Manayunk Bike Race Co-Founder Dies at 71

One of the Philadelphia International Championship's founders died March 7 after a sustained bout with prostate cancer, several news outlets reported.

Jerry Casale co-founded the bike race through the city, Manayunk and Roxborough 25 years ago with Dave Chauner and David Simes. He died at age 71.

Chauner, who met Casale at a Chestnut Hill bike shop at age 13, posted a remembrance of Casale on the Pro Cycling Tour's website.

"Over the last several days I’ve thought a lot about Jerry, what a great impact he had on my life and how his values helped shape so many people. He was a born leader. He had that innate ability to win people over, make them feel important and to motivate them to set goals, work hard and remain loyal. He was always reminding me to relax, take it easy, don’t get upset if things didn’t go the way we wanted," Chauner wrote.

VeloNews.com remembered Casale for his instrumental work in establishing the world famous Philadelphia cycling race with its iconic Manayunk Wall, in addition to his work at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics.

"Casale was widely regarded as one of the godfathers of elite cycling in the United States. Chauner and he were the tandem behind events that included the San Francisco Grand Prix and the Tour of West Virginia," it said.

In addition, Philadelphia Daily News columnist Ronnie Polaneczky blogged about Casale.

To read the complete letter from Chauner, visit the Pro Cycling Tour's website.