Though the series of races known as Philly Week has been whittled down this year to the one day race in Philadelphia itself, no one will be underestimating the level of difficulty they will face in trying to win what is still one of the most prestigious one day races on the US calendar.
BMC has stacked its roster full of strong sprinters who have proved themselves over some of the toughest races in the European spring. Young Swiss sprinters Danilo Wyss and Martin Kohler along with constant threat Tony Cruz will be expected to uncork the required fast finish to snag the victory. Adding valuable fire power and potential tactical options, Chad Beyer, Jonathan Garcia, Jackson Stewart and Taylor Tolleson will aim to build on the good results that they have all racked up in recent races.
Interesting dynamics will make it an unpredictable race
"The shear distance of this race is what normally makes the big difference," Team Director and long time Philly veteran Mike Sayers explained. "The guys who race primarily in the US seldom have a chance to race 250 kilometers in a day, so that should play to our advantage since most of our guys have already been through a lot of hard racing in Europe this spring." With fewer races on the US calendar this year in general, and the loss of the two preceding races for at Reading and Lancaster in particular, it will be hard to gauge just who will be a likely candidate for victory after that last surge up Manayunk Hill. "Without Lancaster there will be no way to tell who is going well," Sayers said. "The Europeans’ form will be hard to predict since they will not have had a chance to race the flight out of their legs so it could be very much a hit-and-miss affair for them."
The harder the race, the better for BMC
"The dynamics should play right into our hands since we have the guys with the kick to take advantage of any situation," Sayers believes. "I have no doubt that a guy like Danilo has the speed to win the sprint if he’s in the right position, and some one like Chad certainly has the distance in his legs so that if his form is good, he should be going well also." Though there was a time when small breakaway groups could be successful at the Philadelphia International, anything but a largish lead group coming to the line together is almost unthinkable. "I just don’t see a break working and coming to the line for the win," Philly expert Sayers said. "Everyone has it pretty much figured out now so it will be really hard to get a small group to stay away even if they gap the field the last time up the Wall; the distance remaining to the line is just too great." Coming with such a strong group, the riders on BMC will be in a position to take advantage of Mike Sayers’ years of
experience in this race. "I’ve always loved Philly and I think if we can get a guy in position on that final stretch, we should have a really good chance to get a top result on the day," Sayers said.
Website: BMC Racing Team
