[audio:http://www.wdde.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/TheGreen_05092014_GrandPrix.mp3|titles= Delaware Public Media's Tom Byrne's interview with Wilmington Grand Prix event director Jerry DuPhilly.]
The Wilmington Grand Prix returns to Wilmington this weekend for 8th edition of the annual cycling festival.
The three-day event gets underway Friday with men and women from around the world expected to compete. Friday features a time trial that includes the cobblestones of Monkey Hill near Brandywine Zoo, while amateur cyclists can compete on Saturday. The Governor’s Ride and Grand Fondo, which takes riders throughout Brandywine Valley, are on Sunday.
But the centerpiece is Saturday’s pro competition. The races for men an women are part of USA Cycling’s 16-race criterium calendar, and only one of seven its top Tier I stops.
Wilmington Grand Prix event director Jerry DuPhilly says spectators can expect to see the best of the best when the pros hit the road.
"They're going to see the absolute best criterium, which is a fixed course race. They’re basically going to see the cream of the crop in that discipline. And they’re from all over, I think last year we had 8 or 9 countries and 26 states. So it is the elite of that particular discipline in cycling," said DuPhilly.
For the first time this year fans unable to attend can watch a webcast of the races live online at both the Wilmington Grand Prix and USA Cycling websites -- and fans on hand see how the race is unfolding elsewhere on the course on a JumboTron in downtown Wilmington.
The event is also offering a new way to engage the thousands of fans expected this weekend. The Wilmington Grand Prix is launching a special event open to the public will raise funds for the Food Bank of Delaware.
"Bank of America is introducing a ride/walk/run that we’re gonna have in the middle of the day, right before the pro races and after the amateur races [Saturday]," said DuPhilly. "It’s gonna give everybody the opportunity to either run the course, walk the course or bike the course, ride a bike around the same course the pros use and all of those registration fees will all be donated to the Food Bank."
For more information on signing up for the ride/walk/run or other events at the Wilmington Grand Prix, visit the event's website.