Thursday was a big day in the future of the 2013 Manayunk Bike Race, now being called the Philly Cycling Classic. Here's a breakdown of what you need to know about this year's race in the Northwest:

It Won't Be As Long: As this story on CBS Philly reports, the bike race is expected to be a far cry from the 156-mile bike race of years past. The new race is expected to be between 115 and 120 miles long and will touch Roxborough and East Falls in its new course. Read their full story here.

Sponsorships Are Coming In: As we reported when the bike race was first canceled, a lack of funding was a big cause behind Pro Cycling's decision to cancel their 2013 race. This new, smaller race already has two sponsors. New Penn Financial and Parx Casino are both reportedly on board, and while New Penn Financial's exact financial commitment isn't known, Parx is reportedly spending $250,000 on the race this year.

We will continue to post updates as they come in. In the meantime, here's a look at the whole bike race story on Patch.

• Organizers Cancel Bike Race
• Lack of Funds Behind Bike Race Getting Axed
• Brady, MDC to Fight for Race
• Nutter: We Will Have a Race in 2014
• Video: Brady Talks After Race Meeting
• What the City is Saying about the Bike Race
• Brady Says Bike Race is Back in 2013