Watch that time a Canadian won the U.S. Pro Championships

Since 1985, Philadelphia used to host an incredible race downtown that attracted some of the best pros in both the U.S. and Europe. It had various names over the years due to sponsor changes–initially, it was called the CoreStates USPro Championships, then First Union, Wachovia, and finally TD. It didn’t matter what the sponsor was–the race was tough, one of the toughest on the U.S. calendar. There were many well-known riders who won the event—set in the heart of downtown Philly, it attracted massive crowds along the race course.

The notorious Manayunk Wall was lined with fans to see riders suffer up the climb, which had grades over 17 per cent. The second climb was Lemon Hill, which took place a few kilometres later.

The race consisted of a three-lap, 1.6 km opening circuit, followed by seven 23.2 km laps of the primary circuit, and a five-lap, 4.8 km closing circuit. The total distance of the race was 251 km.

There have been plenty of notable winners over the years–Sean Yates, George Hincapie and Lance Armstrong, to name a few.

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And in 2002, a Canadian won it.

Although the race determined the pro rider who would wear the stars and stripes for a year, Europeans and Canadians also raced it. That meant an American didn’t necessarily have to win outright; rather, the national championship jersey went to the top Yank. It created a unique racing dynamic when a break would go away. The American in it might be more concerned about the jersey rather than their finish in the winning move.

Milford, Ont.’s Mark Walters was racing for an American team, Navigators, that year. Not only that, but he was the reigning Canadian champion. The goal that year was to help his American teammate Kirk O’Bee. He would mark riders and ultimately set him up for the sprint.

Recently, he found the footage of the race and uploaded it to YouTube.

“It’s obviously nostalgic to watch my biggest win,” Walters, who is now 48, said. “It’s fun to watch.”

Walters outsprinted Chann McRae–who was part of Lance Armstrong’s US Postal Service team. McRae would take the stars and stripes. Slotting in third was Danny Pate.

Walters said the last 50 km were insanely fast with non-stop attacks. “I was toast,” he said.

To control the pack in the final laps, Toronto’s Michael Barry—also riding for USPS—pulled the entire time to “calm things down,” Walters said, setting it up for a…