Allentown, Reading Passed over for Sponsorship of Bike Races
The future of pro-bicycle racing on the streets of Allentown and Reading is in jeopardy. The sponsor of the Pro Cycling Tour's Triple Crown event, TD Bank, says it will only sponsor a race in Philadelphia in 2009, according to Pro Cycling Tour officials.[
69-WFMZ's Broadcast of 2008 Lehigh Valley Classic ][
69-WFMZ's Broadcast of 2008 Reading Classic ][
MELISSA BATULIS' 10:30 PM REPORT: Triple Crown Will Not Return to Reading ]They say that race will be known as the TD Bank Philadelphia International Championship. Reading played host to the second leg of the bike race, known as the Reading Classic, for the past three years. The first leg of the tour, known as the Lehigh Valley Classic, was raced through the streets of Allentown for the first time last year. The Pro Cycling Tour says it's working with government officials in both Reading and Allentown to bring the race back to those cities this year, but it first needs to line up a sponsor. "We've had a lot of interest from the citizens and from some of the members of the business community," said Reading Mayor Tom McMahon. TD tells 69 News it may have an interest in sponsoring the race in Allentown in some way because it has a presence in the Lehigh Valley, but it's branches in Berks County still have the Commerce name. Reading. Mayor McMahon says if the races stand a chance of being resurrected, more than one city will need to be involved to entice the pro-cyclists. Pro Cycling officials say they may be able to bring the Triple Crown back in 2010, but that remains to be seen. In the meantime, officials say they hope to have more definitive answers about races in Reading and Allentown in 2009 by the end of January or the middle of February. "I think we will know in a couple of months," said McMahon. "I think if we don't have this decided by the end of February, there's just no way it's going to happen in that June platform." Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski agrees with McMahon's sentiments. He says if the city can't get enough sponsors to cover the cost, there won't be a race.
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