Rogers said what really inspired him was watching the inaugural Maryland Cycling Classic in 2022, a race that also draws international talent.

“It just made me miss seeing the race here in Philadelphia,” Rogers said.

The more people Rogers talks to, the more he finds folks who agree with him.

State Rep. Tarik Khan, (D-194), whose district includes Manayunk, said he wants to speak with city officials and other stakeholders to gauge their interest in the project.

“There’s a lot of upside, and I think there’s a lot of support from the community. Pretty much to a person that I’ve talked to, people are for the bike race,” Khan said. “I think they want to make sure that it’s done right, and it’s organized.”

Gwen McCauley, executive director of the nonprofit Manayunk Development Corporation, said her organization plans to look at how it might be able to support Rogers’ efforts.

“We would love to see this iconic international event back in Philadelphia,” she said. “That was an exciting period, and it fell by the wayside due to sponsorship and rising costs to run the race.”

Robin Morton, co-founder of g4 Productions, an event planning firm, was technical director of the race for several of its years and event director at its end. She is one of the people Rogers has turned to for advice, and he hopes to have her be race director if he can bring it back.

“It became challenging to find replacement sponsors, but that’s true with so many different sports,” Morton said. “It’s a big nut to crack.”

If a good sponsor can be found, she believes the event can be a success.

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