Tomorrow is the first annual Commerce Bank Philadelphia International Cycling Championship. This race was formerly known as the Wachovia USPRO Championship-- a race that Operation Gadget covered in 2005.

As The Philadelphia Inquirer points out the race lost its sponsor and its role as the U.S. professional championship after the 2005 cycling season, but thanks to the support of the governments of Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia, it was guaranteed to return for 2006. In the Spring, Commerce Bank-- an up-and-coming bank in the Philadelphia and New York Metropolitan Areas-- signed a four-year deal to sponsor this race and its siblings.

I made the decision not to cover the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling several months ago because I knew my wife was due to deliver our son Jimmy around this time. I wish it were possible for me to participate again this year because this is a great race.

If you're in the Philadephia area, I strongly recommend attending the race in person. If you go, you'll be joining about half a million fellow spectators. Some of these people are die-hard cycling fans, but most of them are local sports fans who didn't know a lot about pro cycling until they started attending this race. The atmosphere at this race is truly unique and would impress hardcore European cycling fans.

Update: VeloNews reports that Greg Henderson won the Philadelphia International Cycling Championship, making a strong comeback from a serious crash in March. He also won the Commerce Bank Triple Crown race in Reading, PA on Thursday night.