This week a handful of cycling messengers finished an alley cat-style stage race, called East Coast Messenger Stage Race (ECMSR), spanning from Boston to Washington DC. Team Wolfpack swept the podium, with Aram Dellalian winning the race with a total accumulated general classification time of 26:21:54.

Dellalian's teammates, Fabian Vazquez and Jon Budinoff took second and third respectively, with respective times of 26:23:30 and 26:49:13.

The first annual event finished Tuesday 26 September after a competitive five days of racing and orienteering inspired by a combination of popular underground urban messenger events and traditional road racing. “I've used the term messenger partly to honor my background and this event's inspiration, and partly to signal to participants the unconventional and largely self-sufficient spirit of my race,” said event promoter Austin Horse.

“Competitive tours have long been the ultimate form of bike racing, or at least the most inspiring,” he said. “Often when I'm racing alone and unsupported on open roads I take courage from the stories of the early years of the grand tours. Over the years people in the messenger community have organized point-to-point races across long distances. A primary goal has been to get everybody from one city to another for some purpose.”

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