A $2 million race

Rogers’ has been a grassroots effort, and a tireless one at that. He has reached out to businesspeople large and small, community leaders, elected officials, regular folks. He’s found support for his project, but so far hasn’t secured a financial backer like the big banks or Parx Casino that had sponsored the race before.

His hope is to find a title sponsor that would contribute $750,000 to $1 million to relaunch the race and attract other sponsors. Ultimately, he figures it would cost about $2 million to run the Classic today. Much of that, he said, would be paying for the city services, but it would also include prize money and accommodations for international cyclists.

Rogers’ goal is to bring the race back by sometime in 2025 — and keep it going.

“I’m not trying to do this one time,” he said. “But I need someone to sign a check.”

Besides being a passionate cyclist who had raced professionally for 15 years and managed a regional cycling team, Rogers isn’t a neophyte when it comes to promoting cycling events.

The Philly native organized the Historic Riverton Criterium, a competitive cycling event going on its 13th year in his adopted town of Riverton, N.J.

Cycling seems to run in the family. Older brother Lee Rogers has owned Bicycle Therapy, his Center City bicycle shop, for the last 33 years.

What is needed for the race to return?

In its heyday, the Philly event took cyclists on a 156-mile repeating, picturesque loop down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and Kelly Drive, through the northwest neighborhoods of East Falls, Manayunk, and Roxborough, back to the Parkway and Logan Circle, and whizzing by Fairmount Park’s Lemon Hill and Boathouse Row.

...continued

©2024 The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC. Visit at inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.