Francois Parisien and Brett Tivers got off to a good start in this year’s Univest Grand Prix.
They led for much of the race.
In the end, though, Parisien had to settle for being named the race’s most aggressive rider and King of the Mountain champ. Tivers was the sprint champ.
With two laps to go, though, what had once looked like an almost insurmountable lead in the 100-mile long professional men’s bike race through Souderton and into Franconia and Telford, was gone.
Again, it seemed like a two-man race, but this time it was between Ryan Roth and Frank Pipp. A lap later, that’s the way it still looked, although Tom Zirbel was creeping up on them.
In the end, it was a three-man race, with Canadian Roth taking it.
Pipp, in second, was the first American finisher, followed by Zirbel in third.
This is the 14th year the Univest Grand Prix was run. What was once an amateur race has become a professional bike race, the only dually ranked Union Cycliste Internationale and National Racing Calendar event in the United States.
The more than 125 riders on 22 teams came from 13 countries.
“These are the nmost exciting bike riders on the planet,” Race Director John Eustice said just before the countdown to the start.
A new course this year kept the riders following what was described as a three-leaf clover pattern, giving spectators the chance to see the riders come by more often than in the past.Continued... 1 2 See Full Story
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The course was closed off to drivers while the race was run, but that didn’t stop people from getting around on it.
A pizza delivery man walked up part of West Broad Street to make his delivery to Dawne Wentzel, who’d walked from her Cambridge Reserves home to meet him.
“We’ve rescheduled a fourth birthday party for today,” Wentzel said.
The first time the party was scheduled to be held, it was postponed because of Hurricane Irene.
Guests had no problem getting to the party on race day, she said.
“All of our guests are finding places to park and walking,” Wentzel said.
About 300 people took part in the cyclosportif held prior to the race. The cyclosportif, a fundraiser for Penn Foundation, gives the riders a chance to see what it’s like to be in a classic road race.
Saturday’s racing included $15,000 of prize money.
The racing continues Sunday with the 50-mile-long Univest Grand Prix Criterium of Doylestown. Sunday’s racing starts at 11 a.m.
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