Lancaster County native Floyd Landis will be home, or at least in the area this weekend. He is arguably the biggest name racing in Sunday’s TD Bank Philadelphia Championship race.
Landis, who lives in Southern California, is back racing this year with his OUCH Pro Cycling Team after a two-year, well-chronicles hiatus from the sport.
The 114-mile men’s professional race, which was saved from cancellation by casino-backing, begins at 9 a.m. Sunday. The field of 200 men are expected to finish at 3:10 p.m. The professional women’s Liberty Bell Classic race is held on the same 14.4-mile course. The women start 10 minutes after the men. The 100 women will race 57.6 miles.
There will also be a junior race, for teens 15-18, held in the midst of the professional races, a Lifestyle Expo with demonstrations and vendors held throughout the race, across from Eakins Oval, a Philly Fun Ride on the closed race course beginning Sunday morning at 7 a.m., and a Family Fun Zone with games and activities for kids at the steps to the Philadelphia Art Museum. More information about those activities is here.
Also this weekend, there is Saturday’s Pedal to Preserve ride, benefiting the Lancaster Farmland Trust, beginning at Garden Spot Village. The first riders to depart are those doing the 51-mile course. They begin at 8 a.m. There are also 20-mile and 6-mile routes. Same-day registration is available at a cost of $35 each.
And, also Saturday, is the Race Avenue Criterium, at Lancaster City’s Buchanan Park, adjacent to Franklin & Marshall College, beginning with the Category 4/5 race at 10 a.m. There were 217 racers pre-registered for the criterium when registration closed Thursday night. Same-day registration is available. There will be free kids races. The last category to race is the over-age 55 group. They start at 4:20 p.m.
