This past Sunday, Philadelphia reminded the world what kind of city we are. 

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After ten years away, the Philadelphia Cycling Classic came home. And you showed up. You lined the Parkway and Kelly Drive. You packed the Manayunk Wall. You cheered from Roxborough, East Falls, Strawberry Mansion, and Lemon Hill. You brought your friends and your family, your bikes and your cowbells. You welcomed some of the best cyclists in the world into our neighborhoods and gave them something no other race could ever manufacture: Philadelphia.

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We’ve always believed in The Classic. We believed there was still something extraordinary about a world-class sporting event where the stadium is the city itself and every Philadelphian has a front-row seat.

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Sunday proved it. 

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For one remarkable day, our streets became our stadium, and our neighborhoods became grandstands. Men and women from around the world competed on the same iconic course, for equal prize money, while people across Philadelphia experienced it all for free. 

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But what made the day unforgettable wasn’t simply the racing. It was the people.

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It was the roar on the Wall. The sound of those signature cowbells. The families along the course. The volunteers who arrived before dawn. The police officers, firefighters, first responders, sanitation workers, Health Department staff, L&I staff, and all the City employees who kept everyone safe and made an extraordinarily complicated event look effortless. By Monday morning, you’d never know a massive, all-day bike race had taken place the day prior. The city crews put Philadelphia's streets back in business overnight. And finally, it was our sponsors and partners who believed this Philadelphia tradition deserved another chapter. 

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This has always been the People’s Race. Philadelphia made those words real again. 

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In a year when our city has welcomed the world again and again, The Classic gave us something a little different. It gave Philadelphia back a piece of itself. 

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And in one of the day's most meaningful moments, Mayor Cherelle Parker looked toward what’s ahead. She made clear that the return of The Classic isn’t simply a celebration of Philadelphia's past, but a commitment to its future, pledging that as long as she is Mayor, this race will have a home in Philadelphia. 

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After ten years away, that felt like more than a promise. It felt like the beginning of a new change for a race that has always belonged to this city. To everyone who believed this race could return, everyone who worked to make it possible, and everyone who stood along those 14.4 miles and cheered, thank you.  

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Thank you, Philadelphia. The Classic is back. And the next chapter is just the beginning.