The TD Bank Philadelphia International Cycling Championship celebrated its 25th anniversary earlier this month. The one-day race, and its corresponding women’s Liberty Classic, is widely considered to be one of America’s crown jewels of cycling. But surprisingly, if not for a midnight sponsorship deal, the race that features the festival like atmosphere up Manayunk Wall, crowds swarming over Lemon Hill, and the winding scenery of the Schuylkill River, all juxtaposed against the rich history of City of Brotherly Love, might also have been felled by the troubled economy.
With the men’s and women’s races run simultaneously, Ina Teutenberg would not only lead a Columbia-Highroad and German sweep of the races, with teammate and countryman, Andre Greipel taking out the men’s field sprint, but also the women’s field past the men’s for the first time in any race’s history.
As officials allowed the speeding women to race by a men's field that had to be neutralized, Teutenberg would later tell Velonews, “When we went past the men, I told them they were pussies!”
The victory would be Teutenberg’s 3rd career Liberty Classic win and her 17th of the 2009 season. Team TIBCO’s Joanne Kiesanowski would finish second and Shelley Olds (PROMAN Hit Squad) would take third. For Olds, reaching the podium has become somewhat of a norm this season as she had already won five races, including the omnium title and two of the three Tulsa Tough criteriums the week before, on the road prior to starting the Liberty Classic.
Women’s Results
1. Ina Teutenberg (Team Columbia-Highroad)
2. Joanne Kiesanowski (Team TIBCO)
3. Shelley Olds (PROMAN Hit Squad)
4. Trixi Worrack (Equipe Nurnberger Versicherung)
5. Catherine Cheatley (Colavita Sutter Homes presented by Cooking Light)
6. Alison Powers (Team Type 1)
7. Ruth Corset (Jazz Apple Cycling Team)
8. Chrissy Ruiter (ValueAct Capital Cycling Team)
9. Amber Neben (Equipe Nurnberger Versicherung)
10. Kim Anderson (Team Columbia-Highroad)
Men’s Results
1. Andre Greipel (Team Columbia – Highroad)
2. Greg Henderson (Team Columbia – Highroad)
3. Kirk O’Bee (Bissell Pro Cycling)
4. Harald Starzengruber (Elk Haus)
5. David Vitoria (Rock Racing)
6. Keven Lacombe (Planet Energy)
7. Alejandro Borrajo (Colavita Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light)
8. Christofer Stevenson (Swedish National Team)
9. Lucas Haedo (Colavita Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light)
10. Andrew Pinfold (OUCH presented by Maxxis)
Photo: Courtesy of Todd Leister (Leister Images). For more images from the race click here.
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