Pros, Celebrities Mix in Cycling Grand Prix

Whittier has its own grand prix, but minus the deafening roar of racing engines and smell of gasoline alley. This grand prix sounds more like a whir and a whoosh as hundreds of streamlined bicycles spin around the streets of Uptown Whittier, chasing a purse of $15,000 in cash and prizes. Sunday was the second annual running of the event founded by Raul Ruelas and hosted by his Team Cyclos racing club.

Professional racers, above, closely drafting the rider in front, made 55 laps around the one-mile loop course. John Brady of Ireland, racing for Team Spago, finished first. Below, the scene is a blur as cyclists whiz past the start-finish line in front of Los Portales restaurant on Philadelphia Street. Deborah Swisher, left, an actress on NBC’s “A Different World,” competed in the shorter celebrity race. She didn’t win, but wanted to pose with the winners behind her on the victory stand.

The Grand Prix was sanctioned by the U.S. Cycling Federation and is one of only a few Class A events in Southern California, a racing category determined by the amount of prize money.