Recently a cache of cycling photos from the early 90s was entrusted to me by a coworker. She empathized with my fixation on cycling history, and her father’s friend was doing some spring cleaning when he came across a couple boxes of prints he wanted to purge. I could hardly wait for my lunch break to begin leafing through them. In the background were all manner of classic cycling scenes: the peloton whizzing by the Champs Elysées, GC guys duking it out in the Alps, the caravan strung out through nameless towns on the French Riviera. Intermixed with the bunch, however, were photos featuring more familiar landmarks. 

The Thrift Drug Classic was an internationally-renowned race held yearly in Pittsburgh from 1991 to 1997. It was founded by none other than local cycling legend and photographer Bud Harris, and was co-directed by the benefactor of the enclosed photos, Eric Schaeffer. During that six-year span, the race hosted generational American superstars like Bart Bowen, George Hincapie, Chris Horner and perhaps most famously, a young Lance Armstrong.

I do not know for certain who took these photos, nor does Eric, who received the photos second-hand himself. The main clue is that one of the prints has the name “J. Levinson” scrawled on the backside. After a bit of research, I ascertained that Joel Levinson was a Pittsburgh documentary photographer who did in fact take photos during at least the 1991 and 1997 edition of the race. It’s also certainly possible that some of these photos were taken by Bud Harris. Both Levinson and Harris have boxes titled “Thrift Drug Classic” in the University of Pittsburgh special collections, but accessing these materials in order to cross-reference them with the prints comes at an exorbitant monetary cost. So for credits, let’s say some of these photos may have been taken by Bud Harris and Joel Levinson, and maybe other photographers too, but I can’t say for sure. 

Italian team GIS Gelati-Ballan on the start line of the race's inaugural year. 

The course followed a circuit that started and finished in the heart of Pittsburgh’s downtown before crossing the Smithfield St. Bridge and shooting out to South 21st street on Carson.

Riders at the start of a rainy 1992 edition.

Stellar road surface on the Smithfield St. Bridge.

A well-known turn for Unison Bike Lab customers.

The Coors Light team putting in work on Carson in (I think) 1991.

The riders then circled a city block, headed back on Carson before turning onto PJ McArdle Roadway at 10th Street and climbing Sycamore, one of the Dirty Dozen’s more-notorious peaks. After that, they descended Mt. Washington, got back on PJ, then crossed the Liberty Bridge to circle back through downtown and start another lap. 

Riders on the rebound of the South Side out-and-back, where Nick's Imports stands today.  

Norman Alvis in the stars 'n stripes in 1995. Today he's known as @crit_master on Instagram. 

The final kicker on Sycamore.

I'm not sure, but based on the banner I'd guess there was some sort of intermediate prize awarded at the top of Sycamore.

Pittsburgh's number one prom pic spot.

The finishing circuit through downtown in 1991.

In 1993 the race was the first stop of the Thrift Drug Triple Crown, along with West Virginia’s K-Mart Classic and Philadelphia’s CoreStates Championship. The Triple Crown boasted a $1,000,000 prize for any rider who could win all three races, and Lance Armstrong, who had won the race the previous year, looked like a clear favorite. Armstrong would win the Thrift Drug Classic again in 1993 and go on to take first both in West Virginia and Philadelphia, though it has since been alleged by fellow racers Robert Gaggioli and Stephen Swart that Armstrong paid them off to let him take the big purse.

Lance Armstrong in world champ's livery at the start of the 1994 race.

The Motorola guys setting pace for their boy Lance. 1994.

1994's podium: P1- Lance Armstrong, P2- Sean Yates, P3- Darren Baker.

The Thrift Drug Classic was just one of many now-defunct world-class road races in the USA. Of course, the fall of Lance was a major nail in the discipline's coffin nationally, and the advent of Big Gravel has soured many would-be roadies on the idea of riding and racing on pavement. So what would it take for road racing to be restored to full strength the States? I can only speculate, but the recent success of Americans in the European peloton is a good start. More importantly, though, signing up for your local road race makes a huge difference. Declining registration year after year doesn't exactly inspire promoters to continue promoting. Or we could all pony up, throw our own races and quit waiting for miracles. 

It takes a village. Anyone seen their pap?