Philadelphia International Championship

Philadelphia International Championship is an annual bicycle race held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is described as "America's top international cycling classic, and one of the richest and most prestigious one day races outside of Europe." It is one of the longest single-day races in the U.S. at 251 kilometres (156 miles). The men's event is ranked 1.HC by the International Cycling Union (UCI), the sport's governing body, which makes it the highest ranking single-day race in the Western Hemisphere. It is part of the UCI America Tour.

The race has existed since 1985, but its name changed a number of times as the result of bank mergers and acquisitions of corporate sponsors. The title sponsor was originally CoreStates, followed by First Union in 1998, then Wachovia in 2002. In November 2005, Wachovia withdrew their sponsorship. With assistance from former Philadelphia mayor and current Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell, a corporate sponsor was found in 2006; Commerce Bank has made a four-year commitment.

The Philadelphia International Championship has become the final leg of a one-week, 3-race circuit called the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling. The races take place in Lancaster, Reading and Philadelphia. The opening race is the Lancaster Classic, followed four days later by the Reading Classic, with the finale in Philadelphia three days after that.

Through 2005, the highest placed finisher registered in the United States was named the USPRO champion, whether...
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