just signed with Amore & Vita ahead of this race, after stepping briefly back from pro status with Mike's Bikes/Incase.  You can read more about him here.

The officials have pulled the autobus from the race on the Manayunk Wall as the leaders head that way.

The leaders are heading onto Main Street in Manayunk, they'll see two laps to go at the top.

The lead group is: Michael Friedman and Scott Zwizanski (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies), Jeff Louder (UnitedHealthcare), Chad Beyer and Matthias Friedemann (Champion System), Oscar Clark (Hincapie Devo), Luis Enrique Davila (Jelly Belly p/b Kenda), Bruno Langlois and Michael Woods (Equipe Garneau-Québecor), Kirk Carlsen (Predator Carbon Repair), Andres Diaz and Eric Marcotte (Elbowz Racing-Boneshaker Project) and Daniel Holloway (Amore & Vita)

One rider who looks quite strong in this group is UnitedHealthcare's Jeff Louder. He's gotten some strategy from the team car where manager Mike Tamayo is calling the shots.

Holloway is at the back as the break starts up the climb - he's not exactly a climber, but he's a fighter and goes past riders who are struggling so he can stay in contact.

Carlsen is going backwards but up ahead Langlois has attacked for the points. They may just sit up over the top and keep the dozen together. One of the Elbowz riders is well dropped, being about caught by a large group which has closed to within a minute of the leaders.

The peloton really put in a big effort to pull that gap back, and are now only half a minute or so from the leaders, who have come apart over the top of the Wall. At the front of the chase, it was none other than Francisco Mancebo (5 Hour Energy).

It looks like we will have 12 riders together as the lead group hits Kelly Drive, back at Manayunk Wall the 5 Hour Energy riders who put in such an effort to bring down the gap have pulled the plug.

The lead group is single file down Kelly Drive, blasting through at over 35mph. Small gaps have formed but they should be closeable when the road tilts up a bit on Strawberry Mansion Dr.

On Strawberry Mansion, eight riders have separated from the rest of the lead group. Clark goes on the attack.

Now Davila has gone after Clark  - two riders have come together ahead of a solo Optum chaser.

It's Zwizanski who is bridging to the leading duo.

The leading group is all back together as they head back toward Lemon Hill. They're on the wrong side of the road, but that's no concern as all the back markers have been pulled from the course. They only need to worry about the main peloton, which at last check was 30-40 seconds behind.

The leaders are coming apart again after Lemon Hill under pressure of the KOM sprint - looked like Langlois again. The peloton was 1:05 behind at the base of that climb.

Davila is really driving the group, but as he pulls off he's counter-attacked. That's the danger of working too hard at this point in the race.

We've now got an attack from four riders who have slipped away: Beyer, Langlois, Zwizabski and the Elbowz rider, Marcotte

25km remaining from 193km

Through the feed zone, there are three riders about to make contact with the front four: Clark, Woods and one more.

Looks like that last rider to bridge was Carlsen of Predator.

As they approach the end of Kelly Drive, all of the cooperation has gone out of this group and the rest are rejoining.

Diaz is not in the lead group, it's Holloway who has joined (101, not 201). It's Beyer, Marcotte, Langlois, Zwizanski, Clark, Carlen up here too, with the peloton only 45 seconds behind.

The breakaway is now only 35 seconds behind on Main Street in Manayunk! The leaders are about to hit the Wall for the second to last time! It will be very hard for this group to stay clear.

A little bit of rain has wet the cobbles that are on the turn going into the wall - a bit of mist falling and this could make the finish dangerous if it keeps up.

Holloway and Clark are fighting hard to stay in contact on the Wall, but boy oh boy, does this wall hurt after 9 times!

Zwizanski is feeling no pain, he's pushing the pace with Langlois in tow - the Canadian takes the points, and the pair have a 10 second gap over Marcott, Beyer and a rider who has bridged from the peloton.

Luckily the sun is starting to peek out, let's hope those cobbles dry out because it looks like we're in for a wickedly fast bunch sprint to the base of the wall on the last lap.

Zwizanski and Langlois are swapping pulls as they head back to Kelly Drive. They go right then left, under the bridge and down the false flat. There are a trio of riders about to make contact.

Looks like Beyer, Marcotte and Kennett Peterson (Firefighters) who bridged on the climb.

Back in the peloton, I suspect the teams are starting to find each other and communicate their strategy for the finale. I bet they're all saying the same thing: Get the team leader to the last turn at the front.

12km remaining from 193km

Zwizanski is pushing the pace as they head up Strawberry Mansion Drive.

Only 30 seconds for the lead five, and that's a fairly hopeless gap. Just ask Alison Powers, who had the same number of seconds on the last lap of the women's race at this point. She was one, but even with five riders this isn't enough.

Inside the 10km to go mark now, and Marcotte, Peterson, Langlois, Beyer and Zwizanski are all swapping pulls evenly. They've lost a few seconds, now 25 to the peloton.

Up onto Lemon Hill and the expected attack from Langlois goes - he's not quite as peppy as previous laps, but still gets the maximum points over Zwizanski, Beyer, Peterson and Marcotte.

Marcotte shakes out the cramps from his quad, these riders are undoubtedly experiencing dehydration as they've not had too much opportunity to get water from the team cars.

The lead five sense the closing peloton, and Langlois goes to the front to try and pick up the pace - they are under the two stone bridges and closing in on 5km to go.

The five leaders are doing a team time trial to stay clear, but now Beyer misses a pull - that's not a good sign.

5km remaining from 193km

Last glance across the Schuykill River for the breakaway as they head into the squeeze and back toward Main Street in Manayunk. The peloton is single file behind, at least 30 strong.

UnitedHealthcare has pulled back the break to just 10 seconds.

A single rider from SmartStop has gone on the attack from the peloton.

The SmartStop chaser has the five leaders in sight - they are about to get caught as they pass the last bridge and head into the squeeze.

It seems the peloton has waited until after they get into Manayunk to make the catch. It's not as if the leaders aren't trying, but they are outnumbered.

Peterson isn't ready to give up - he's helped to pull the leaders away from the peloton a tiny bit, but they only have 10m now.

The orange helmets of Optum are very visible at the front of the peloton, the entire team leading into the sprint line.

It looks more like crit nationals than Philly here, as UHC's entire team is just behind Optum.

The sun came out and dried out most of the cobbles, though under the overpass it's likely to be slick. It seems the entire peloton has made it through OK. All together.

The officials won't let the motorcycle film the finish, so we'll have to wait until the last meters.

A solo UHC rider, I think Keil Reijnen has won! Optum second.

A Hincapie Devo rider was third.

No idea how that happened thanks to the overly cautious race officials, but Reijnen is the winner of the Philly Classic.

That has to be sweet relief for Reijnen, who was incredibly frustrated to miss out on the national championships last weekend, he was third behind Fred Rodriguez.

It was Jesse Anthony (Optum) in second, and the always scrappy Joey Rosskopf (Hincapie Devo) in third.

Brief results:

Thanks everyone for reading - tune in tomorrow to live.cyclingnews.com for stage 2 of the Dauphine!

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